Always Be Forever

Chapter 9: James

2090, BCE, October 1

The next morning after Jasmine and I were running around frantically looking for Cashmere the night before, I had woken up to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes made on the stove with coffee brewing in the kettle. Getting out of bed, I felt a light breeze of wind blowing through the window. Shaking, I got up and closed it right away. It was still quite cold, so I had tucked my hands underneath the comforter and rubbed them together, trying to warm myself up. "What happened last night?" I hear Cashmere ask as she enters the bedroom with her pyjamas on, and her housecoat on. Oh how I longed to be warm. My hands rubbing under the comforter isn't enough. "Come sit," I tell her. She sat beside me and grabbed a blanket for me. "Thank you," I muttered as she had put the blanket around my back. "It's going to be cold out today," I had told her, while bringing my hands back out from under the comforter and blowing warm air into them. It must've snowed last night and I had the window open.

"I don't remember much about last night. Did I do something stupid or something I shouldn't have done?" She had asked me. The only thing that I know of what happened is that Aaron and Rachel had crossed the line, but I still can't say anything to Cashmere, even though I want to tell her, I don't know what fully happened last night. "I don't know honey. You might've just fainted, but your mom and I had found you in time. You were with Amy, and she was feeling really sad. I remember you had told me that you wanted to help her, and I had let you. But things had escalated and you weren't feeling well. What's the last thing you remember?" I had asked her, while seeing the air coming out of my mouth. It was so cold. "I just remember seeing Mrs. Gunmerson offering me some punch, I had grabbed the bowl, drank it, and I don't remember anything after." She had told me. So Rachel had spiked the punch. "Maybe you got tired from drinking it all that you blacked out. You have to remember, I don't have all the answers to everyone's questions. Including your mother." I had told her. I was still tired and cold. "Can you grab me my housecoat please?" I had asked her, my hands were shaking again.

Cashmere had got up and grabbed my housecoat from a rack hidden in the closet Jasmine and I share. Cashmere had grabbed the dark blue housecoat and gave it to me. I had put it on as Jasmine had entered the bedroom. "Cashmere, can I talk with your mother alone?" I had asked Cashmere. "Okay. Is there something that I should worry about?" She had asked while heading for the door. "It's nothing for your concern," I tell her. "There's a plate of pancakes with a coffee on the table for you-" Jasmine had started, but I was able to close the door before she finished her sentence. "Missing girl," Jasmine had quietly told. "Jasmine, you cannot say anything to Cashmere about last night." I had told her. "Why not? Shouldn't she know what happened?" Jasmine had asked, raising her voice. "Calm down," I had told her before she took a deep breath. "Okay. Why? Is there something you're not telling me?" She had asked me. I wasn't ready to confess about the days that I had worked with Hector, Aaron, Rachel, Finn and Fiona. Hector and I were in our 20s when we had worked with them, but we had stopped, because as Aaron had told us, we "betrayed" them. All we did was try to protect our families, what's more important than that? I really don't know what's going on with Aaron, and I don't want to know.

"It's complicated," I tell Jasmine. "When will I know what's going on?" She had asked me before I went in to hug her. "You will know when the time is right for you to know," I tell her before I kiss her on the forehead. "Until then, you don't say anything to Cashmere about last night." I tell her. "Okay. There's a plate of pancakes with a coffee on the table for you," she told me before heading out. "Are you going to come out?" She had asked me. "Yeah I will, I just need to take care of something." I had told her before she headed out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen. I grabbed my phone out, pulled up my contacts, found Hector's information, and sent him a text saying: "Hey old friend, it's James. We need to talk. Meet me in the old park?"