Chapter 128: Flat Tire
*You are not the darkness you endured. You are the light that refused to surrender. – John Mark Green*
It was March and the semester was half over. The weather was brisk but not cold. Mid terms were coming up along with final projects. JD and Dean had a swim meet next weekend and then all three of them would be on spring break.
Jolene smiled at that thought. This year, all of them were going to Hawaii. The last time she had been there was for her destination wedding. She had wanted her mom there. Bob had told Jolene that there was an issue. She now knew that the issue was that Bob did not want Helen there.
Summer had done all the mother of the bride activities. Jolene had hated it. The woman was only a few months older than herself. And it was the first time that they had ever met. Speaking of awkward.
Playing the part of mother of the bride is the mistress of the father of the bride.
But this time, Helen would be there. Originally, Reese and Dean were not going to go. But after the events earlier in the year they were going to go. Jo;ene's mind kept wandering to the upcoming trip throughout the lecture. She took notes and tried to concentrate.
The professor seemed to sense that no one wanted to be there and ended the class early. Packing up her belongings, Jolene followed the rest of the class out of the lecture hall and then the building.
There was a tingling sensation at the back of Jolene’s neck as she walked across campus. She kept feeling like she was being watched, but there was never anything out of place. There was no one that stood out. But all day the feeling followed her.
Shaking off the feeling, she made her way to the library where the study group met in the same room every week. They laughed and talked and even did some studying. When Jolene started college, this is what she imagined. Not rushing to get home, not angering her husband, not trying to draw any attention to herself, hoping that no guy paid her any attention.
Four times now, Neo had given her new outfits and had her train in them. There had been the dress, a pencil skirt and shirt, capri pants and a sweater and yesterday it was a pair of jeans and T-shirt. The T-shirt was from the next tour of a heavy metal rock band that they both liked.
When they had gone back to his apartment, she was still not allowed to use a knife on her pork loin. At the end of the meal, they cleaned the kitchen together and then Neo handed Jolene a large white envelope.
“What’s this?”
“A graduation present.”
“I haven’t graduated yet.” She laughed.
“Motivation, then.” He grinned.
“Neo…”
“Just open the damn envelope, pet.”
He never called her by her name. Pet. Baby. Jo, if they were around other people. And she did not object. No, like now, she blushed shyly and looked away.
Opening the envelope, she found an itinerary, plane tickets and concert tickets with backstage VIP passes for the band the shirt was for. She was looking at the concert tickets in silent shock.
“It’s their tour kickoff concert.”
“Neo…” Jolene looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “This is too much.”
“No, it’s not.” He stepped in close to her and cupped her cheek. “It’s just that no man has ever shown you how precious *you* are.”
“I’m not-.”
Neo placed his thumb over her mouth effectively silencing her. “You are, pet. You are so damned precious. And I plan on showing you as often as you will let me. For as long as you will let me.”
The study group broke up and she was talking with one of the guys about the shirt. He was cute, but she would not call the blonde handsome.
“I’ll walk you to your car.” The blonde said as they left the library.
“Thanks.” Jolene smiled as she pulled her small tazer out of her purse.
“You going to cook me?” He teased with a light grin.
“No.” she laughed as they went down the steps. The sky was darkening with the setting sun, and she gave a small shiver from the cool breeze. “My boyfriend is a safety nut. And then with my ex…”
The whole school knew what happened. Then again, who in a town of thirty thousand didn’t know? The local paper, school paper and radio station, regional radio and television stations had all covered it. They were all still covering the states investigation of the police department.
“Yeah.” The blonde mumbled and Jolene tried to remember his name. Terry. Tracy. It was one of those unisex names. And she was pretty certain that it started with a T.
“Yeah.” She agreed with a smirk.
“I don’t want you to think that I’m hitting on you.” He smiled at her as they turned towards the parking lot. “My wife would not like me letting you walk to your car by yourself.”
“I didn’t think that.” She smiled at him. “How long have you been married?”
“Four years in May. And my daughter will be four in October.” He grinned and she laughed. “We got married the weekend that we graduated. There’s nothing that I would change about it. Well, maybe an actual honeymoon.”
He gave a little chuckle. “Maybe not living with my in-laws while we both go to school. But we have live babysitters, and her parents are insistent that we both finish our degrees before we start working.”
“That’s nice. What is she studying?”
“Biochemistry.” He beamed as they stepped into the parking lot. “My girl is smart as hell. What do you drive?”
“The Tesla.” She had the key fob in her hand and clicked the button to start the engine. “It’s actually my stepdad’s.”
The Tesla sat at an odd angle and as they approached it, they saw both drivers’ side tires were flat. That odd feeling that she had earlier hit her with the force of a ton of bricks. Automatically, her hand went to the spider, and she twisted the spider’s head. Trying to act nonchalantly, she turned towards her study buddy.
A Hispanic man stood behind the blonde with a gun to his head. She started to raise her tazer, but another man grabbed her from behind. Before she could react, a white cloth was placed over her face and darkness engulfed her quickly.
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