*Brad's POV*
'Ja-'
'Save it Mrs Carter, she'll need time to calm down. I'll go after her and make sure she's alright'
I felt sick at that announcement so I can't even imagine how Jas must be feeling. I've thought of them as my second parents so to hear they're splitting hurt. It'll hit Jas a lot more because she's an only child so she's always been close to her parents. There must be a reasonable explanation though, it can't have been just out of the blue.
I had one idea of where Jas might be. It was this old park we always went to when I'd go round hers every Wednesday when we were little. It had a tyre swing and a slide, that's all. I don't know why we loved it so much.. I reached the park and it was empty. I walked through, knowing there was a bench down the other end, and I saw her. She was sat on the bench hugging her knees with her head down.
'Jas?' I whispered.
She looked up at me and her eyes were red from crying. I couldn't stand seeing her cry, I hated it so much. I pulled her in for a hug.
'Why did this happen? Why did it have to happen to me and my family? I thought everything was perfect but nothing's perfect' she clinged onto my jumper and sobbed.
'Shhh, it's not your fault ok. Nobody saw this coming, ever. I'm sure they have a reason for it, you just have to hear them out'
'I can't go back right now, please don't make me go back' She buried her head into my chest and I hugged her tighter.
'Everything will be ok' I kissed her head.
I texted her mum to let her know she was safe and with me. We sat talking for a good two/three hours and I could tell she was hurting a lot inside. It started getting late but she didn't want to go back, she didn't want to face her parents.
'You know you still look attractive when you cry?'
'Oh shush you' I caught her do a little smile.
'There's that beautiful smile I know and love' I lifted her chin up and wiped her tears. 'Just keep smiling, for me?'
'Brad, I can't go back. I don't know what I'm meant to say or do or how to react, I just can't do it'
'Hey, no ones expecting you to know what to do but I promise you things will get better. I'll make sure of it'
'You don't have to but you will you stay with me?'
'If that's what you want then of course' I took her hand and we got up to go home.
We arrived back and Jas took a deep breath before opening the door. We walked in to find no lights on and her parents were just sitting on the couch as if they'd been waiting up for us.
'Oh darling you're back! We're so sorry! We've been worried about you so much' her mum ran to her and gave her a hug. 'Thank you Brad'
'It's no worries, I made a promise that I'd never leave her so I'm just sticking to it' I smiled.
'At least I know you'll always be there for her, that makes me happy'
'Are you sure you want me to stay? I can leave you guys alone to talk in private?' I whispered to Jas after her mum went to sit down.
'No, I want you by my side' we went to sit down.
'I didn't want to come back because I didn't know what to do but Brad told me it's ok and he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. I want him here when you tell me everything' she looked at me and smiled.
'That's fine sweetheart, he's always been apart of the family'
'So? Where do we start?' I felt Jas squeeze my hand, I could tell she wasn't looking forward to this.
'Your father and I had a lot of time to talk when were away and we found out some things that we didn't really know about eachother..'
'Like?'
'Well you know that your father was married before right?'
'Yes.. Wait you're not telling me you've gone back with her?!'
'No, no of course not! I would never cheat on your mother!'
'Then what's that got to do with your divorce?'
'Well, we were out in Spain and she called me. Telling me I was needed back in her life because..'
'Because what?'
'I have a son'
Everything went silent.
'A- A son?'
'That's right, he's 20. She was pregnant when I left her but didn't say anything. She thought I would've stayed only because of the baby'
'Ok so why does this mean you're divorcing?'
'Well, she's now using that against me to get money because she's a single mother with 3 children'
'Then take her to court?! I don't know, do something! You're not letting this woman get in the way of our family!'
'Darling, it's a bit more complicated than that. Trust us on this one, please'
'I really can't believe this. I'm not letting her split my parents up, how do you even know the son's yours?! How do you know she's not just saying that to get money off you?!'
I could see how hard this was for Jas, she had always been a daddy's girl. Not having him around won't be easy. To me it seemed like there was a lot more to the story than what were being told but that's just me. Jas' dad looked at me and nodded towards the kitchen. I got up and followed him.
'Brad, I want you to promise me you'll always look out for Jasmine no matter what ok, promise you'll never let anything bad happen to her'
I scoffed. 'Mr Carter, I've been telling her this since day one, she knows'
'I'm being serious here, if I'm not around then I want to know she'll always be safe with you'
'Wha-what do you mean if you're not around? You're not staying near by?'
'Look son, I can't tell her just yet because it'll break her. I can't see my little girl mess up her most important year of her life because she's worrying about her old man'
'Tell her what?'
'Just, just keep your promises ok, for me?'
'Of course I will' he hugged me and I could feel him shaking. I could feel my eyes starting to water but fought the tears back as we returned back into the living room.
