Hazel Eyes

Clair

Clair

"Come on.. come on.." Jenna willed her car to function, looking around and hoping one of her neighbors could come and help her. "I can't believe this.. hey! Tom, do you have cables?" She called over to her her neighbor, he was taking out the trash for tomorrow, thankfully at just the right time. "I'm sorry, I don't, I sent mine with a buddy and I haven't seem them since. You could try Eric over on the corner, he might have some you can use." Tom pointed over to the small blue house with a fence wrapping around the front and leading to the back. "Okay, I'll ask, thanks anyways." Jenna waved to Tom as he went back inside. Jenna contemplated having to ask around for help and it seemed like that would take too long. It was already late and she needed to get to her sisters house for dinner or she'd never hear the end of it. That to Jenna seemed dumb as she always showed up for her sisters invites.. at least the reasonable ones. Clair seemed to have a knack for sending an invite to Jenna at the last minute or have luck be it, when she's doing sessions. "Clair.. I've gone over this a million times, I can't just move my sessions, they make them a month in advance, you have to give me more notice or I can't make it." Jenna would plead again and again for her sister to understand this, not even to plan better, because she couldn't, but to at least not give her a hard time when she said no. "Right, okay, I see you're job comes first." Clair would always say this when she was upset at her. She made it seem as though Jenna was choosing work over family. As if her family didn't choose drama over her. Jenna didn't speak to hardly any of her family. Her mom had been rude and spiteful most of her childhood, using her options on Jenna's life choices against her. Her mom had always expected Jenna to do what she had pre-decided was better for her. To add to the list of non-surprising things she also hated all of Jenna's friends. although Jenna didn't have the best group in school, but they meant well and they stayed out of trouble mostly. Jenna herself did well in school and was well mannered. The idea that her mom was never happy with her choices was predicable but useless. She never asked her mom's thought on anything, she just did as she felt was right.
That being the case, Jenna found it easiest to remove all of the people that took away from her happiness, and that was the best decision she could have made.
"Heeyy honey bee, I've got a favor to ask you.."Jenna started slow, hating to have to ask for help. "Hey, buzz kill! What are you calling me for now? You need a blind date? I got you! I have this guy I can give you his number but.." "NO! ... no that's not why I'm calling you.." Jenna jumped out her skin to get her 'no' out fast enough. Clair was terrible at picking out guys. "No, I'm calling because I can't get to your house without my car starting, do you think you could pick me up? I can also get a ride with Ella on her way out and save you the trouble." Ella was Clair's childhood best friend, but she was practically family by now. Jenna couldn't remember a time where Ella wasn't at a holiday or birthday or anything else for that matter. "Ohh, well I guess I can do that, yeah. I'll be there in a few, you're still at the same place right?" Clair's excitement buzzed through the phone. "Yes, I haven't moved since the last time we hung out." Jenna was happy to know that her car could wait a little longer, at least until tomorrow.
Thankfully Jenna didn't have to wait too long, Clair was only about fifteen minutes away. Passing the time while she waited was easy, a little photography always helped with this. After it had been what Jenna felt like long enough, she checked her phone to see the time, finding that Clair should be close, and she was always on time. Just as Jenna was packing up her camera and stuffing away her lens, Clair pulled up next to her sad, broken down car and rolled her window down. "Hey you! Come on, Ella's almost to the house, she's bringing a friend I think you'll like." Clair had that look on her face that always meant she made a plan that Jenna could live without. "Who's the friend?" Jenna questioned, unsure she even wanted to know the answer. "Oh, it's someone I think you'll get along with, but I have to tell you you one thing. You can't immediately say no, you have to at least be nice." Clair smiled a guilty smile, that told Jenna to be repaired for whatever may come, that, and Claire was bad at secrets. Most of the time Clair would set her up with random guys that Jenna never liked, but in the moment Jenna hadn't thought about that way. For all she knew it was an old friend Clair was making up with again, and Jenna's mind was busy on how to fix her car anyways.
