JasperGwen made me drive her to the hospital where Collins was admitted. She was elated this beautiful Saturday morning when she shared the news with me that May came to the Vet. Clinic to inform her that Collins might be discharged soon and that he had recovered. "Do you know where he's at?" I asked Gwen as soon as we got into the hospital. "We'll ask at the nurses' station," she said. A friendly-looking lady was going through some files as she entered the information into the computer. Gwen went on to talk to her. "Hi, please we are here to see Collins."She raised her head to give us a reply. "Collins? What's the surname?""Sorry. Rutherford. Collins Rutherford. He's nineteen. He has blue eyes, he's tall, broad shoulders and has silky brown hair."I looked at Gwen, trying to force my mouth that had fallen wide open close. The nurse was only asking for his surname. What's with Gwen describing his features? "Oh, May's nephew. Who are you two?""We are his friends.""Ok." She bro
Gwen"Wait a minute Gwen. I think I forgot my phone. I'll be right back." Collins ran back to the clinic to get it. I leaned back on the wall waiting for him to get his wallet. "Here, got it. let's go." He beamed, waving his phone at me. Just like he usually walked me after we were done for the day, he was doing the same right now. I was so happy when Collins showed up yesterday at the Vet clinic. I never expected that he would return so soon after he mentioned to me the last time we met that he would be back shortly. "Do you want some ice cream?" he asked as we passed an ice cream shop. "We can get some if you need.""Ummm…ok. Let's go," I said. He got strawberry ice cream for me because that's what I like and he got chocolate for himself. We sat down in the ice cream shop to have our ice cream.Collins looked around. "This isn't a bad place." His eyes fell on me. "What song are you listening to?" "How do you know I'm listening to a song? You can't see my AirPods, my hair is co
Jasper"Hey, man. Why are you so quiet today?" Reginald wasn't himself. He appeared distant and wasn't aware of what was going on around him. I struck his desk. "Hey!" This makes him jolt. "What's up?" he asked, looking lost. "Are you okay?" "Yeah. Why?""I don't think so. You appear lost. I've been talking to you but you aren't responding."His hands slide down his face. "Oh." "What's going on?" I asked, still concerned about his current mood. "Trust me, man, I'm good. I think today is one of those days that I don't feel awe—" He had stopped talking, his eye was fixed at the entrance of our class. What was he looking at? There was no one there, but I quickly caught a glimpse of someone's ponytail and I recognized the sweater she was wearing this morning. A pink color that softened her features and made he look so pretty. I was sure it was Gwen who had just passed by. What I did not understand was that even after she had passed, his eyes were still fixed on the door. "Who a
GwenI woke up to a rejection mail from the Vet. Clinic. I stared at the screen of my phone. This is unbelievable. How would they say I failed the two-week probationary period? I did everything that was required. There must be a mistake somewhere. Frank has some explanation to give me. He was so pleased the last time we spoke when he told me I had nothing to worry about. Was this a prank or what? I sat silently in the passenger's seat as Jasper drove us to school. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone. "You've been silent."I shook my head. No words could find their way from my mouth. "Talk to me," he whispered. I summoned the courage to speak. " I…got a rejection mail yesterday from the clinic.""A rejection mail."I nodded. "I failed the two-week probationary period. I… don't understand what went wrong—" I couldn't hold back the tears. I broke down in tears. The car suddenly came to a halt. Jasper unfastened his seat belt and moved towards my seat to hug me. "Stop c
JasperI didn't send flowers to Gwen. I ended the call to see for myself what she was talking about. I need to find out who sent her flowers and a note. My mind keeps going back to Collins. Perhaps he was missing her already and decided to send her the items. Fuck it! He shouldn't push me. Like a madman, I went to Gwen's house. Lionel let me in. Within seconds I was in her room. I pushed her door and she was startled by the way I suddenly burst in. "Jasper!""Where are they?" My eyes searched her surroundings. "Over there." she pointed at her dressing table where a bouquet of flowers sat. I picked up the flower. They were fucking pink Lilies. I flung them to the floor after taking out the note. If I were to send Gwen flowers, they would be Jasmine, not Lilies. That's what she likes. Who the fuck is getting my girl lilies? I read the note, then spun around to face Gwen. "There's no name. It says anonymous. Why did you think it was from me?""I don't know," she whispered. "When I
GwenI had to be careful not to step on the working tools on the floor. The renovation was still going on but it was more than halfway done. The front door was wide open. There was no need to knock. I stood by the door watching the workers move in and out of Zara's house. I moved to one side of the wall so as not to get in their way. Zara appeared. She was talking to some guy who had a large piece of paper in hand. He was explaining something to her and she was making directions with her hands. She looked up and saw me. Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me!" she said to the man. "Hi." I waved my hand. "Hi." she smiled. "Come in. Why are you just standing there?"She beckoned me in and took me to a session of the house that was much silent and wasn't as messy. I guessed this part where we were sitting was the part that had been renovated. "How have you been? And…school?""Great.""Good to hear that." I heard her say before she disappeared into the kitchen. In less than a minute she was b
GwenWhen Zara came back, she told me to follow her to her bedroom. She said there was something she would like to show me. She told me to take a seat, went to one of her drawers and brought out two pictures. She hands me one first. "That's me and your father." She passed the second picture. "And this is me and my friends from twenty years ago. The last picture we took together."My father looked very happy with her. He was a very handsome man. He held onto my mother like a little princess. He looked very tall, comparing his height with Zara's. "My father had long hair," I said smiling. It was shoulder-length hair. It looked good on him. "He did. I loved his curly long hair and gray eyes. His hair made him look different and more masculine compared to the low cuts or medium length hair men kept those days.""What happened to you all? Why did you all fall apart?""After the first time, I and your father met. We bumped into each other again at a gas station. He recognized me first. I
GwenZara shook her head. "I don't blame her. She was just following the rules and traditions set out for years. Aiden and his descendants are never to step foot in Silverwood Grove again. That was the price your father had to pay for choosing the outside world. Now, I was left with only one place to return to. My own home. But this time, I wasn't going to stay with you. I wanted to hide you away from the world and Aiden's enemy. I brought you to Melissa but I discovered Melissa had a beautiful baby boy who was a few months old. She would have taken you if it were left to her. I know she would have. But her mate didn't want her to. I didn't want her and her mate to have issues because of me and—"My phone blared causing Zara to pause. It was a call from Jasper. He called again but I didn't pick up."Don't you want to pick that up?" she asked. I shook my head. "No. I'll call him back later. What happened next?" Eager to know what happened and I had a newfound respect for Zara. She alr