Chapter 7 #2
Jenna walked into her bathroom, turning on the sink and brushing her teeth thoughtfully.
She found herself blushing as she recalled the first time Mark “taught her a lesson” over his knee in his creepy-yet-somehow-still-hot-if-she-was-honest-with-herself medical room.
Ugh. She had to get out and clear her head. Getting dressed could wait.
Grabbing her purse and coat, she slid on a pair of sandals and locked the door behind her, still wearing pajama pants and a tank top. There was a coffee shop four blocks down on Broadway that had a drive-through, and a white mocha would do wonders for her mood right about now.
She got into her car, plugged her phone into the car charger, and pulled out of her parking spot onto the street. She had slept in enough that traffic was light, so she called Chloe.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” Chloe answered, her voice sounding distant, and Jenna had to turn up the volume to hear her.
“Where are you? Am I on speaker?” Jenna asked.
“No, it’s just me. Simon and I just got to the resort. Remember he was taking me to Florida for the weekend?”
“Oh, shit, that’s right. Sorry to bug you.” Jenna mentally scolded herself for being a selfish friend recently. “How is it so far?”
“Simon got us a gorgeous room. He’s already downstairs checking out the pickleball courts, so I ordered room service. Stuffed French toast and mimosas, thank you very much!”
Jenna smiled. “Sounds amazing.”
“So, fill me in,” Chloe said. “Did you decide what to do about Mr. Wants-You-As-A-Concubine?”
“I sort of… sent him a message last night. A not so nice one,” Jenna said, feeling embarrassed when she admitted it out loud.
“Oh, Jenna. Were you drunk?”
“No! Just a little tipsy at most,” Jenna said defensively. “I checked this morning and he’s read it, but he hasn’t responded.”
“Wait, back up. What did you say? You have to send it to me,” Chloe demanded.
Jenna was stopped at a light, so she quickly copied the message and pasted it to Chloe. There was silence as Chloe read it, and Jenna took the opportunity to reread it as well.
Hey Mark, you know what? Fuck you! I’m not some damsel in distress who needs rescuing. You can keep your money and your bullshit and just back off and let me live my own life.
The car behind Jenna honked, and she looked up to see the light had turned green. Oops. She accelerated forward, waving apologetically to the other driver through her rearview mirror.
“Wow,” Chloe said. “I can see why he didn’t respond.”
“You can? Well I can’t. He should have said something ,” Jenna said, growing less sure of herself as she spoke.
“What do you expect him to say to that?”
“I mean, he could have at least tried to fight for me a little bit,” Jenna said with a pout, realizing how lame the words sounded as they left her mouth.
“By doing what? Coming to your house in the middle of the night and kidnapping you?”
“Nothing that drastic. But he could have at least?—”
And then Jenna screamed as she turned a corner and crashed head-on into a parked truck.
“What happened? Jenna?” Chloe asked.
Jenna sat there in shock for a moment, staring out her windshield as she saw steam rising from her engine. She hadn’t been going fast enough for her airbag to deploy, but it definitely didn’t look good.
“Jenna, are you okay?” Choe asked, sounding worried now.
“I think so,” Jenna answered shakily. “I just hit a truck.”
“Fuck. Is anyone hurt?”
Jenna turned the ignition off, then took a moment to take stock of her body, shaking out her arms and legs, moving her head from side to side, and wiggling her toes and fingers.
“Yeah, I think I’m fine. There’s no one in the other car, it’s just parked on the street.
Really far out though,” Jenna added, feeling angry at herself for not paying better attention but taking it out on the stupid truck instead.
“Thank god,” Chloe breathed. “You have insurance, right? Roadside assistance?”
“I used to…” Jenna said, “I let that lapse this month. I was going to pay it as soon as I found another job.”
Chloe let out a heavy sigh.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll figure something out,” Jenna said, sounding much more confident than she felt.
“Do you need me to have Simon call one of his friends down there? George lives nearby I’m pretty sure, he could?—”
“No! Please don’t call anyone. I’ll figure it out. You just worry about having fun with Simon. I’ll be fine.” The last thing Jenna needed was to play damsel-in-distress for one of Simon’s old-man friends in her pajamas just so she could get a tow truck.
“Well then, call your dad at least. Come on, Jenna, don’t be stubborn like you always?—”
“You’re breaking up, Chlo, I think it’s your service,” Jenna lied. “Anyway, don’t worry about me, I’ll call you later, love you!” She thought about making some static noises like in a movie, but she was pretty certain Chloe already knew she was lying, so she just hung up.
Gathering herself for another moment and taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked up to the front of her car to see the damage.
It was bad.
Her super-old Prius was apparently no match for the giant F-150, which looked as though it maybe had some scuffed paint in one spot. The whole front of her car was smashed in, and both of the front wheels were turned in awkward directions, the rims around them completely bent up.
But… the wheels were still attached. Maybe she could drive it long enough to make it to a shop?
She was in the city, there was bound to be one not too far away.
Getting back into her car, she attempted to turn it on, but it just sputtered at her in a way that almost sounded like laughter, as if it were saying, ‘Fat chance, Sweet Cheeks.’ She wasn’t sure why, but she imagined her car having the voice of a grandma who had smoked for forty years.
Pulling her keys out of the ignition, she rested her head dejectedly against the steering wheel.
Her options were growing more limited by the second.
Chloe wouldn’t be home for days. She definitely wasn’t prepared to break her no-call streak with her parents on something as pathetic as needing a ride to the repair shop.
She pictured her father’s disapproving headshake as he took in her damaged car and her disheveled appearance.
No, that wasn’t an option.
She could just abandon her car here and walk home, but she knew the city would be quick to tow it for her and demand hundreds of dollars for its return. And she had already run out of the “allowance” she was given several weeks ago.
Plus, she would definitely need a car to get to job interviews, especially since she had no Uber money…
Jenna knew what she had to do long before she was able to admit it to herself, and even after she’d admitted it, it took another ten minutes or so before she convinced herself to pull out her phone and dial.
She didn’t really have a choice. She was going to have to call him .