I was placed on the bed and more or less locked in the room. It wasn’t like there was anywhere to go with the splitting headache I was having. At some point after sleeping my 6th round of sleep and getting tired, there was a knock on the door. “How are you feeling?” “Like hell.” I groaned and tried to sit up. Aly rushed to help me up and after, took a step back, looking at me with murderous intent. “What did I do now?” I folded my arms against my chest and waited for her to speak. “It’s not you. It’s the person who put you in this position.” I rolled my eyes but it also turned out I wouldn’t be able to do that either until it didn’t feel like a nail was being drilled into my head. “Jack gave me something to give you. It’s in your bag.” “What is it?” “I don’t know. He dropped it with the nurse to give it to you but since I was there to pick you up, she gave me instead.” She handed me my bag and I took it out. “Aww.” It was a little key chain with a doll, with my name on the tin
I was being babied to death. I could not move without someone – Alyssa complaining that I should wait for her. Jared made me soup before leaving and it was a sight I should’ve witnessed but I was too deep into my sleep. He said he while he could come and go as he pleased, he couldn’t make it too frequent or it would still seem suspicious since I was now missing from school. Well, not missing but.. “Aly, I think I can feed myself just fine. I hit my head, not my hands.” “Open for me.” It was torture and I couldn’t wait to be back in school. I also needed to go back to my dorm to pick up some clothes and books I needed for the test week. “Give me that.” I pulled the spoon from her hand, causing the table to shake. Thankfully, nothing spilled. She grumpily left me alone with my food which I was extremely grateful for. I picked up my phone now sporting its new keychain that Jack bought for me when I heard the notification sound. ‘School is so boring without you.’ ‘I feel great no
JARED’S POV “She’s been like that since Damien brought her.” I pinched the bridge of my nose as I took a look at Leah. She was in shock. I’d never seen her in that state before. She wouldn’t talk, she wouldn’t move, no matter how many times I called her name. I turn to Damien with a clenched jaw. “Tell me exactly what happened.” “He doesn’t need to.” Aly handed me her phone as she sighed. There were images of Leah on the floor in her room and blood? “Aly, what the fuck is this?” “Apparently, her roommate received a package on her behalf. That was what was inside. “My God.” I dragged my hands down my face. She was fucking traumatised. I picked up my phone and made a call to one of my friends. “Can you take down a few images for me?” “You can bet on it.” I sent him the details and he promised to work on it immediately. “This is Leah's phone. The person sent her a message shortly after.” Damien handed me her phone. My eyes narrowed at the message and the more I read it, the a
JARED’S POV “How’s she?” Aly asked. She hadn’t slept a wink even when I begged her to. “The doctor said she’s stable for now but that whatever she’s going through will come back because the event triggered something she’s been suppressing for a while and she needs help with it.” “So, it’s not physical.” I shook my head no. “It’s mental.” I let my head fall against the chair in Aly’s room, where Leah rested. I would not leave her side until she was okay. “Have her papers been processed?” We’d both come to the idea that Leah would take a leave of absence at least till the whole thing died down and she was okay. “Yeah. She can take her tests when she’s okay.” “How’s the search going?” “They’re getting close.” This was me being hopeful that I’d made the right call and not thrown them head first into the bush. “You should rest.” Aly’s eyes were closing but she was forcing them to stay open. She shook her head. “I’m fine.” “Sleep. It doesn’t make you any less her friend. You’ll be
LEAH'S POVFLASHBACK!I pulled the drapes and allowed sunlight to get in. The place was in disarray and there were empty pill bottles scattered across the table.I was fed up with cleaning after her but she was my mother.Every day, I have to pick up after her because she won't go to work and she wouldn't leave the house.The rest of the money we had, that I saved up from working at the local store, she burned up buying bottles of beer.The whole place reeked of alcohol as I tried my best to make house look less of an abandoned vicinity."Mum, it's 2pm." I'd returned from working at the store only to find the house covered in mess as usual.I groaned as I bent down to pick up bottles. My mother didn't budge."Mum, wake up!" She was in the same position I left her when I left for school in the morning. She groaned as she rolled over to look at me without actually seeing me.I kissed my teeth in anger. She'd just stopped caring about me a long time ago.Every morning, shed mourn the dea
LEAH'S POVI squinted hard as I tried to recognise my surroundings."The lights." a voice said from a distance. My muscles felt sore and heavy as lead."Leah?" "Hmm?" My throat croaked. I rubbed my dry throat."Water." How was my voice this cracked? I reached blindly for a glass and felt the cool glass against my palm.I gulped down the entire glass at once and it gave me enough strength to fully open my eyes.There was a face I couldn't recognise. My face scrunched up in confusion and the man must've noticed."I'm Dr. Philip." There was a blank expression on the man's face. I looked around to be sure I was in the right place. "Aly?" I tried to call my voice didn't go far. As if she'd heard me, she walked in with Jared. Both of them had a look of relief on their faces.Why?"What's..." I cleared my throat."Wha..." Jared approached me lightly."It's okay. You didn't have to speak. You can write."He handed me a notepad like he'd been expecting this to happen. I was confused as hell.
