Daylight - Taylor Swift

Chapter 26

April 2nd, 2017

Jo's breath hitched as she felt the coolness of the metal underneath her, only for a second letting herself falter. Growing up with a protective father who knew the world was a scary place, she was aware of how to defend herself in certain situations.

She took all the force she could muster and raised her elbow to the girl's face. It wasn't enough to hit her but the motion made her flinch, loosening her grip enough that Jo was able to turn around and kick her in the pelvic region, knocking her to the ground.

The singer abandoned the groceries, threw the drivers side door open and slammed it before clicking the locks shut. By that point, Kennedy had regained her composure, tugging on the door handle to try and open it as the engine turned over.

"You bitch!" The woman screamed at the top of her lungs as she pounded on the glass window, "Open the door! Fuck you!"

Jo didn't say anything as she pressed her foot to the gas pedal, driving out of the parking lot. She saw Kennedy in her rear view get into a car, the headlights turning on almost instantly.

Jo fumbled through her bag for her phone, trying to open it with shaky hands and tears in her eyes. She kept her eyes on the road as much as she could, looking for the number Gabriel and Jason had given her the night before when she arrived in town.

She hit dial, waiting for it to connect, "Hello?"

"Gabriel? It's Jo... I- I was shopping and she followed me to my car and shoved me and uh- I kicked her and she tried to open my door and she's following me," Jo's voice broke and cracked all the way throughout the sentence, not able to take any deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Okay, I want you to drive to the nearest police station. I want you to tell me where you are, we'll call them and tell them you're coming. She'll either stop following you or she'll be dumb enough to chance her luck with the police. Jason and I are on our way, I want you to stay on the phone, okay? Where are you?"

"I'm— I'm on Fourth Street. I'm gonna turn onto seventh. I think there's a station there, I can't remember. I can't remember where it is."

"I'll look it up," he spoke calmly, although in their hotel room him and Jason were both freaking out quietly as they headed towards the car, ten seconds or so going by before he added, "Eighth, turn onto Eighth Street."

"Okay," Jo whispered, having a difficult time getting the words out. She kept looking in the mirror as the car got closer and closer to her truck, hands shaking and vision blurred by the water her eyes were expelling.

By the time Jo reached the police station seven or so minutes later, Jason had made his call and two officers were waiting in the lot for her. She pulled up, they gestured for her to stop the engine and by the grace of some god, the sedan behind her turned in as well.

Kennedy must not have realized she had turned into the police station, but the officer who was sitting in his car in the parking lot immediately turned on his lights and followed her out as she turned quickly.

"Are you alright?" The female officer asked Josephine, opening the door for her and extending a hand.

Jo finally realized that Kennedy wasn't behind her at that moment and nodded, but that didn't stop her from breaking down in sobs. She couldn't get out of the truck, the engine had stopped running, her phone call had ended as the second Jason and Gabriel's rental pulled in, the tires rolling on the gravel quickly.

The door swung open and Jason introduced himself to the officer standing behind the vehicle while Gabriel came up to Jo, his heart racing too, "Miss Collins, are you okay?"