Split Love

CHAPTER 16

SUNDAY, January 20, 2019

It had finally stopped snowing in Willow Creek. The streets were no longer white and Jasmine returned to her morning jogging routine.

With her heart beating fast and the muscles in her legs burning, Jasmine ran quickly along the state park trail. The icy air came down from the mountains, passed between the tall pines of the forest, and entered Jamie's lungs, which filled and expelled warm air. The smell was still of snow.

The only sound she could hear was her heart beating against her chest.

Jamie went around the fork but unlike other times, she didn't stop to catch her breath. On the narrow path, she dodged a fallen pine branch and quickly came down the few steps that were in the path. When she felt the wet little pebbles beneath her sneakers, it was finally time to stop.

She took the dark orange beanie off her head and with her hands resting on her knees, Jamie leaned forward and took a deep breath. The frigid air seemed to burn her airways. She put her hand on the back of her neck and could feel her hair wet with sweat.

The sky was blue and birds were singing and flying freely across the open space. It was past 8am, but there were still no tourists.

Jamie approached the waterfall and stopped in front of one of the tall rocks. The moment Micah reached out to help her up flashed in her mind. But this time she went up alone, like she always did before.

Two months had passed since Micah appeared in the library and his voice still echoed in her mind.

"Don't wait for me again, Jamie."

The way her name flowed from his lips made Jamie long to hear it again.

"I can't stop thinking about you, this is bad."

- Why is this so bad? - She whispered and leaned her body back, lying on the big rock.

This wasn't the first time Jamie had asked herself that question. Day in and day out, Jamie remembered him, and strangely she missed Micah.

As much as she didn't know him, something about the way he teased and challenged her, made Jamie want it all over again. She wanted to feel that spark. And their last conversation left no doubt that Micah thought of Jamie as often as she thought of him.

She closed her eyes and remembered the moment Micah had touched her face, the heat of his fingers tracing her lips.

Remembering the moment, Jamie wished he'd kissed her. It didn't matter that he was a stranger, it didn't matter that maybe she wouldn't see him anymore. Jamie wanted to kiss the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life, the man who haunted her thoughts, challenged her and raised dozens of doubts.

Micah appeared in her life in the blink of an eye, and in the next second, he was gone.

A feeling of exclusion and doubt filled Jamie's mind. Like a shadow, it invaded her mind and made a tear run from the girl's eyes.

It's like they all left, without me getting to know them.

The sound of the crystalline waters splashing against the rocks was loud at that moment, but Jamie's thoughts were louder.

Determined not to let those sad thoughts overwhelm her, Jamie got up and wiping the tears that wet the side of her face, climbed off the big rock and walked back to the trail.

- It's like they say if you don't have high expectations, you won't be disappointed. - She whispered.

Micah said he wouldn't be back and Jamie wouldn't wait for him. She was tired of those thoughts and uncertainties about people.

After the call to the Chicago DMV, Jamie realized that it was all in her head and Uncle Richard was just being protective like her grandmother. Everything was fine, and everything would go back to the way it was before that turbulent end of the year.

She just had to keep those doubts from lurking in and everything would be fine.