"I have to go back to classes." I'd had enough. The boredom was killing me. The silence was killing me. The looks were killing me."Leah, you can't." I crossed my arms in defiance. My voice was back and I was using it to the best of its capacity. I'd been screaming the house down for days since no one would let me go out or tell me what the hell happened and why I was out of it for five days."Why?" Jared and I had been fighting non-stop for days too. He wouldn't let me leave the house and he wouldn't let me touch my phone. Why couldn't anyone understand that I was going crazy just trying to figure everything out without their help?"It's just not time yet." Jared frowned and I could see the fight behind his eyes. "Okay. Then give me my phone." I held out my hand but Jared's frown deepened."I can't do that.""Why the fuck not?" He scowled at my use of language against him."It's not just time yet.""What the fuck does that even mean?" I threw up my arms in exasperation."Everyone
JARED’S POVI couldn't stop her if I wanted to. Not with her in that state.The doctor had called me outside a week ago to tell me that Leah had amnesia and that we should keep her away from any mental triggers as her breakdown could be worse than the one that had happened before.No one, absolutely no one should go through that can of traumatic experience. What was worse was the fact that she couldn't remember. Her body couldn't handle it, that was why we - I insisted that she stay home and rest.If over the couple of weeks she didn't remember, then maybe she wouldn't either and the news would've died down by then. But yet again, I had failed to protect her.When Aly came home, she went to Leah's room as usual to check on her. When she didn't find her, she came back downstairs. I'd been staying at their place for the past one week. I didn't want to but Aly said it would be good for Leah to keep seeing me. The way she'd stormed out of the house said otherwise and I couldn't really
Jared and Leah did become friends again but their interests lay somewhere else. They realised they were made for bigger things and they would do that outside the cave they once existed as lovers and even if something were to happen between them, it would take more time than expected for it to happen. Aly, Aarav, Jared, Jack and Leah remained friends but things would change over time. Work, family, life and ambition would force that circle to expand to others too. You may imagine that Leah and Jared ended up together or not. You are the author of that story, a work of fiction is a work of fiction. Author’s Note (I hope this doesn’t come off as offensive): I’ve seen some comments about therapy seeming like a bad thing. Therapy is not weakness, it is an admittance that you need help you may not be able to provide yourself. Mental health issues are not a joke and deserve audience. Some of us have been through traumatic experiences, loss of loved ones, accidents, bullying, harassmen
THIRD PERSON'S POVLeah looked different. There was something about her, like a light that surrounded her and her eyes looked burdenless. Maybe it was the Norway air, but she seemed ... better. Both she and Jared did."Mr Deric?" The secretary had her head cocked to the side, wondering why her guest was awe-struck, standing in the doorway."Sorry." Jared shook his head and walked in. Leah had a smile on her face as she watched him walk in. She recognised that air of confidence that usually surrounded him and couldn't stop watching him.Her attention was called by the men that surrounded her, as she spoke, she seemed to put everyone in a trance. Jared didn't hear a word she said, only observing how comfortable and right at home she felt."I have called this meeting here today because of a different kind of alliance about to be brokered between Norway and the US. Miss Leah Thomas has come as a financial representative of the BridgeStone Foundation, a company spearheaded by the governmen
Jared’s POVLetting Leah go was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do but I did it for her and myself. I was wrong to assume she’d come running back to my arms because I saved her. I smiled wryly to myself.I hadn’t seen her in quite a long while and our paths never crossed again. Aly was beyond pissed that she tried to leave without telling her but she quickly forgave her when she saw her condition. They talked all the time too and that was why I knew what she was up to most of the time.“Do you regret it?” I looked at the lady before me, she was seated behind her desk, peering down at me with curiosity. “What?” I’d zoned out for a minute and didn’t hear her.“Do you regret it? Letting her go.” I inhaled sharply. I’d been coming here for months. When Aarav asked me why I thought I needed a therapist, my reply was ‘who doesn’t?’“Not really. It was her decision but I got to understand much later. It would have been selfish of me to ask her to stay when she needed to go.” I f
I waited for him to clear his bed and offer me a seat before I sat. I shook my head internally. How did it get to this? I asked myself.‘You did it.’ I exhaled loudly and watched him perch himself on his work chair. He turned to me and rose his brows as if to say ‘what did you want to talk about?’ I cleared my throat and rubbed my clammy hands against my gown. I’d resorted to wearing gowns due to the fact that it was less constricting than most and easier to pull off, I just had to undo the zip and let the dress fall to my legs.“Yeah… uhm…” He continued looking at me and I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I found interest in the bedsheet. It was a fine looking colour, regal and plush looking. It felt so soft to touch, almost like you’d sink into it and be enveloped in a word of threads and fabrics.“Leah?” I hitched a breath when I heard his voice. No matter how many years I’d known him, no matter how many times he called me, I’d always feel the fluttering in my stomach whenever my name l
