Taking chances

inner demons and real ones

*once jasmine was showered and dressed she got her recent painting and her handbag with her phone and purse in hand for when the customer pays*

*jasmine pulls up to the address given in the customers email. She gets the painting and walks up to knock on the door. And of course to add o top of jasmines past luck in life, person one the other side of the door was the last person jasmine wanted or even expected to see*

Derick: well hello there! long time no see... *has a smug look on his face like he was enjoying how much he scared jasmine*

Jasmine: *was trying to keep her breathing under control but she was on the verge of a panic attack as all the flashbacks from high school began to take over her mind* h-hi! Im looking for... *looks at the email on her phone to check the customers name* Kelly Jenkins!

Derick: *still has an amused smile on his face at jasmine stuttering and being so nervous with him* right! *turns round to shout in the house* babe your painting is here! *smiles at jasmine one last time before Kelly appears at his side*

Kelly: *smiles at jasmine* thank you so much for doing this! What do i owe you? *gets her purse from her bag in the hall*

Jasmine: that will be £75 please! *smiles politely as she tries to ignore that Derick is stood right in front of her*

Kelly: *holds cash in her hand* ...50, 60, 70, 75! *smiles as she hands the right amount of money to jasmine* thanks again! Im sure my family will love this *admires the painting in front of her*

Jasmine: no problem at all! *smiles then walks back to her car, trying not to show how on edge she is from the encounter of seeing Derick*

*20 painful minutes later! Jasmine pulls up outside her art studio and just sits in her car to recollect herself and try to seem like normal before going in to see and speak to the people she works with*

*5- 10 minutes go by*

Jasmine: *still couldn't calm her mind and it was just putting her more on edge* FUCK... *slams her hands against the steering wheel and rests her head on it as she tries and fails to stop the tears from falling*

*a couple of minutes later! Jasmine hears her phone buzzing from an incoming call so she wipes her tears and tries to calm her breathing before answering the call*

Jasmine: *didn't even bother to see who it was* hello? *definitely couldn't hide the fact that she had been crying*

Elliot: *heard jasmines tone and he just knew something was wrong* jazzy, what happened? Are you at the studio yet? *tries to think of what could have happened in the last 30 minutes since jasmine left*

Jasmine: ...i just saw Derick! *whimpers a she tries to keep herself together*

Elliot: *his blood instantly boil at hearing that guys name* did he hurt you? What did he say? I thought you were dropping off that painting at a customers house? *wants nothing more than to knock the guy out and be there to comfort jasmine but he cant and that is frustrating him beyond belief*

Jasmine: he didn't hurt me! Im just a little shook up because i didn't expect to ever have to see him again.

Elliot: *relaxes a little knowing that jasmine isn't physically hurt* alright! Are you wanting to come home and just go to the studio another day? *would much rather have jasmine in his sight so he can keep her safe*

Jasmine: *thinks about her options for a minute and thinks about how she hasn't been to work much in the last few days so that's the thing that is keeping her from just running home* I cant come now! Ive got so much work to do! *was having an inner battle with her heart and her mind*

Elliot: its up to you! But i do think you would be better to have a little more time off so you can rest up before having to talk to your co-workers and have the stress of that, on top of everything else going on! *totally understands why jasmine wanted to go to the studio today while she was out the house. but the big brother protectiveness in him would much rather if she had a little more time off to properly get over the Derick encounter. Elliot knows she will just crash and burn otherwise and thats a lot harder to come back from for her*

Jasmine: *understands Elliot's concern so after another minute to think about it she decided to just head home* alright... I'm coming home! ...See you soon!

*says her goodbyes then hangs up so she can drive back home as quick as legally possible*

*another 30+ minutes later! jasmine parks her car and gets her handbag before locking up and going into the flat*

Elliot: *wheels out carlos' room after telling him what happened. He goes straight over to jasmine as soon as she walks through the door and catches her just as she collapses onto the floor sobbing* shh, your ok jazzy! He cant hurt you now! *was reaching down and rubbing soothingly on jasmines back in homes that she calms down before having a proper panic attack*

Jasmine: *wasn't calming down anytime soon because she was to far into her head* Why me... what did i ever do to have guys hate me so much... am i really that unappealing that guys just wanna hurt me all the time... *looks up at Elliot with pleading eyes as if he can answer the question of why jasmine keeps getting attacked by creeps*

Elliot: you have done nothing and you do not deserve this at all jazzy! Some guys are just idiots! *brushes his fingers through jasmine's hair as she lays her head on his lap as they just stay in the silence for a while as jasmine calms down* ...hey, how about me, you and Carlos cuddle on the couch with some popcorn and have a movie marathon together. We'll all just chill in the house today...Would you like that?

Jasmine: *lifts her head of Elliot's lap and wipes the tears from her eyes so she can get her vision back* ok...

Elliot: *is relieved that jasmine isn't crying anymore. He reaches out to help her get back onto her feet* alright! You go get comfy on the couch and ill go tell Carlos whats happening then ill get us all one drinks and snacks. *smiles as jasmine smiles back then collapses onto the couch and lazily kicks her shoes off before curling up under the blanket*

Carlos: *seen Elliot wheel into his room* how is she? *was worried because he hates seeing jasmine so upset*

Elliot: she'll be ok! She jut wants to have a movie day with us and stuff our faces with all the snacks we got. *smiles as Carlos smiles back* 

Carlos: Sounds good! *gets up off his bed and follows Elliot to the living room/kitchen area*