Pulling into her sisters driveway, Jenna could see Ella's car and Ella in the drivers seat, waving and smiling greatly at Jenna. There next to Ella was someone Jenna had never met before, which she hadn't anticipated, yet was also not surprised by. It was made known that an extra friend was coming but Jenna thought it would be some friend Claire had met at yoga or something, a girl at least.Jenna waited until Clair had parked and gathered her things, opening her door and sliding out to be greeted with a warm and tight hug. "Hi Jenna! I can't believe it's been, what, six months now? I feel like I just saw you the other day. How are you?" Ella was always so chipper and happy, Jenna loved that about her. Ella wasn't normally the kind to be bothered by much, it was something Jenna could never master. "Hey! I know, I've missed you, I'm great actually. I've got my photography business going and I have a little furry baby at home now." Jenna pulled out her phone and flashed Ella a photo she'd taken of Nala, Ella's joy spilled out of every pore. "She is gorgeous, where did you get her?" Ella asked, staring at the phone a few moments longer before looking up. "I found her actually, I was working on some edits one day and decided to go find a place by the lake and work there instead of home and this tiny little thing just trotted around looking for food. Poor thing was left behind or something. I thought about looking for her owners, but then I realized that if someone could forget about such a precious thing that she belonged with me. She's been at my side ever since!" Jenna loved talking about Nala. She was the sweetest thing. "That's awful, how could someone lose such a adorable little fluff ball?! Well, she has her home now, that's all that matters. Shall we go inside? I'm starving, Clair? You have the key?" Ella started pulling out food from her back seat, bags of groceries had been organized neatly inside each bag.
"What are we making?" Jenna grabbed a couple bags and started carrying them inside, following behind Ella who had waited for Clair to unlock the front door. Ella's mystery friend followed behind with wine and locked the car for Ella. "I brought fish and fresh green beans from our garden, plus for desert I threw together an apple pie. I had to stop and get ice cream and cool whip though. Pie just Isn't the same without them." As everyone headed into the house one by one, and Ella's friend being the last to follow and ended up holding the door for Jenna. His hand lightly brushed her lower back, which Jenna was unsure if it was on purpose. She didn't say anything but took note of it. For all she knew he didn't notice it had happened. No words were exchanged, making the entrance faster, thankfully Jenna could go straight into the kitchen without talking to Ella's friend at all, for the time being at least. "Do you need a hand with anything?" Jenna had hoped someone would say yes, have a reason to keep herself busy and get through the evening faster. "No, don't worry a bout it Jen! Go sit down and relax, there's not much to do anyways." Clair had announced it loud enough so that Ella's friend had a warning of Jenna's entrance, obviously. Clair wasn't exactly hard to read, her being the most predictable human ever to exist. Jenna smiled an annoyed smile at her over unhelpful sister and made her way to the living room. "Well.. if you're sure.." Jenna groaned quietly as she said this and dreaded having to make small talk. Instead of introducing herself, Jenna made it a point to turn the tv on and start flipping through channels, pretending to be uninterested in anything so she could look like she was busy. "What kind of music do you like?" Jenna jumped a little, she hadn't expected him to say anything, although the idea of him not talking was stupid. "Oh.. uh I like a range of things, depends on my mood I guess." Jenna tried to keep her answers somewhat short and open ended, not to lead into too much detail. "Can I show you this song I'm stuck on?" He asked and started connecting his phone to Clair's speaking without waiting for Jenna's answer. A soft slow melody started to play, and although Jenna had never heard it and liked it, she felt like the mood had changed. It wasn't anything she wanted any part of. "So? What do you think?" he asked, "I love the harmony it has and it makes you feel calm." Jenna had noticed that he hadn't even intruded himself to her, and she thought that was weird, yet she also didn't care to know it his name. Almost as if he'd read her mind, Ella's guy friend had gotten up and moved closer to Jenna, sitting on the couch she made comfort on and ditching the recliner in the corner of the room. "I'm Jacob by the way, Clair has been telling me so much about you, I feel like I know you already." Jenna hadn't moved from her place, she didn't know how to remover herself from the conversation, and in that moment she only hoped her sister and Ella would be out soon. Once they come out she could get though the night and go home before she knew it. She'd tell Clair later how her 'friend' acted towards her and