I found a completely shaded spot behind some overgrown bushes that lined the back row of the parking lot of her place.
“Showtime,” I muttered to myself.
I set a timer for an hour, so that I remembered to text her the fact that I had gotten to work. With my bike engine shut off and the darkness of the shrubbery cloaking me, I toggled through the camera angles of her place. I watched as she put all of the groceries away. I watched as she made her way into her bedroom and I figured she’d go right to sleep.
But instead, she came back out into the living room with a portable gaming device and plopped down on the couch.
She rolled over onto her stomach and began mindlessly kicking her feet.
Goddamn it, she’s adorable.
After about five minutes of watching her perch on her couch and play a game, I guess, on whatever that device was that she had in her hands, I lifted my head. Looked around. I wanted to keep an eye on who was coming and going, just in case that motherfucking vehicle showed up again. With that woman being chased to us in broad daylight, there was no telling what time of day they’d come by.
These motherfuckers were bold.
I didn’t like bold.
“Gonna be a loooong night,” I muttered to myself.
But it would be all worth it to know that Jasmine was safe.
12
JASMINE
My phone buzzed right as I harvested all of my strawberries in Stardew Valley. I paused the game just after loading them into the shipping bin so I could check my phone.
I smiled when I saw his text.
Ghost: Made it to work. Eat a bite of those snacks for me.
I placed my controller down and promptly sent him a text back.
Me: Just got done harvesting my strawberries. I’m about to be rollin’ in dough.
I saw him read the text, but he didn’t respond, and I didn’t like the feeling of disappointment that washed through my body.He’s at work, I thought to myself. He probably couldn’t check his phone without his boss breathing down his neck.
I knew how that was.
So I picked up my controller and got back to work on a virtual farm that I sometimes dreamt of owning one of these days.
Only for my text message alert to startle me awake.
“Huh? Wha?” I grumbled as my hand flopped around for my phone.
My console turned off. Fuck, where was I in the game? Shit, what kind of progress did I lose? My phone dinged out again, and I sighed heavily as I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes. I fell asleep upright on my fucking couch.
Damn it, I hated it when I squandered my only days off.
My phone dinged for a third time before I finally put my hands on it. And when I saw that I had three text messages from my boss, I leapt to my feet. Chips crunched beneath my feet, and I cursed to myself as the sharp shards raked against my soles. I hopped around, dusting off the crumbs onto the carpet so everything would be easier to vacuum up.
I checked my text messages.
Boss: Meeting in an hour. Need you there.
Boss: You’ll be taking minutes.
Boss: You’ll be compensated for your time, as always.
