Split Love

CHAPTER 9

MONDAY, October 15, 2018

After a rainy weekend, Jamie opened the curtains in her room and watched the sky, still dark but without clouds. She remained there for a few minutes, wondering whether to go for her morning run or not.

Deciding to go, Jamie dressed quickly, and with a beanie on her head, she ran through the streets to the entrance of the state park. An icy wind whipped at her jacket, which made her run a little faster, trying to stay warm.

15 minutes later, her heart was already racing, pumping blood rapidly through her body. The icy wind in her face no longer bothered her.

The silence at dawn was strange. Jamie could hear her heart beating and the boulders being crushed by her feet. The birds were silent that morning.

Jamie thought of her parents. She struggled, as she had at so many other times in her life, to remember the moments with them, but there was nothing. The images of the photos that were in her house came into her memory, but nothing more. For an instant, a thought about what her life would be like if her grandmother died crossed her mind. What would she do? Would she continue to live in the house she grew up in alone?

Alone?

She felt her right leg lose strength as she stepped onto the wet stone of one of the steps on the path. On reflex, she reached for the branch of the tree beside her, but her hand wouldn't reach. To protect her face, Jamie braced her forearms on the steps above but felt her knee hit the edge of the rock.

Her scream echoed through the silence of the forest.

- Ouch.

Jasmine sat on the icy stone and grabbed her leg, bringing her knee close to her chest. Despite the mud sticking to her pants, she could see the red of the blood.

- Shit.

Analyzing her arms, there were no scratches; her jacket had protected them. Maybe some purple marks would appear, but cause there was no blood, it already relieved her. Jamie tried to get up, but she could feel her knee throbbing in time with her racing heart.

One step. Another one.

Slowly, one step at a time, Jamie made her way back to her house. This time besides the pain, she was also cold.

Sitting on the wooden swing on the porch, Jamie slowly took off her dirty sneakers and jacket. Inside the house, she climbed the steps slowly—as much to keep quiet as because of the pain she was feeling.

With the bruise visible when removing her leggings, Jamie realized it wasn't a deep cut, and the blood around it was already dried. With a hot shower and a gauze pad on her knee, she started to feel a little better.

An hour later, Jasmine was opening the windows' shutters of the Willow Creek Public Library. A pile of books awaited her to be placed on their respective shelves, but today all Jamie would avoid was pacing and climbing stairs.

Sitting in front of the front desk computer, she focused on a list of books to be purchased.

Shortly after the church bell chimed once, marking 12:30 pm, Jasmine heard the Library door open for the first time that day. The cold weather the rain brought must have chased away the regular readers, she thought, not seeing the regular morning readers.

- Good afternoon. - She said, seeing out of the corner of her eye that there was someone standing in front of her at the counter. - Some help?

Jamie finished typing before looking up. Her heart stopped for a second before speeding up seeing who was in front of her.

- Good afternoon, Jasmine.

- Hello strange. - She greeted him. The corner of her lip curled into a half smile. A feeling of pride began to wash over her.

There he was. And this time Jasmine knew it was because of her.

-Willow Creek grew in your heart?

- It's still a strange little town.

- But you came back.

- To invite you to dinner with me. Tonight.

His invitation took her by surprise. She definitely wasn't expecting him to show up in town - again - let alone invite her to dinner.

Jamie pondered the fact that she didn't know him. She knew absolutely nothing about him, not even if his name really was Mikhail. After the last meeting, Jamie looked for him on social midias, but didn't find anyone who matched the name with the photo. Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Google.

Her lips parted softly, hesitantly Jamie kept her blue eyes on his. She noticed that in daylight, his eyes were gray, but inside, they were just a dark shade.

Micah noticed her hesitation.

- 7:30 pm I'll be in front of your house, waiting for you. - He said. His voice was calm, smooth. There was no demand or requirements.

With a wink, Micah turned around. A minute later Jamie heard the Library door open and close.