Prelude to kisses

Chapter 30

She's haunted by him. He's in her dreams, the best and worst. In her dreams he's more real than ever. His touch leaves a permanent mark on her body, that when she wakes up, she feels branded. Sometimes he's there to love her and even save her. Other times he's laughing at her, like tonight she's sitting somewhere alone. She can't make up her surroundings, only this awareness that she knows this place; that she's been here before. She sees him and only when he points in her direction does she take notice of the woman next to him.

They look at each other and their lips lift in a mocking smile. He whispers something in her ear, and she feels herself shrink under his gaze. Laughter erupts from the two, and she sees herself become smaller. As if she's stepped out of her body and was witnessing it grow smaller until there's nothing there. She wakes up with a start, hands shacking, forehead covered by a thin sheet of sweat.

Jackie becomes fully awake; she looks over at the clock on her nightstand. It was just after midnight. No sound came from outside. She heard sirens, a few car horns then it was quiet again. By now she'd become accustomed to the nightmares that surrounded Matt. Even if she had stopped thinking about him when fully awake, he always found a way to creep into her dreams to lay next to her. He seemed unable to let her be and leave her alone just as she couldn't.

She threw the covers away and sat at the desk. Her desktop came alive with one click. With a few clicks on the mouse, she found the apartment plans. She went over it again, like she'd done for the past year since she moved here when she needed to gather her strength. In a way she was proving to Matt as well as herself that she could be someone. That she'd learned from him as much as she'd fallen for him. She wanted to prove to herself that she was more than capable of building her life from the ground just as he had. Would he be proud of her? She wondered.

Jackie wanted to make him proud of her, because when she'd met him, she had been jobless, unable to make ends meet and once had to resort to asking him for transport money to go back home after her training. She wanted to show him that she could be so much more than the girl he met all those years ago. She wanted to make him proud because he'd made her proud. Because she looked up to him and thought of him when she needed motivation.

By now she knew every layout of the building plan. Construction was coming along great, just as she'd hoped it would. So far, she hadn't run into any major setbacks since they'd started almost a year ago. She was doing great at work too, the printing business coming on well and making profit. At this rate she didn't think she'd need to take out a loan which had been a major concern for her. She didn't even want to think about that. Resorting to loans could put a financial strain on her business as well as her life. The interest rates always seemed to take a hike.

Jackie made a cup of coffee and sat back in front of the computer. Going over the budget again, checking for any slip ups. She was doing everything alone, it felt odd. Being twenty-six and doing all this by herself. The only person she had was Lee, her little sister was still in school, and Angie was growing bigger by day. She couldn't risk worrying her with something like this when she was preparing herself to bring a human being into the world. Her mom was doing pretty well by herself but was too far to give any input. As she scrolled away on the computer, the call came.

She knew something was terribly wrong even before she picked it up. She answered anyway, "Hello?"

Her mom's voice came in a quiver, Jackie didn't know how to take it, "Jackie, it's your sister. She's pregnant".

"What?"

"Your grandmother just told me. I thought it would be better if I told you, so you don't get too angry with her".

Jackie was at a loss for words, when she went to bed later on, she couldn't help but dream of a little chubby girl. Over the next few days, the name Chloe rang in her ears. She saw herself holding little Chloe without even realizing it, she could see her running around and giggling bringing life into their family. She should be mad, she should give her little sister a piece of her mind, she should be stressed about how they'd be able to raise a child when she was building her life but all she could do was think of little Chloe. Of playing with her and getting ice cream together. She would be the cool rich aunt, she decided.

Chloe was more than a blessing, and six months when she held Chloe in her arms, she knew this was meant to be. Chloe had come into the world at the perfect time, she helped everyone stay grounded. At times when the two sisters would bicker and fight, Chloe came and tied the lose knot in their relationship. They grew closer. They became loving and considerate with each other. For a whole year after Loura gave birth, she found herself torn between two countries. Her business and her niece, mom and little sister. It was no question what her company would be named as they sat together on Charismas over one of her countless visits.

As soon as she landed in Victoria Falls Airport, she named her company BLC Homes after her mom, little sister and Chloe.