Chasing Anne

Pray

It was official, Mark hated all alarms. As his went off at six the following morning, he felt like the entire earth had come crashing down on him in that moment. He sat up straight in bed as if he'd been electrocuted and then smacked the evil box. For a moment, he thought about yelling at it, but then realized what a stupid idea that was and shook it off. He stood from his bed and rubbed the back of his head. To his surprise, Blaze wasn't at the foot of his bed sleeping. He bent down looking under the bed and then realized what he was doing and rolled his eyes. The events from the day before rushed over him and with a sigh, he flopped backwards on the floor, his arm behind his head. Blaze was with Anne because Dawn was at the vet. That was why his dog wasn't in his bed. Mark smiled and sat back up, walking down the hall and into the bathroom. When he saw himself in the mirror, he shrieked and then slapped a hand over his mouth. What was wrong with him? Sure, his appearance was hideous, but he didn't have to scream about it. He washed his hands, his face, and then, running a comb through his hair, he went back to his bedroom. He rummaged a moment in his pile of clothes and was satisfied when he found a pair of jeans and a heather gray long-sleeved shirt. He changed out of his pajamas and into his clothes as quickly as he could and then went to the kitchen. There was absolutely nothing appetizing in his fridge, and, besides a bag of potato chips, there was nothing in his cupboards. Mark grabbed his keys and then stuck his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans. He needed to find something to eat elsewhere. He pulled the bag of chips out of the cupboard and stuck it under his arm. At least he had something to appease his hunger for now. He went outside and the cool crisp air of the early April morning brushed past his face. He smiled, taking a deep breath of the chilly air. It was going to be a beautiful day. His truck was drenched in dew, but he paid no mind to it and hopped into the cab. The leather steering wheel was cold, but he knew that warmer weather was coming. He thrust his keys into the ignition and the truck rumbled to life. Glancing over the back of his shoulder, he began to back down his driveway, careful to take in his entire surroundings before he tried to drive. Besides nearly hitting a cat, he'd had no road accidents. Honestly, he didn't even know if the cat incident could even be called an accident! The cat had run straight in front of his car! Mark sighed and pulled out of his driveway onto the paved road of his subdivision. He drove the truck down the road towards the highway, but Mark couldn't decide whether he wanted to head to Anne's house to check on her and Blaze, or if he wanted to just drive through a fast-food restaurant and eat there. He settled for the drive through, figuring that he should give Anne a little space. He had been with her for two days straight. He pulled off of the main road into a small diner. There was no drive through, but he reckoned that it wouldn't take long for them to make him and egg and sausage sandwich.

As he walked through the door, however, his name was called almost instantly.

"Mark!" Jackson's voice called. It was loud enough for Mark to hear, but not enough to bring them too much attention.

Mark smiled and turned, trotting over to him. "Hey, Jack."

Jack nodded to the chair across from him. "Sit down. I thought I was only one crazy enough to be up this early."

"I didn't have anything to eat other than potato chips at home, so I thought I'd stop here."

"I took a look at your girlfriend's house yesterday, and I just-."

"Girlfriend?" Mark asked, his eyes going wide.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Anne McCourtney, Mark."

Mark laughed and rubbed his eyes. "She's not my girlfriend. Don't call her that."

Jackson raised a brow and then rolled his eyes. "Fine. She's your intimate friend that is a girl. Anyway, I went to her house yesterday and looked at her roof."