“I injured my spleen, not my legs. I can walk for myself.” I smacked Jack’s hands away from me. “It’s so you don’t try to run away again.” I rolled my eyes at him even though I felt a stabbing pain in my chest.“Pretty sure I can’t move past this house without falling over.” I’d been recuperating for the past week and Jack was coming over once in a while to check on me. Let’s just say he is more overbearing than most, and I thought Jared was worse.Speaking of Jared, he’d been avoiding me. The only reason I was sure he was even around the house was the fact that food and my pills were always made available. The pills I took made me drowsy for most of the day, so I spent most of it sleeping.“Have you seen Jared today?” I asked Jack as I swallowed my pills and washed them down with water.“Nope.” Jack said and turned the T.V on. If I was being honest, I feared speaking to him. No doubt, my accident had changed the dynamics of our relationship and I wasn’t sure if it had become worse o
Most of the time, situations arise, things happen and we are inclined to judge of the situation. It is easier that way because, sometimes, it makes us feel better about ourselves.When the tides turn and we become recipients of judgment, we understand the situation better. It takes a human to realise his mistake, but it takes a humble human to admit it. How many times have we judged a situation wrongly and admitted our error?We’re all guilty of hurting someone, friend, foe, lover… not intentionally but we seek forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t just feeling sorry, it’s also a way of cleansing our souls, freeing ourselves from the guilt.Jared never told Leah that he forgave her and she couldn’t forgive herself, she couldn't free herself from the guilt.***JARED’S POV “What’s going on?” I asked the doctor who’d just come out of the operating room Leah had been moved to. 14 hours was the longest time I’d had to wait for a report from a doctor and the expression on his face wasn’t looking
I ran my fingers through my hair, walking to and fro like a sojourner who had lost his compass, I’d probably lost mine. The ambulance had arrived shortly after but the Leah was already… I shook my head. ‘No, she can’t be.’ I couldn’t focus on any other thing than the fact that there were many doctors running with Leah’s gurney, one was on top of her, doing chest compressions. The sweat beaded on the doctor’s face told me they’d been doing it since she was in the ambulance.I was slowly losing my mind and Aarav wasn’t here. He was busy trying to sort everything out while I went with Leah. I didn’t want to leave her side, if only I could have followed her into the OR.“She has lost too much blood, especially with the damage to her spleen and hypothermia already seeped in…” I didn’t want to know all the negatives, I didn’t want to know what was wrong.“Can someone tell me, is she going to be okay?” I yelled at the people who had brought Leah in, who seemed to be conversing with a doctor
JARED’S POV“What are you going to do?” I flipped the documents that Leah had sent. I hadn’t had the chance to look at it because I didn’t want to, not initially. Anything involving her work place kind of pissed me off but when I finally did, I could stop the fear that ran through my bones that Leah could be in danger because of it and I needed to act fast.I looked up at Aarav whose facial expression mirrored mine. He too was very conflicted and while he trusted Leah, it would be a big move to change banks, disastrous if it was the wrong move. We had been using Marque and Co. for so long and the previous leadership had proved capable of handling our assets.This new guy, this Ryan Fisher, from the moment I first saw him, I knew something wasn’t right with him. What Leah had sent hadn’t pointed to him as the culprit but with just enough evidence to let us know that something shady was going on and we needed to act fast or we’d lose more than just money.“We should involve the cops.” I
I felt a kick to my head and I groaned, my head feeling like it was split open. I blinked my eyes to get accustomed to the light before trying to sit up, something I found difficult and almost impossible to do.I tried to move my body and realised I was bound hand and feet. This slowly entered my consciousness and my drug-induced haze cleared up, I was face to face with a horrid looking mask and I scrambled backwards, bumping into something that felt horribly cold to my skin, metal.The person in front of me moved back, giving me room to at least breathe.“What the hell is going on?” I looked around to see not one, like I had imagined, but four people, armed with guns. My heart started to beat faster than normal at gauging my situation and my throat felt dry. It was dark outside and I realised I must’ve been asleep for hours.I was going to miss my flight, if I even made it out alive in the first place. No one replied me and I couldn’t even make out anything with the ridiculous outfit