Chapter 3
The following day, Jasina reluctantly sat down at her kitchen table, having a hell of a headache from crying herself to sleep, and knew she had to make the call. She found the number in the phonebook and dialed, her heart thundering in her chest. Just when he answered, she hung up and shook her head, scrubbing a hand down her face. How the hell was she supposed to talk to him without him knowing who she was? She couldn't very well whisper over the damn phone!
"I need my car." She said aloud, sitting down and forced herself to dial the number again, drumming her fingernails on the table and closed her eyes when he answered. "Mr. Calaway?" She said in a disguised voice. "It's Jade..."
"Oh, hi. Your car just arrived." He said by way of greeting, busy signing a form for Mike before shooing the man away with an irritated scowl. "Uh...you can pick it up...in an hour?" He really didn't feel like telling her that Mike had popped her back two tires when unhitching the car from his truck.
"Mark, her back bumper is FUCKED!" Steve shouted.
"I will be there." She said in a low voice before hanging up, raking a hand through her hair, and stood up.
Jasina decided to wear black shorts with a black Harley Davidson tank top, her black shades over her eyes, leaving her hair down. She grabbed her keys and wallet, preferring not to carry a purse and slipped her black tennis shoes on before walking out the door, locking it behind her. It took her twenty minutes before Jasina finally saw the shop, having decided to walk instead of run, and jogged across the street before entering the shop.
Mark was in the garage with Steve, cursing fluently. "Damn it, I told ya NOT to tear it apart! Just to fix the goddamn tires!"
"Sorry, but this piece of shit ain't gonna last the week if it's not fixed. The transmission is shot, the water pump is leaking and she needs a new serpentine belt."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mark took a deep breath. "That all?"
"Nuh uh. Her joint bearings are goin' too, this thing is a coffin on wheels." Steve stood under the hoist, staring up at the underneath of Jade's car. "Yep, it's a goner."
Jasina swallowed hard as she took a deep breath to calm down before walking over to sit down, her head lowered, her elbows resting on her knees. Why was she here? Oh that's right, she needed her car. Damn impounders. She was going to kill them for putting her in this predicament. She was trying to stay away from this place, away from Mark, and it seemed as if the fates were doing everything in their power to make her life a living, miserable hell. She didn't realize Mark had come out, rubbing her temples with her fingers, staring down at her keys.
Raking a hand through his hair, Mark stared down at her. "Um...there's a slight problem." He said, wincing when Jade jumped in her seat. "Your back tires need replacin', they went flat." They fucking popped like balloons actually, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "And..." He hated saying that, it sounded so ominous. "You also need a new transmission, water pump, a belt and new joint bearings." The bearings alone would run about two hundred a pop.
Through the black shades, Jasina's eyes widened to the size of saucers. She couldn't possibly afford all of that! Not even with how much her articles were running her. Sighing resignedly, she slid the key on the counter, blinking tears away.
"I-I won't be needing it then." She quietly said, clearing her throat because she was afraid her voice would crack. That's what five hundred dollars got her and now she would have to find something else or simply walk. "Thank you." She started for the door.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Mark stopped her, feeling bad because his mechanic had torn the damn thing apart when he shouldn't have. Not to mention she looked like he had just announced he was shooting her dog. "Now just wait a second here woman. All you need to do is pay the impound fee. The tires will be paid for by Mike since he's the moron who blew them and the labor will be coming out of Steve's check." Since the jackass had torn apart her car just to entertain himself.
The guilt was gnawing away at her and she couldn't possibly let him do that. This was the man she ran out on! How could she take such a generous offer? She couldn't.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Calaway, but I can't accept that." She softly said, trembling against him since his hand was sending fire shooting up her arm. He could snap her in half if he knew who she was. Jasina had to get out of there NOW. "T-Thank you anyway." She slipped her arm out of his grasp and ran out of his shop, tears streaming down her face.
"Well what the hell?" Mark threw his hands up exasperatedly, not about to chase her AGAIN.
He was beginning to think Jade hadn't beaten her addiction at all. Someone that emotional and prone to running from people with damn tears on their face had to be jumped up on crack or something. Sighing, he went out to the garage and explained to Steve what had happened.
"Maybe she's just scared of you. You do look...kinda...evil."
"Fuck you."
"So what do I do with the clunker?"
"Fix the damn thing."
Jasina ran the entire way back to her apartment and by the time she was inside, she was breathing so hard her chest hurt. She wiped her tears away and threw her wallet on the table before going to her bedroom, not hungry in the slightest. She had no car now; at least she wouldn't have to run into Mark again, for awhile anyway. Sighing heavily, Jasina cried herself to sleep, not caring if the sun was still up. She just wanted to be left alone to wallow in her self misery. She deserved everything that was happening to her and refused to leave Houston. At least she was close to Mark and Arielle, which was better than nothing.
