One Deep Breath

Chapter Twenty-Five

She got the phone call at midnight that night.

Jolie had just fallen asleep after approximately an hour's worth of flirt-texting with Jesse when her ringer startled her awake. Rachel was calling her.

"Hey," she said into her phone, her voice groggy from sleep. "Locked out?"

"Jolie, please," Rachel whispered through the line. The hairs on the back of Jolie's neck stood up at the sound of her friend's voice, thick with emotion and something else,  maybe fear?

"Rachel? What's wrong? Where are you?" Jolie demanded, up and out of bed in an instant.

"Please come, please come get me. Please J," she sobbed into the phone.

"I'm coming, I'm coming right now. Where are you? The basketball house?"

"I don't know.  Kind of, yeah. Please Jolie you have to come get me."

Jolie's stomach flipped.

"Okay. It's okay I'm coming right now. Keep your phone on you!"

Jolie was downstairs and out of their building in a minute. Scrambling to get across campus to her car, a million things raced through her mind. Was she drunk? She sounded kind of drunk. Maybe Mike had broken her heart again, or maybe he had picked a fight with her. Jolie had a sinking feeling that wasn't it.

As she raced off campus towards the house deemed the "basketball house" by Sumner students she remembered how badly she needed gas. Her dash blinked the number 4 at her, letting her know she only had four miles before her tank was completely empty. Mike's house was only about ten minutes away, so she said a little prayer asking God to get her to Rachel quick, and then she could stop on her way home.

An open gas station. After midnight, and on a Sunday. Jolie realized this rescue mission was doomed.

Nevertheless, Jolie kept going. Two minutes later her car rolled to a stop after her engine puttered out.

"Fuck," Jolie cursed, laying her head down on the steering wheel.

She tried Ash, and then Leah. And then she sent follow up texts, reading Urgent! Need you!

Nothing.

Jolie sent the next text out as she held her breath.

Still up?

In a few minutes she'd be forced to walk back to school, pound on Leah and Ash's room until one of them woke up. Then her phone buzzed.

No :)

She called him, and he picked up right away, though she could tell he'd been asleep.

"Hey you. Can't sleep without me?" Jesse greeted her playfully.

"Jesse?" her voice shook as she answered him.

"Jolie? What's wrong?" he demanded, his playful banter hardening instantly.

"I," she paused. "...need help. I'm stranded and something happened to Rachel and I need to get to there and I ran out of gas and now I'm on the side of the road. And I tried all my friends but I can't get a hold of anyone." She could feel the tears stinging her eyes, half because she was desperate to get to Rachel and half because she embarrassed to be calling him for help.

"Woah, woah. It's okay. I'll come get you and then we can go get Rachel. I'm coming now okay?" Jolie could hear him rustling around as he comforted her, calming her down enough to tell him where she was, promising to be there in less than ten minutes.