One hell of a Night

Jessie's POV

On that stormy night, I found myself racing towards the closing metal gate. I had been waiting all day for this opportunity.

The rain pounded down on my face making it difficult to see anything in front of me but it didn’t matter. I had to make it. I had to see him.

“Ryan!” I called out, almost running out of breath. “Ryan, please wait!”

But I was too late, the gate jammed shut before I could get in, and I collided with it at full speed.

I slammed hard into the cold piercing metal.

The impact of the collision sent me crumbling to the ground.

Blood oozed out of my arm, followed by an unbearable pain.

“Ryan,” I whimpered with tears in my eyes. As I looked up, I could see him standing at the other side with his new girlfriend.

My stomach tightened as he approached. Ryan Cookie, the man I once loved with all my heart, stood a distance from me like we were strangers. “What do you want here?!” He thundered.

I quickly gathered myself, and leaped to my feet.

“Please Ryan,” I pleaded, holding the metal bars of the gate with trembling hands.

“I need your help.”

Ryan came closer, his face hardened with contempt.

“We’re over, Jessie! Did you forget?”

“I have a new girlfriend now, I think you should move on and stop being so pathetic!”

I knew Ryan would be harsh to me, but I didn't have any other choice. He was my only hope.

“I have no one else to turn to, Ryan.” My voice cracked with despair,

“Please help me save my mother, I just need 50,000 dollars and I promise I’ll never bother you again”

Ryan bursted into a cruel laughter filled with mockery and disdain.

“You must be delusional. 50,000$? Do you think I owe you anything? Why would I care about your wretched mother? She can die for all I care!”

I knew he was harsh but wishing death on my mother was more than I could bear. He knew my mother was all I had left.

My heart tightened painfully in my chest, but despite the pain, saving her life was more important than anything else, so I swallowed my emotions and did what anyone in my shoes would have done.

I went on my knees, begging Ryan with tears in my eyes.

“Please, Ryan. Even if it’s a loan, I will pay you back for the rest of my life. Please Ryan, help me…”

“Look here, my money is not for charity, Jess.” Ryan sneered, “If you need a loan, go to the bank. Now, get out of here and never come back!”

As Ryan walked away, soft sobs escaped my lips, and memories of us flooded my mind.

For two years, we were so in love with each other, at least, I thought he loved me until my mother's health took a drastic turn.

It seemed as though Ryan was waiting for the right time to dump me.

He turned his back on me and moved on so quickly as if I meant nothing.

Was Ryan always this heartless? What happened to us? What really went wrong?

How could Ryan have changed so quickly? After all the promises he made to me, how could he have forgotten so soon?

I came here thinking he might still have a little compassion left for me. But he didn’t care. He already had a new girlfriend?

My knees gave out and I slumped to the ground.

For the first time, I realized I was truly on my own.

The sobs I was trying hard to control soon became a bitter cry of hopelessness. I thought about my mom in the hospital, I thought about Ryan’s sudden change and my heart shattered into a million pieces.

Out of nowhere, a stray dog hopped onto my arms as if he knew exactly what I needed. He was not 50,000$ but he comforted me.

I held on to him for a moment, letting the rain wash over me, silently wishing it could cleanse away my pain and suffering.

I was completely unaware of the sleek black car parked just a short distance away.

Gavin Pierre sat behind the wheel, his eyes fixed on the pathetic scene.

I didn’t see him at first, I was too wrapped in my own thoughts to have noticed anything else around me until the car door opened and two men approached, lifting me from the ground despite my weak protests.

——————

The next morning, I woke up in a room that spelled luxury- warm lighting, expensive furnishing and plush bed sheets that I began to wonder if I was a different person.

Baffled by my surroundings, I tried juggling my memory to make sense of what had transpired. A sharp pain on my shoulder quickly reminded me of my ordeal with Ryan.

“You’re awake,” a voice called out behind me.

I looked around in search of the cold familiar voice and there I found Gavin Pierre staring back at me.

My heart sank as memories of our past flooded back. A past tangled up with a lot of bitterness and regret. Instantly, I sprang to my feet and greeted him.

“If you are already this miserable, it doesn't make my revenge fun.” Gavin said in that cold voice that could still anything.

My heart sank as the word left his lips, “Revenge?”

Our paths had crossed briefly in the past, and I ended up hurting him badly, the situation was too complicated to think about. Yet somehow, right here locking gazes with him, the unthinkable occurred in my mind.

“I need a loan,” I blurted out, my voice almost inaudible.

“What?”

“P… please Gavin, my mother’s life depends on it.”

Gavin’s eyes hardened. “Really, that’s the first thing you say to me after taking you off the street?”

I was too desperate to think of anything else and I only hoped he would understand. “Please Gavin, I'll do anything if you give me $50,000. I’ll even forget our past…”

“Get out!” Gavin flared before I could finish.

He crossed into the room with quick steps and grabbed me by the arm.

“How dare you try to manipulate me?” He growled, gripping my arm harshly.

“Gavin, my arm…” I winced but he didn’t listen. He dragged me out of the room and shoved me outside.

“Don’t you ever bring up the past in front of me again, do you understand? Now get out!”

Before I could say anything else, the door slammed shut in my face.

I jumped, startled by the loud sound and fell to the ground. The reality of my life came crashing down on me again.

Even the sun was shining like it didn’t rain last night, yet my life remained like a bleak winter that had no end.

I regretted bringing up the past with Gavin. My life was already miserable, Gavin’s hatred would ruin me completely.