in the night | the weeknd

nine

Abel

"Thanks for this, Abel," Jasmine says to me as I carry her bags into the guest bedroom. "Seriously, I owe you one."

"It's fine," I say, turning around and smiling her. "Look, you should get some sleep, okay? You must be tired. You can take a shower of you want too." She nods and I walk out the room, closing the door behind me.

I walk into the living room and slump down onto the couch, sighing. I take a blunt and light it up, taking a long draw and breathing out.

I can't believe what Jasmine's been going through. I knew there was something off about that guy. Why the fuck didn't I go after her when she left the club?

How long has this been going on for? I feel sick to the pit of my stomach, knowing what he's done to her. He was going to rape her! Make her become a prostitute!

I wish I was the one who killed him.

Leaning back, I rest my head on the couch, listening to Jasmine's light footsteps and the sound of the shower running.

I really hope she doesn't take off again without telling me. I couldn't bare that happening again. I dlreally don't want to lose her.

Ten minutes later, the water stops running and I hear Jasmine go back to her room.

I finish smoking the blunt and light up another. I need to relax because every time I think about Jasmine, my mind goes back to what that bastard wanted to do to her.

"Hey," I hear Jasmine say, causing my eyes to fly open. Her black hair is wet from the shower and she's wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

I sit up. "Hey," I reply. "Couldn't sleep?"

Jasmine shakes her head and walks towards me. She sits down beside me. "No," she answers in a quiet voice. "I just keep thinking about what I did . . ." She trails off and sighs. She looks down at her hands in her lap.

"Hey," I say, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at me. "He deserved it. Just think of it like this - he can't hurt you anymore."

Jasmine nods. "You're right," she whispers. She grabs the blunt from my fingers and takes a huge draw from it. I can see her tense body beginning to relax.

I smile, watching her. "Can I ask you a question?" I ask and she nods. "How long have you been staying with him?"

"A couple of months," Jasmine answers, leaning back and taking another hit from the blunt. I open my mouth to ask another question, but she stops me. "I know what you're gonna ask, why did I stay with him for so long? It's because he saved my life. I'd be dead without him,  Abel. He gave me a place to live when I was living on the streets. He took care of me. I just . . . call me an idiot or whatever, but i just felt like I owe him. But when he told me what he wanted me to - become his own personal prostitute - I just couldn't take it anymore. I knew I had to get away and the only way I could do that was by killing him."

"You should've come and found me," I tell Jasmine and she looks at me, a sad expression on her face.

"I wanted to, trust me, I did," she answers. "But I thought you'd be angry with me - I thought you'd hate me. I'm so sorry, Abel. I shouldn't have left you that night.  I should've told you where I was going."

"You should've," I agree. I bite my lip. "Why didn't you go home? Back to your family?"

Jasmine's eyes flicker with sadness. "I never want to go back there again, Abel," she says. "Ever. That's the whole reason why I left in the first place."

"Then why did you come back to Toronto?" I question.

Jasmine shrugs. "I honestly don't know," she whispers. "I think there was a part of me that hoped I'd bump into you one day. And I missed home, I guess."

"Just not your family," I say slowly.

"Just not my family," Jasmine repeats, nodding.

I bite my lip. What has her family done to her that she doesn't want to go back? Did they abuse her? I'm too scared to ask her. I don't want her to get mad at me.

"Jas," I start to say and she looks at me, her eyes red and low from the blunt that she's just finished smoking. "What did your family do to you?"

Jasmine smiles at me sadly. Her fingers brush against my cheek and I shiver at the contact. "Let's save that conversation for another day," she says softly. "I promise, I'll tell you, Abel, just not tonight, okay?"

"You promise you'll tell me?" I want to know.

"I promise, starboy," she says, causing me to laugh a little at hearing the nickname she gave me all those years ago. Jasmine laughs too and rests her head on my shoulder. Her hand finds mine and our fingers lace together. It feels good to have her hand in mine. I never want to let her go.

Suddenly, I remember something and lean forward to grab the black box from the table, not letting go of her hand. Jasmine moves her head from my shoulder so I can lean forward.

"I forgot," I start to say, "to give you this." I hand her the box and she lets go of my hand, taking it. Jasmine opens it and picks up the necklace gently and looks up at me, a questioning look on her face. "It's for your birthday," I tell her. "I brought it a couple of days ago."

Jasmine smiles at me, her eyes tearing up. "It's beautiful," she tells me. "I love it. Here." She holds out the necklace for me and I take it. She turns around and moves her hair to the side and I put it on for her.

Jasmine turns around and hugs me and I wrap my arms around her, breathing in the fresh smell of her hair. My hand rests on her  back and I rub it in circular motions.

We pull away from each other and Jasmine smiles at me. She pushes me back and rests her head on my chest, while putting her feet up on the table.

We continue talking for about an hour and Jasmine ends up falling asleep on me. I smile as I look down at her, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

Feeling myself beginning to dose off to sleep, I get up and pick her up bridal-style. I carry her to her bedroom and place her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her.

"Starboy," Jasmine mumbles, grabbing my hand. "Please stay with me. I don't want to be alone."

"Okay," I whisper. I lift the covers and slip under them and Jasmine moves closer to me, burying her head in my shoulder. Her breathing tickles my neck, but I don't dare move. I wrap my arms around her and close my eyes, drifting off to sleep.