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She wove her way through the house and out the back door. She scurried as fast as she could around the front. She was afraid he would come after her. He had not emerged from the house yet. Summer went immediately to the bike and knocked it over. She sprinted with everything she had and then darted into the yard of a neighbor. She spied, watching him leave her house. She heard him curse as he discovered his bike. She definitely heard him say he was going to kill her. Duran started up his bike. Mercifully she didn’t do enough damage to it to prevent him from driving away.
Chapter Five
Summer found the safety of her home. She quickly locked all the doors and windows. She couldn’t call Wilson because he had made it clear he didn’t want anything to do with her. The best night of her life led to the worst morning ever. She showered, made herself breakfast and a plan.
Between her parents and Wilson, and even the bartender at Rowdy’s, Summer was tired of being treated like a kid. She was eighteen. She was a grown up. But she decided she would compromise with her parents. She checked out the community college on her computer. She decided she would walk back down to Rowdy’s before the lunch crowd to fill out an application. She brought her mace with her. If Duran ever got near her again, she was going to let him have it.
The trip to Rowdy’s was a total bust. Before she had gotten there, apparently Wilson had talked to them first. Her heart sank.
“Why?” she asked trying to not cry on the interview.
The manager smiled faintly. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good place but it’s just not the place for you.”
“You’re absolutely right,” she said proudly. “It’s not the place for me.”
The walk home was brutal.
But time passed. Weeks. Summer came to an agreement with her parents. She went to the community college which pleased them and they shared a car with her so she could work part time at the grocery store.
The job was easy enough. It was physical but still she was doing well. She was dogged by exhaustion. She was wondering if school and work was a bit too much. She was actually glad for the heavy schedule since even though their time together was so brief, Summer was heartbroken over Wilson.
In the middle of one of a shift in the second week or so at the grocery store, Summer got a text from her father that there was a broken window in the kitchen door and did she know what that was about?
The first person who came to mind was Duran. She had not told anyone about that day when he tried to overpower her in the house. She thought twice about suggesting him because there was nothing specific except that Duran was scary that supported his being involved. Summer put it out of her mind and finished her shift.
She was so tired as she drove home, she could hardly keep her eyes opened. Even though tomorrow was not even there yet, she was dreading her shift to come. She was so tired already she needed to have the time off. She felt like she could sleep forever.
When she got home, she was shown the broken window by her mom. Her father had patched it temporarily. During the course of the conversation her mother stopped to ask her how she was.
“You look different,” she said.
“Different?” asked Summer. “I thought you were going to say I looked tired. I am beat.”
“Maybe that’s it,” said her mother.
But it didn’t sound like she was convinced. Summer went to bed. Her plan was to go to school and to work the next day. Just two more days until the weekend and she would get some rest when she wasn’t doing homework. Suddenly she was obsessed with sleeping. She crawled under the covers and sank into sleep.
Chapter Six
Summer’s deep sleep didn’t last as she expected. The sound of her mother’s car alarm woke up the household. She could swear she heard the sound of a motorcycle. Her father rushed with the keys out the door.
“You’re kidding me!” he shouted.
Summer and her mother were soon at the doorway. All four tires of the car were flat. Immediately, her dad called the police and then called the roadside service. Again, Summer thought of Duran. Since the cops were coming, she thought it was time to let them know about him. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure he had anything to do with it but she had to say something.
Her parents told the cops about the series of incidents and Summer told them about Duran. They dusted for finger prints but since Summer’s dad patched the window and the fact that Summer said Duran had been in the house, there might not be much they could do. They took a report.
Summer’s parents were furious for keeping what happened with Duran a secret from them. Just as things were sort of on track with her going to school and work, the morning started horribly, complete with another family fight. At one point, she rushed into the bathroom and threw up.
Miraculously, the rest of the day was uneventful. She had enough energy to get through class and to go work. The store was not busy and because of that, they let her on the register. She wished she could stock the shelves or something to take her mind off of things instead of just standing, waiting to ring people up. Thoughts of Duran, made her long for Wilson. It made her play the night that they shared, over and over again. She was so emotional for some reason. More so, she thought, than was called for. She only hoped that her emotions weren’t showing to her co-workers.
She was wiping the counter, trying to stay busy. A customer sets his stuff down on the conveyer belt. Summer looked up. Wilson. He looked at her with look that was a mix of sadness and endearment. It didn’t look like he didn’t want to see her.
“Hello,” she said stiffly.
And she began to ring up his things. Wilson touched her hand and stopped her.
“I don’t want to get you in trouble with work but I need to talk to you about Duran,” he said.
