Her Mate

Chapter three

The next couple days went by slowly. Mostly because I still couldn't make up my mind on if I wanted to go to my parents house for the family BBQ or not. Actually, I did know, I didn't want to go. Though the more I thought about it the more I realized that I should. Joann was right as much as I hated to admit it. He has had a stroke last year that really did a number on him according to her. I of course refused to visit him in the hospital and I haven't been sure it was the right thing to do since. It's simple to justify it by telling yourself it was to prevent a fight that wouldn't do anyone any good but... I let out a sigh.  Screw it! I picked up my phone and messaged my boss about taking Saturday off.

It was time to close but I really wasn't in the mood to return yet so I figured I'd do some cleaning before I left. As I walked over to flip the sign I could of sworn I saw someone across the street. There was nothing over there but a field so it didn't make much sense. There was some trailers about a mile down so it could be someone out for a walk.

I went ahead and started cleaning the machines then swept and mopped the floor at about a quarter to one I figured I had stayed here long enough and headed out.

Getting into my car I started it up and reversed it from its parking spot when it started rattling. "What the..." I got out and checked what was wrong to find my front passenger tire completely flat.

"Shit!" I kicked it as if that would fill it back up only to hurt my ankle again that was actually starting to feel better. "Shit!" I screamed again louder. Limping over I popped the trunk only to find out my jack was gone. "Shit!"

I knew Jake had taken it and would probably freak out if I called him. Would it be all that strange to call a guy who stole your jack to help you in the middle of the night? Didn't seem so but he'd be pissed about having to tell his wife. Yes, he's married. Fact of the matter is a lot of guys have a thing for us. Problem is, they don't want anyone to know about it. Yes, it's fucked up! Just like the rest of it.

I could call Joann but I really didn't want to wake her and i knew she'd scold me for this. She hated Jake the moment she met him and didn't even try hiding it. I didn't want him to hurt her so I always tried to keep them apart and not talk about him around her. That means I'm having to walk. Great!

I looked around uneasy and noticed that the full moon was out tonight. Some clouds were just partly covering it and it looked beautiful. Still, i hated the idea of walking back especially this late at night. I wasn't afraid of anyone trying anything but people did fly down the road and it being so dark means one could easily be hit if a driver wasn't paying attention. I locked my car up and started walking.

As I approached the intersection about a half mile from the store I could hear loud music blaring and people partying. I ignored it as I turned east on the old road to head into Langhurst.

"Hey beautiful, ya wanna join us?" I heard some guy call out to me making my heart race. I started to walk faster not answering him. He was obviously drunk and my ankle was really hurting me. Why did I have to kick the stupid tire with the same foot I injured? Stupid, Crystal. Just stupid!

"Hey! I'm talking to you." I could hear him jogging up to me putting me on the edge of freaking out. I tried taking some deep breaths to calm myself down but it wasn't helping. Just be polite Crystal. Tell him you're just walking home from work and you have to get up early tomorrow.

I turned around facing him just as he got to me. He was young about 23 or so with a shaved head. Just like the girl from the other night he too had the strangest eyes. Green with hints of yellow that seemed brighter than they should be especially as dark as it was here. "Hey sweetheart. We got a party up there. You're welcome to join us if you want."