she'd never have to worry about Jacob again. "I see, well I take it you know my name then so I don't have to introduce myself." Jenna spoke calm without showing too much interest, she didn't want to give off any notion that Jacob had any shot with her, just enough to know she was being nice and nothing more, like when you hold the door for a lady with a cane. Jacob seemed to misread her as he moved closer still. "So, I know it's not gonna be long before they get in here, but we do have some time to get to know each other." Jacob made Jenna feel more uncomfortable now, and she had the immediate thought to stand up and check on her sister in the kitchen. "Oh! Hold on there.." Jacob grabbed Jenna's arm and pulled her back down to the couch, "We're having a nice time here, don't be rude, sit with me, tell me about yourself, I'm sure there's more to you than what Clair tells me." Jacob didn't release her arm at all after she sat, and she didn't want to upset him any more than she already did. She needed to stall him long enough until they weren't alone. Jenna had seen how things like this could go, if she upset him enough her could seriously hurt her, and Jenna wasn't Exactly very strong. "Um.. I like flowers.." Jenna said plainly, she thought about Nala and hoped he hadn't known about her dog yet, if she made him anger after this evening he could decide on hurting her dog out of spite.
Jacob smiled, "I'll have to keep that in mind for our second date!" Jacob got oddly excited, he thought they were on a date right now, which was insane since she hadn't expected to meet him. "Uh that's nice of you but you don't have to.. um, what's you're favorite thing to do in the summer?" Jenna's looked around the living room while he answered her question and played with her hand, not noticing her casual browse of the room. "Hey, Clair, I'm gonna go get some drinks for everyone, Jenna said she'd come with me, we'll be right back!" Jacob called into to her sister, catching Jenna by surprise. Her heart rate jumped out of her skin and he stood and led her outside to the car he had came in. "Ladies first.." He whispered in her ear as he opened the car door for her. Shivers covered Jenna's body sending her into panic mode. She tried to think of a plan to get herself out of the situation but she came up with nothing as her mind raced as fast as her heart. After Jacob had started the car and started to drive out, he began talking to her again. Jenna stayed perfectly still and watched the road, keeping an eye out for landmarks like her dad had told her to do when she was young. "Thanks for keeping your composure in there, I know it's hard to lie to them but I'm glad you knew what I was thinking, can't do anything with damn babysitter." Jenna sat quietly, pondering what he was talking about, she was completely lost. 'I knew what he was thinking?..' What the hell did that mean? She certainly was about to find out, which led Jenna to believe they were not going to get just drinks, if they even made it that far. Jacob kept staring at the road smiling, then looking back at Jenna, his eyes glossed over with anticipation.
Time seemed to go on for hours but they'd only been driving for about fifteen minutes. Jacob had pulled off into a spot by some trees, the road wasn't as visible from one direction of the road, it was a little from the other side. Jenna sat still hoping he just wanted to talk. Jacob leaned in real close, running his hand along her arm in a downward motion, "Let's get more comfortable shall we?" Jacob smiled and hopped out of the drivers side, walking around the help Jenna out of her side and escorted her into the back seat. Jenna thought about fighting back, yet she just froze, her brain told her to run, to hit, to bite, but her body wouldn't move at all. Her body in a coma. Jacob had climbed in next to her, smiled and slid over so far that their legs were pressed together. He'd looked into her eyes like he knew she was his forever, but Jenna had only just leaned his name.. Jacob moved his hand to her thigh, running it up and playing with her jean shorts, they were longer and slightly tight, which gave him some trouble. "Why don't we head back? I'm sure dinners already done, don't you want to eat first..? I mean you can't have energy without eating something.." Jenna tried, but he didn't answer her. "Look, I don't want to do this, I don't even know you Jacob, we've only just met, I'm not that kind of girl, and I'm seeing someone, Clair didn't tell You because she doesn't know yet." Jacob laughed a light creepy laugh. "Right, you're just telling me that because you're nervous, but it's okay I'll take good care of you.." Jacob kept trying to remove more parts of Jenna's clothes, she cried and stayed stiff, hoping he'd get annoyed and quite trying. As his motion to get her in nothing drastically moved faster, he started getting aggressive and ripping things off, kissing her neck so hard Jenna thought she would have bruises, her cries became louder and louder, turning into screams, praying someone would hear her.. yet she knew no one could hear her.
