Hope

Chapter 17

Jason and I looked at each other. I had decided I was going to open the envelope. It would be fine if there was something upsetting in it. At least we can go through this together, and I might just be overthinking.

With shaking hands, I removed the ribbon. It felt like I was about to unravel a mystery that I'm not sure, I would like. I closed my eyes and opened it. I felt nervous, as I pulled out the thing inside it. 

My suspicions were proven right It was a photo. I furrowed my brows in confusion before letting out a breath. In the back of my mind, I was so sure the envelope contained something horrible but now I was glad it didn't. 

Jason scrutinized the photo carefully his eyes squinting. I did too. There were two women in the photo and a man. I didn't know either of them. One of them was wearing a grave expression like she hated smiling. I shivered as I met the cold stare, she had coal-black eyes and was wearing a black leather jacket and pants. Her left hand was clenched.

Beside her was a man who looked similar to her. Cold black eyes that could freeze a volcano every aspect of him breathing hatred. He towered over both of the women. At least 6 feet tall. There both looked the same, yet so different.

The woman in the middle was the complete opposite of them. She on the other hand had a bright smile on her face and looked extremely happy. Her black her shined in the sun. I didn't know her personally to know that she was a bright person. But I might be wrong. You never know how happy a person looks on the outside and how much they're hurting inside. She was holding a baby in her arms. That didn't look older than a year or two.

I think it might have been at that moment that, me and Jason, we both went still. Both for different reasons. I had never felt such intense fear before. It felt like someone had dropped a rock on my chest. I stopped breathing completely. The woman holding the baby. I examined her face closely. In a matter of minutes I knew. 

I saw it. 

I saw her bright green eyes. They shined brightly due to her pale complex. I saw the resemblance she held with the baby. I saw her in a way I had never seen anyone before. The clock ticked behind me, somehow it was deadly silent. I let the picture go shuddering and shaking. I clutched my hair my vision becoming blurry. 

For a second I thought I might be hallucinating. The world had gone completely still. I had never been so sure about anything else in my life. 

It was my mom.

I picked the picture up, but it looked blurry. I was tearing up. I rubbed my eyes. This is insane.

"That woman" I heard a soft voice, Jason had gone pale as he examined the picture. He looked as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"That's my mom" I whispered softly. "Did you know her? The one in the middle"  I asked

"No not her," he said. "The one on the right."

I stared at the picture again, it was making me feel blue. Jason didn't seem shocked by the fact that my mom was in the picture too. I expected him to ask a lot of questions.  "What about her?" I asked looking back at him.

"How did your mom know her?" he whispered

"I-I don't know why? What about the woman"

Suddenly a loud horn went off, and we both flinched at the loud noise. Getting up I placed the picture back on the sofa, a thousand questions running through my mind. I walked to the window opening the curtain, past the fog I could make an outline of the car. Someone came to pick me up. I sighed knowing that I won't be getting any answers today, about the woman. I went back to Jason who still seemed distant.

"My brother's here to pick me up," I whispered softly Rubbing my face, I picked up the picture and placed it in my back pocket, my hands shaking the entire time.

He looked at me "Serah how long can you stay here? We really need to talk about that woman in the picture." He got up pacing around the entire room, looking for something. I furrowed my brows in concern.

 "Listen If I can come back tomorrow, I will, We can talk-"

"NO, you don't understand," He said. "That woman-" He let out a deep breath "Can you sneak out today at night"

I blinked, surprised by the sudden request. 

"Are you out of you're mind, there's no way" I laughed. He was standing a few feet away from me, arms folded. I realized that he wasn't joking. If Jason sets his mind on something then it was definitely going to happen and If I'm involved in this then there's no way I'm getting out without doing something I don't want to.

"I suppose you're going to tell me, you can't sneak out?" he raised his eyebrows and the evil glint was visible in his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes. "Yes and nothing you say is going to change my mind, let me clarify that. Secondly, I don't want to know anything about this woman just because she appeared in one picture with my mom."

"What if I tell you that they might have been friends?" 

I didn't answer. The fatigue was wearing off. I was genuinely very curious and he knew it. Maybe because only she could give me answers or at least some kind of exposure as to who my mom was. Any kind. I would be satisfied with that. 

"You can't prove that and I'm not ready to go on a late-night adventure just because you have a hunch"

"Who said I can't. And keep in mind this might be your only chance to get some sort of transparency"  He said.  "if there's even a small part of you that wants to know a little about this woman and more about your mom then we should definitely do what I'm saying."

"You seem very confident about that" I whispered. Looking through the window the fog seemed eerily calm. I was ready to risk it all, but at what cost. I'd be heartbroken if I don't find anything.  

He sighed, as if reading my mind  "Serah once you take a look you'll know what I am implying" He said a memory flaring through his eyes.