~!~
It took Steve two days to put the car back together, two because he had gotten sidetracked with other projects. "Purrs like a kitten." He said smugly, revving the engine while Mark listened, his head under the hood. "I gave this baby a tune up, that woman is lucky you're a kind man."
"I'm not that kind." Mark said, closing the hood, smirking as Steve cut the engine and slipped out of the car. "The cost of the parts are coming out of your paycheck."
Steve considered that. "And the labor?"
"You just don't get paid."
"Aww man."
~!~
With no car, Jasina was forced to walk halfway across town to go see her editor. She wore a pale blue tank dress with black two inch heels that she was comfortable with. Her hair was down and the glasses were over her eyes as always. She never went out in public without them. She finally arrived and walked to Trish's office, walking in and handed her the next article that would go in the paper.
"I'm sorry I'm a day late." She said quietly. "It's been a...stressful week. My car died so now I'm resorted to walking."
"I heard." Trish said with a smile, skimming the article and nodded. "Mark Calaway was in here." She said, gesturing for Jasina to have a seat, perching on the edge of her desk, her blonde hair hanging down her back today, catching the sunlight that came in through the window. "Your car is down in the lot, running good as new. He explained the situation to me." She held up a hand when Jasina opened her mouth. "I'm running an ad in the paper for him for a week, which cancels out the bill on the car. Consider it a bonus for your work, just keep delivering these wonderful articles and we won't mention it again."
Jasina opened and closed her mouth, but all she could think to say was, "Thank you."
They shook hands and Jasina walked out after retrieving her car keys, which Mark left with Trish, and headed down to the parking garage. Why would he do this? Granted, if he knew who she was, he probably would've junked her car. Jasina looked up and stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Mark standing there by the car, looking it over, and felt her heart begin to pound furiously. She could run or she could just face this head-on, like she'd been doing. Putting one foot in front of the other, Jasina walked over and seen his head pop up.
"You ran off without even lettin' me try to negotiate some kinda deal with you." Mark said, watching her walk towards him, having been checking the tire pressure, just to make sure. Steve had driven the damn car around like a kid, just to test it out, make sure it really was perfect. "Hope ya don't mind, I felt bad that you didn't have a car."
He still had a heart of gold and it actually made Jasina crack a small smile, though the sadness was clear in it. "Thank you, Mr. Calaway." She quietly said, letting him know how much she truly appreciated what he did for her. Jasina felt so guilty as she stared at the car, which looked like brand new. The body of it was completely redone, it looked like it could be sold at some car dealership for a good amount of money. The midnight blue in it didn't have a dent and the tires were brand spanking new. Tears welled in her eyes as she walked over and actually touched it, not believing it was hers, and had to take a deep breath before she broke down. 'Just wait until you get home.' She berated mentally before turning to face him. "You are too kind." That was the truth.
"I've been told." He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Look, it's not a big deal, Jade. Everyone needs help sometimes, even if they won't ask for it." His green eyes pierced her through her sunglasses. "My daughter constantly reminds me of that." He didn't explain WHY, it had to do with his now ex-wife -he'd gotten a divorce on grounds of abandonment- leaving him with a note and a two day old infant. Jasina hadn't been able to ask for help, she'd ran.
"I agree with you." She said, voice cracking from the intense emotion she was feeling at the moment. Jasina knew what he meant by that daughter statement and it hit her worse than a Mack truck. "I-I'm sorry to have been a burden. Thank you again."
She fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking badly, and finally managed to slip it in before opening her car door. She went to get in when his hand shot out, stopping her, forcing her to turn around to face him. Oh dear god those green eyes. Jasina closed her eyes, knowing he couldn't see through the sunglasses, or maybe he could. His eyes penetrated her right down to the depths of her soul, always had, and probably always would.
"Look, it's not a burden, okay? It's not charity either." Mark said firmly. "I've done some work for Trish before so this isn't the first time she and I have cut a deal. You need a car to get back and forth for work, she needs you because your articles help sell the paper. I need advertising so it all pans out, understand what I'm saying, darlin'?"
"Of course, Mr. Calaway." She whispered softly. "I fully understand. Thank you again for what you did." She wouldn't use her true voice, there was no way she could. Not to mention she was trembling from head to toe and had to get in her car so she could get away from him. He terrified her because of what she'd done. "H-Have a nice day." She turned and stepped inside her car, shutting the door and slid the key in the ignition, shaking before backing up after he was out of harm's way. She didn't take her glasses off until she was out of vision distance, crying the whole way home, the guilt eating her alive.
Shaking his head, Mark watched her go. He did have to crack a smile at how damn well that car ran, it purred like a kitten now. He briefly entertained the thought of cutting Steve some slack since he had worked things out to square up on the expenses. "Nah..." He murmured, ambling to his truck, smirking. Steve needed to learn how to listen. What better way to teach the guy then to dip into the paycheck?
