Jessica's Unraveling

By Darin Booton

American professional triathlete Jessica Chandler loves to race triathlons and steal! In her quest for the world triathlon title, she inadvertently gets involved with sadistic Brazilian mobsters, cobras, sharks and murder! Winning the world triathlon championship in Kona, Hawaii is her lifelong dream, however, her risky lifestyle puts her, her family and her friends in grave danger. The grit and determination she uses to finish 10-hour triathlons is now needed to save her life!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Darin Booton
• Release date: Jan 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311292063

Darin Booton

I am American novelist who lives in the suburbs of Chicago. My fiction ranges the spectrum from horror to suspense!

Book preview

Jessica’s Unraveling

Darin Booton

Published by Darin Booton at Smashwords

Copyright 2014

These stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER ONE

Eighteen hours ago, twenty-seven year old professional triathlete Jessica Chandler took ninth in the grueling Ironman Melbourne triathlon. After swimming, biking and running 140.6 miles, most people would rest the following day…not Jessica though.

She is in Fashion 10, an upscale boutique in downtown Melbourne, Australia, about to swipe a three thousand dollar Givenchy leather tote bag.

Jessica’s mind wanders for a fleeting moment back to simpler days in life, growing up happily in Santa Barbara, California in an affluent neighborhood with successful parents.

A woman’s voice startles her, May I help you?

Jessica snaps back to reality, Oh no, thanks, I’m fine.

She has been a professional triathlete for four years and loves racing triathlons and shoplifting. Racing triathlons since she was sixteen and shoplifting since she was twelve years old, Jessica questions which gives her the ultimate high - racing or stealing?

With her father’s encouragement, she began swimming competitively at the age of eight. Jessica improved quickly and dreamed of Olympic stardom. Placing a surprising seventh in the 100 meter freestyle at the California State Swimming Championships at age twelve was a dream come true for the young Californian.

The sheer elation she felt while standing on the red, white and blue podium that day was mind-boggling. Desiring more fame, winning a future Olympic gold medal became her obsession.

In the spring of her high school sophomore year, her uncle Josh competed in a sprint triathlon (1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 3 mile run) and Jessica was a spectator. Fascination swept over her as Josh stormed out of the lake and mounted his high-tech triathlon bike. In a flash, he whizzed away out of sight!

Josh roared back on his bicycle and without resting even a second, he sprinted out of the transition area and blasted off on the three mile run segment.

This is the coolest thing I have ever seen!

Josh received a stunning trophy for third place in the men’s 40-44 age group. The concept of a race that involved more than swimming intrigued the sixteen year old.

On the way home from watching her uncle compete, Jessica confided in her father that she wanted to do a triathlon. He questioned what her goal would be if she did triathlons. Dumbfounded by this question, she turned, looked him directly in the eyes and squealed, To be the best in the world, of course, daddy.

Less than two days after telling her father she wanted to compete in triathlons, he bought her a five thousand dollar carbon fiber triathlon bike. Jessica saw the shiny black bike with pink graphics and dropped to her knees, staring at it in awe.

Thank you daddy, I love you so much! she shouted while hugging him.

Jessica’s relationship with her mother was always somewhat distant and cold, however, she considered herself daddy’s girl. She felt that her mom was too prudish and self-absorbed. Resentment towards her mother grows year by year. Jessica knew how to play her father and she was spectacular at it. He always bought her expensive items and her wardrobe was proof of it.

Several girls in high school were jealous, specifically, Allison Zobrisky. Jessica and Allison were best friends through middle school, however, everything changed in high school. Allison and her friends poked fun at several girls in high school. Allison tormented Jessica repeatedly. Jessica hated Allison. She broke into Allison’s house during her sophomore year when Allison’s family was on vacation. She ripped off jewelry and knick-knacks from Allison’s room, in addition to Mrs. Zobrisky’s jewelry.

Her father’s plan was for her to attend college and then become a doctor. With a 3.8 GPA after her first semester in her sophomore year of high school, Jessica had plenty of options.

Competing in her first triathlon forty days after getting her new pink and black triathlon bike was a dream. Even though she recently started training, she planned on dominating! The Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile run) was a short triathlon and she aspired to finish within an hour.

A haze of fear enveloped her as she stood on the edge of the small lake about to compete with twenty-nine other girls in the 16-19 age-group. Jessica launched into action when the gun went off and swam as fast as she could. Concentrating intently on her stroke technique, she envisioned herself coming out the lake first to the roar of the crowd.

The open water of Santa Barbara Lake was extremely challenging to the young first-time triathlete. The lake was dirtier than the crystal clean swimming pools she normally swam in.

The swim was brutal! She was kicked in the head and ribs several times and at one point, thought she might have lost a tooth. The pain combined with the urge to win stirred a fire in her and she surged to the lead!

Stunning her father and mother by coming out the lake first, a smile appeared on her face when hearing the announcer bark, Out of the water first is sixteen year old Jessica Chandler of Santa Barbara.

Jessica was passed by a slew of girls within the first couple miles on the bicycle. This brought anger and dismay to her. How could she be getting killed by this much?

Riding into the second transition out of breath and distraught at being passed by so many girls, she found herself in seventeenth place after the bike segment.

Lobbing her helmet to the ground, she feverishly tried to run. The problem was that her legs felt like cement. It was painful to lift a foot, let alone run. Passing her mother and father in the first minute of the run segment, she peeked at them and mouthed the words, I’m dying.

Do your best kiddo, you can do it! her father shouted.

She was still bound to do everything to win. After a half mile of running, some of the heaviness subsided from her legs. Shortly after that, she passed a girl who was wearing a UCLA triathlon top. Darting in front of the girl, it dawned on her that this was probably a nineteen year old freshman she whisked by! Elation drove Jessica to put the pain of running out of her mind and to pass more girls. She raced across the finish line in an astonishing seventh place!

The feeling of finishing was exhilarating!

She told her parents after the race that she will become a professional triathlete when she’s older and nothing in this world will stop her. Her father was a little concerned about her not mentioning anything about being a doctor, but he knew she was young and still had plenty of time to change her mind. Remember Jessica, an education lasts forever, he kindly reminded her. Jessica wasn’t listening to her father’s lecture, she was picturing herself in triathlon magazines.

She continued to swim and run cross country in high school. Her fourth place finish in the state cross country championships her junior year led to several college scholarship offers. Her father hired her a triathlon coach after her junior year, which increased her power on the bike.

Jessica accepted a running scholarship to the University of Missouri and spent the next four years in Columbia, running for the Tigers. She spent her free time swimming and biking.

Jessica disappointed her father by telling him she was going to compete as a professional triathlete instead of attending medical school. The conversation is still vivid in her memory. She was home for Thanksgiving break and while at the dinner table, sobbed, Daddy, I have something to tell you. Even as a twenty-two year old senior in college, she was apprehensive about upsetting her father.

What is it pumpkin? he implored.

Jessica figured it was probably best to blurt it out.

Daddy, please don’t hate me. I am not going to medical school, I am going to turn professional.

He wiped his mouth and stood up from the table.

Daddy, can we please talk? she cried as he whisked out of the dining room.

Jessica heard the garage door open and watched him drive off. It was six long, agonizing hours