“We need to talk.” I hit send on the message and clutched the phone tight in my hands, waiting for his reply.I attended the remaining classes for the day but my attention was elsewhere.Even when I had been asked a question, I just blabbered on without thinking. Tests also had been announced to commence in a week’s time.I looked at my phone and refreshed for new messages. None came up.This man was keeping me on my toes for no reason and I didn’t like it. When my phone chimed, I quickly opened it but it wasn’t a message from him. It was a spam email.I groaned and slammed my phone on my bed. I grabbed a hoodie and baggy joggers and headed to his house since he was literally forcing me there.I hadn’t been in close proximity with him since the time at Alyssa’s office and I really hoped it was safe to go to his place at this moment.I knew where he kept the spare key and checked twice to make sure no one was watching. To be honest, his street was very secluded and I almost never saw a
I quickly ducked and squeezed myself in between the tiny space under the kitchen counter, trying to make as little noise as possible. The voices grew louder as they approached the living room. “Fuck fuck fuck.” I muttered under my breath. “You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed the looks the ladies in our department give you.” “What do you mean?” There was a hard tone to Jared’s voice like he didn’t like where the conversation was going. “Oh please Jared... I’m not a fool.” “I’m not saying that.” Oh he was. Jared knew exactly what he was talking about, even though it pained me to know that. “You don’t have to. Besides, Penelope said you turned her down and several ladies in the other departments.” Penelope? The first lady who’d asked if I was Leah at the meeting? Just how many people had a crush on this man? I heard the crinkle of fabric. Someone was taking off their suit jacket. “But still, if you had to pick one of them, who would it be?” I definitely hated this Dr. Ramon no
I sat on the bed for the longest time, wondering if I should go after him or give him some space.Like usual, I’d managed to ruin everything. The Hastings were the royalty of America. Everyone knew them and what happened to them but to think their son was Jared was wild.I’d opened a can of worms and now I didn’t know how to salvage the situation. I tried to put myself in his shoes and realised; I wouldn’t want to be left alone in that kind of situation.“Jer!” “Jer!” I opened almost every door but couldn’t find him. I didn’t think he’d left the house. His car was still there.I checked every room upstairs. I’d almost given up on the last door when I heard certain sounds.My jaw almost dropped open. There had been a gym in this house all this while?My eyes found Jared immediately. He was on his back doing bench presses. Each push made me wince in pain.I wasn’t sure he was doing it because it was his outlet for being hurt or he just randomly worked out in the middle of the night.
“You okay?” Alyssa had spotted me in my way to class and the worried look she gave me confirmed my fears. I looked as horrible as I felt.“Yeah.” I tried to muster up a convincing smile but it fell halfway through. I hadn’t even bothered to cover up my dark circles or tried to make my hair good enough that it wasn’t trying to fly into my mouth every second.My nose itched with another sneeze. I’d caught cold too.“You should go to the health centre.” She placed a hand over my forehead and jerked it away.“You’re burning up.” She blocked my path when I wouldn’t answer her.“I’m fine.” I seethed. I was going to class because I wasn’t some weak human who’d let a man dictate how my life would look like just because they didn’t want you anymore.“Leah, what’s going on? Did something happen?” Her brows pulled down in a mixture of worry and confusion.“What makes you think something is going on or that something did happen?” I hissed at her. I didn’t like the look in her eyes, it scratche
“Leah, what the fuck was that?” I rolled my eyes as I read the message. I had finally opened his message since the day before.He was referring to me storming out of his class.“Are you still talking to him?” Alyssa peered over my shoulder. “No.” I frowned, even though I itched to fire back at him. “You’d better not.” She placed her hand on my forehead and nodded.“You’re fine now.” Indeed I was. I felt great after sleeping through the night.“You know you can come stay with me, if you want.” I looked at her to see if she was serious.“Yeah. I mean it. My place is way too big for one person.” “I... I can’t do that.”“I’m not asking you to move in.” She glared at me. She was. That was Alyssa for you. She was as selfless as they came.“Right...” I narrowed my eyes at her, a small smirk playing in my lips.“I’m just saying that my place is open anytime you want. It can be a safe space for you.” My eyes glossed over with unshed tears. I didn’t deserve her at all and her place really w
Blocked!I was now purely Jared’s student. I had nothing to do with him except attend his classes if I wanted to. I’d taken my time to cry and heal and I was back to my normal self but a lot of damage had been done. People still looked at me weirdly, rumours still flew around that I killed but I hadn’t seen any writings on the wall since that day. ‘It was probably a mistake.’ I tried to convince myself but the odds that the person had found my room, written the words across the wall and then started rumours was not coincidental.It was very intentional but what could I do. I had no idea who it was and if it was some prank, it was quite extreme to say the least.I picked up my test sheet, going over it once more to be sure I hadn’t made any mistakes.I grabbed my bag from the seat beside me and went to submit.Unlike last semester, the tests were done quite closer to the exam period which didn’t make sense in my opinion in the first place. It meant we had to cover a lot just for t
We’d broken up. It wasn’t the end of the world. I couldn’t be petty forever because Jared wasn’t worth that energy.Each meeting we had, I made sure to be as civil as possible. I said sorry if it required it and I didn’t cause trouble.The fact that I’d been able to avoid Jared for as long as I could was shocking.We didn’t see outside meetings or classes and our paths continued to stay separate.What was more shocking was the fact that we could work together without it resulting to a fight. I tried my best as possible to not get irritated or pissed off when a lady was being overly friendly with him. ‘He’s not mine anymore.’ I would remind myself daily till when I’d finally come to accept it.“Hit send.” The room jeered. We’d worked endlessly for the entire week and we’d been able to come up with the abstract for the two topics and the entire research paper. Usually, these things took months but I’d worked extra hard on my own and Jared had too.I had to admit that Jared was incre
I found my exams tougher than the previous semester. Maybe because I was spaced out or busy crying when I should’ve been reading but I couldn’t afford my grades slipping.I was there on the premise of keeping a certain grade point or I could have my scholarship terminated. Life was tough but I wanted to prove that I was more than a charity case.I could hear the collective groans from my course mates when the invigilator had instructed us to dot our i's and cross our t's. I was just glad it was over. We’d also gotten the email back that our papers were accepted and we’d be travelling to Michigan in three weeks time. From one academic pursuit to the other.Jared and I hadn’t spoken since the cheese burger incident. I’d come to terms with the fact that we could exist as colleagues and lecturers.“You know, if anyone asked me, I would have thought that us being found out would bring our relationship to an end. Not us in fact.”Alyssa agreed when I reasoned out loud. I took one look at
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