From Cradle to the Grave

Chapter 7

Jasmine's POV

I slammed my locker door shut and rested my forehead against the cool surface. It was the end of school and the hallways were slowly starting to get deserted. Jasper and Violet both decided to ditch school today, leaving me alone in this hell hole for a full day. Not that there were bullies running around, but a day without your friends sucks.

I took off towards home after the school got completely deserted. It was my off day at the bookstore so I was free. As I walked down the streets, a certain thought that has been plaguing my mind for the last few days resurfaced again.

Chris was avoiding me.

At first I thought it was because I hurriedly took off from the lunch to go to the movies, but when I apologised to him for the inconvenience caused, he simply brushed it off saying he didn't know what  I was talking about. I believed him since his response sounded genuine enough. But the next day he went on ignoring me again. Stupid men.

As I rounded the corner  to our street, a car zoomed past me. I recognised it as Chris's car. It stopped in front of his house and he came out. Just as he was about to go around to the passenger side, his eyes caught mine. He froze.

I walked towards him with a welcoming smile but stopped when the door to the passenger side opened. A tall brunette came out of the car and stood beside him. She was wearing a short office dress and looked beautiful as well as sophisticated. She carried an aura of perfection around her. I immediately felt inferior against her.

Chris's voice brought me out of my reverie.

"Hey Jasmine." He gave me a small smile. I smiled back and waved at him. I looked at the brunette and found her scrutinizing me from head to toe. I felt uncomfortable and shifted my weight from one leg to the other. She caught my eye and gave a dazzling smile.

"Hey little girl! Pleasure to meet you." She spoke in a high pitched voice and I wondered if my ears were bleeding. But her greeting seemed genuine enough so I smiled back, even though I hated that she called me a little girl. That too in front of Chris.

"Hey. The pleasure's all mine. I'm Jasmine, Chris's neighbour. And you?" I asked politely.

She smirked and hooked an arm around Chris's and spoke up, "I'm Valerie, Chris's co worker and a close friend." She emphasised the world close.

I didn't need any more explanation to know how close they were. They were definitely more than friends and maybe Chris brought her home for dinner and to meet his parents. It was none of my business, even though I felt a stab on my chest.

I smiled at both of them and said, "Okay then I'll leave you guys to enjoy. Goodbye." As I turned to go I caught Chris's eyes. He hadn't said a word until now. I waited for him to say something but he just kept looking at me with an unreadable expression. I smiled at him for the last time and turned to go.

But I felt my heart sinking when I realised that it was Wednesday, the day my parents and Chris's parents usually go out for dinner together.

Chris and Valerie were going to be alone together.

Chris's POV

"Okay Valerie you can leave my arm now." I forcefully removed her death grip from my arm to let the blood come back to my hands. I didn't like this girl at all and I don't know why I brought her home. Oh yeah, to get your mind away from a certain underaged hazel eyed girl, who apparently should've been like a sister to you.

Fucking mind.

It has been a few days since I had a proper conversation with Jasmine and it was killing me. The girl probably thinks I hate her, but it's far from that. Every time she's near me, I can't help but think of her as someone more than just a neighbour or a girl I babysat as a teenager.

My dirty thoughts think of her as a woman.

My woman.

I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts and pulled Valerie along with me towards my house. I hated doing this but I needed a distraction. I didn't plan on sleeping with this woman though. Maybe just fool around a bit.

I quickly cooked up a light dinner and served her. After dinner we just sat in the living room talking about random things. But what was bugging me was that every once in a while she would scoot closer to me on the couch or accidentally slip her hand on my arm or my thighs. It was seriously pissing me off and I knew I had to do something before I lost control and shouted at her.

"Uh...excuse me. I need to use the washroom." I said and got off, walking upstairs towards my room. It was actually impolite of me to leave a guest downstairs all alone, and most probably unsafe, but I had to get away from her suffocating antics.

I entered my room and turned to switch on the lights but stopped mid step when my eyes turned towards the window opposite mine.

There she was.

The girl who wouldn't leave my thoughts since the first day I landed eyes on her 8 years later.

She was sitting at her desk, with earplugs attached to her ipod and writing down something. Her head was bobbing up and down to the music and she looked so divinely beautiful I couldn't turn my eyes away from her. Maybe it was just the moonlight seeping in through her windows and soaking up her entire form. Or maybe it was just my hormones on overdrive. But whatever it was, at that moment, my Jasmine was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

And I know most people wouldn't agree with me. She wasn't what people would call a model. She wasn't Valerie. But her beauty was something way out of the world. Maybe because I knew how much of a precious heart she has, it made her ten times more beautiful in my eyes. I knew how inappropriate it was of me but I couldn't stop my mind that was telling me to just climb up the tree to her room and pull her into my chest, and keep her for myself for the rest of our lives. But I knew I couldn't. It was both illegal and dangerous for both of us.

As she turned her head suddenly, her eyes met mine and she froze. Even I couldn't move. It was like time had stopped. Even though it sounded extremely cliche, it felt absolutely like that. She started to smile at me but stopped suddenly as her eyes went behind me and widen. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and before I could even count up to 2, she got off her chair and pulled her curtains, hiding herself from my scrutinizing gaze. I was lost and puzzled at her sudden behaviour.

But everything came clear to me when I felt a hand move up my arm and a sickly high pitched voice in my ears, that immediately made me grit my teeth in anger.

"Shall we take it to the bed, hmm?" Valerie's voice aggravated me.

Jasmine just saw me with another woman.