Robbery in Progress

Twenty-Seven

Paul stopped by during his lunch break to check in on me. I had more strength and my head didn't hurt that bad anymore, so I was able to make myself something to eat. John also stopped by after work and brought me a milkshake, per my request. Everything seemed to be going well and I was feeling a lot better. The following days came and went. Paul came by on his lunch break and Julie and Christina came by a couple of times during the week to check in on me. I was starting to worry, though, because I hadn't seen John since he brought me a milkshake and it had been nearly five days. I would be going back to work tomorrow for desk duty and I thought John would have wanted to spend some time with me before then. I hadn't even had a phone call or text from him. This is exactly what Derek did to me and I would not stand for it. I called John.

"John?"

"Jen, can I call you later?"

"Sure." I was annoyed and angry that he was so short with me. I needed someone to talk to and since Paul had already been over today, I just decided to call him instead of inviting him over.

"Hey, Jen. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Paul...It's just...something's up with John. Have you spoken to him any?"

"I haven't, why?"

"I haven't seen him in about five days. I'm starting to worry. I just called him and all he said was he needed to call me back."

"What do you think is going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm mad at him. I mean...I talked to him about what Derek did to me and now he's doing the same thing. I don't understand, Paul."

"Jen, it's alright. We'll figure this out, okay? Do you want me to come over?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll just wait and see if he calls back?" Suddenly, my phone started beeping and I looked down to see John was calling. "John's calling. I've got to go." I hung up the phone and answered John's call.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Jen, and I'm sorry for not calling you or anything for the past few days...but I've got a good reason." I was so sick of excuses, so this better be the best excuse ever or he is about to hear a mouth full from me.

"What is it?"

"Open your door." I looked confused and walked over to the door. I glanced out the window after moving the curtain back a little, then opened the door to find John standing there. He had a pair of jeans with a nice blue button-up and cowboy boots. I had never seen him dress like this before, but I wasn't complaining. I looked behind him and saw his car with a truck parked behind it. Just then, a man got out of the truck and came walking towards us.

"You must be Jen. John's told me so much about you." I looked him up and down and looked over at John, hoping someone was going to tell me who this guy was. "Now, I don't let anyone borrow my truck but when my best friend here practically begged me...well, I couldn't say no."

"Jen, this is Adam, my best friend." I shook Adam's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Adam."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then." I watched as he walked away and got in John's car. I looked back at John, wanting an explanation for all this. It still didn't explain why he hadn't talked to me in days.

"I know you're probably wondering what this is all about." I nodded, giving him a stern look. "I had planned to drop by the next day after work, but they needed me to cover another shift and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I wanted to make it up to you, so I planned all this." He motioned towards the truck and down his clothes.

"Planned what?"

"I planned us a whole weekend together."

"Where at with you dressed like that?" I laughed, covering my mouth.

"Well, you go get dressed and come with me to find out...and no need to eye roll, Jen." He was catching on. I went upstairs and found a pair of jeans. I had a pair of boots, which I wore on rare occasions when I went out. I skimmed through my dresser and finally found a white tank top, which I quickly slipped on. I moved through my closet until I found a red button-up and slipped it on, leaving it unbuttoned. I put on a pair of stud earrings and grabbed a duffle bag from the top of the closet, putting in a pair of tennis shoes, my toothbrush and toothpaste, and a couple of pairs of jeans and shirts. He said we were going for the weekend and I was not about to go without anything.

"I'm ready." I could not believe I was agreeing to this. I had no idea where we were going or why he was dressed this way. On the drive, I had no idea where we were going and the nerves started to kick in. "Are you seriously not going to tell me where we're going?" John didn't speak, just smiled. We pulled up to a nice, little place and got out of the truck.

"We're here." I looked around at everything, noticing how beautiful the place was. "Welcome to Chico. Follow me." I followed behind him, still admiring the scenery. I turned around in this barn to find two horses. John stroked their mane. "This here is Whiskey and this is Pharaoh." I gently stroked my hand down their noses. John started saddling them up and my heart was beating so fast. I had ridden a horse a few times when I was in middle and high school with my dad but not since then. "Get on." I took a deep breath and John helped me up. We started riding and it was so beautiful out that I wished I never had to leave.

"Why'd you decide this is what we should do, John?"

"Well, I thought it was different from your usual routine. I thought you'd enjoy it." I smiled. "There is one more reason, though."

"What's that?"

"That house we stopped at to get the horses?" I nodded. "It's my parents' place."

A/N: I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter! There are definitely big things to come! Please remember to vote and comment! I would absolutely love to hear from you all! Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, predictions, anything!