Page 10 of Hesi-Dating
It's me, not him, that's the problem.
ChapterFour
JOLEY
Forty-eight hours later…
I wasn't helpless. I could change a flipping tire.IfI had the right tools. My moron brother, Marino, had removed both the jack and spare tire from my car to fix a flat on his own car last week, and in his laziness didn’t put either back. I slammed closed the trunk and stared at the rapidly darkening sky.
A scroll through my contacts list didn’t help. Marino had driven up to LA this morning for a comic book convention—likely taking the jack with him. My sister was at work at the veterinary clinic on second shift. She texted an hour ago to say she had a big surgery that would keep her late. My other brother, Bruno, was taking a test in one of his night school law classes. We might not be blood relatives, but the history the four of us shared as foster siblings made us closer than most related people. The few friends I'd made in hygienist school might help me, but I wasn't close enough to any of them to ask they drive an hour north of San Diego.
Gino answered on the fourth ring. "Hey, Gino, my car's got a flat up in Encinitas. Can you help me out?"
"Oh, darling, I want to but I'm on a date in Old Town with that guy you picked out of those who matched with me on the Find Forever app. I haven't been to this place in ages. It's cute even if it's overpriced and touristy. If you're in a serious pinch, I'll bail or detour our date."
"No. I'll figure it out. Is he nice? His eyes looked kind in his picture."
"He's sweet. Looks amazing in jeans too.” He called out, “Yeah, I'm talking about you.”
“Call me later or tomorrow morning to let me know you made it home," I said as I hung up.
My finger hovered over Seth’s phone number. I shouldn't. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to text him. This wasnotme asking him out on a date. This was me asking for a favor.
Are you free to ask a favor?
Hot Sheriff
What’s up?
I’m at the Encinitas library with a retire.”
You're retiring at the library?
It took me a moment to read what he'd written and re-read what my voice-to-text interpreted.
Flat tire. Borrow a jacked car?
You have a flat tire and need to borrow a jack? And you're at the library?
Damned auto spell correct. Yes.
I used that excuse often for my mistakes when texting.
I’ll be there in…phone says 23 minutes. Can you get somewhere safe?
Am in library lot.
The library closes about now.
Will sit in the car.
Lock the doors and stay inside with your phone ready to dial. Call if anyone approaches you. I mean it. Anyone.
I spent a minute interpreting what he'd written. When I did, I smiled.
The overprotective words gave me the warm fuzzies. They reminded me of my brother, Bruno, who’d probably have preferred I called him, even though he was taking an exam.
The lights of every car passing made me jumpy. Seth planted that seed of suggestion that something could happen. As the minutes ticked by, sitting alone in the dark, thoughts of all kinds of potential awfulness nightmared inside my brain. As far as weapons to protect myself, I had some pepper spray, which I already held in my lap. That was it.