In the midst of all the activity, Jenna heard a large bang like a gun outside of the car, Jacob stopped and sat up, looking around to identify the sound. "Don't move." he instructed, climbing out of the backseat and locking the car behind him. His pants undone and sagging and his shirt completely gone. Jenna looked around, knowing that Jacob would get back in the car with her if she didn't try to run. Carefully she pulled at the door on the opposite side of his searching, child lock, dammit. Jenna looked over at Jacob who was venturing off into the trees a bit, peaking around to find know one there. This was her chance to get away, just as he had made it far enough away from the car she managed to climb into the drivers seat and press the unlock button on the door, opening the drivers side and slipping out. After Jenna had closed the door quietly, she couched down real low so she could see if his feet were coming back, no sign. As she moved backwards to start running, a hand grabbed her face and pulled her down. A scream attempted to escape her lungs but the sound stopped at the strong hand covering her mouth. She cried quiet tears.. she was caught.. the torment would continue. As tears flowed down Jenna's face like a fountain, her body was forced to turn around, only to see Jamison had been the one who grabbed her.
"I'm sorry I scared you and grabbed you like that, I didn't want you to scream and he hear you, but I was too close to warn you quietly. Are you okay? I was headed to your place and I heard screams and followed them here, realized it was you in the back seat." Jamison hugged Jenna so tight that she couldn't do anything but sob quietly, covering her mouth to muffle the sound. Jenna couldn't speak, just nodded her head yes in his chest and pressed herself harder against him, feeling safe now. "Let's get you out of here, but I can't let him walk away, so stay here, keep you're head down and cover your ears. I'll come back around the front so you can see me." Jamison kissed her forehead and stepped away, crouched down and swiftly making his way through the trees. Jenna didn't move or say anything, she just listened and did what he told her to do. Although her ears were covered, she could hear two gunshots far away in the trees, and she knew Jacob would never bother her again.
When Jamison came around the front of the car, neither of them spoke. He lifted her by the arm and walked her over to his black truck and lifted her in by her waist. They drove to her house and picked up Nala and then went straight to Jamison's house. Jamison's held her hand the entire drive there, walked the three of them inside, up to his bedroom. Jenna didn't have anything to say, her mind was broken and playing the night on a loop, trying not to let herself fall into a dark hole of her own thoughts. Jamison knew she wasn't okay, he sat her on the edge of his bed and pulled out a shirt of his own. When he brought it over to Jenna he showed her the shirt, gesturing that he was just going to change her clothes. After he'd removed her clothes from the awful day and covered her body with his white t-shirt, he laid her back on a large soft pillow. Turning on the tv and putting on a calming tv show for her to watch. She didn't know what.. she just felt exhausted and turned over to face the closet. Nala curled up next to the bed on Jenna's side. "Is it okay if I hold you Jenna?" Jamison asked gently, he didn't want to cross any lines with how traumatized she probably was from the previous events. "Please.." Jenna whispered only begging for a safe embrace, pain hidden in her voice and shock was painted all over her face. Jamison spoke no more, climbing into bed with Jenna, covering the two of them with the white and dark blue bed spread, wrapping his arm around the top half of her arms and pulling her in closely. Jamison hugged her tight, and waited until Jenna fell asleep so that he could do the same.