Want You Back

25.

There she was.

The girl of his dreams.

Barely conscious and sprawled across her kitchen floor, shards of glass scattered around her, blood leaking from small cuts and gashes.

Luke's mind immediately went to work, already processing what needed to be done to stabilize the situation at hand. He crossed the span of her apartment in quick strides, crouching beside her and swearing softly, taking in the state of his ex.

"Jazz?" He whispered, brushing hair out of her face. "Can you hear me, sweetheart?"

She groaned in response, eyelids fluttering and slipping open partially. "Luke?" She breathed, voice barely above a croak, "what're you doing here?"

"I'm here for you."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "for me?"

Luke chuckled despite the situation. "Of course, you idiot. Can you stand?"

Jasmine whimpered and craned her neck around to glance at her legs. "Uh, I'm not too sure. My legs sorta gave out."

"Okay," Luke nodded, mind racing. "Let's try and get you cleaned up first."

Luke pushed her hair behind her ears gently and checked her pulse on her wrist, counting the beats in his head, relieved that it was relatively steady. Next, he moved onto assessing any visible damage: the source of the bleeding.

There was a small gash on her forehead connecting to her right temple, and some smaller scrapes along her arms and legs. Aside from that, Luke couldn't detect any other signs of injury.

"Jazz," Luke said, rising to his feet. "I'm gonna clean you up, okay? I'm just gonna run to your bathroom, got that?"

Jasmine nodded, wincing as she gingerly tapped at the cut on her head.

Luke made quick work of rummaging through her bathroom for supplies, grabbing a half-empty bottle of rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, and bandages. As he passed her bedroom, he popped in, snatching a pill bottle knocked over on her side table. It may not be the current medication she was taking, but hopefully it would still help.

"Alright, Princess, here we go, just gonna clean you up, alright?"

She nodded.

Luke reached for her hands and together, the two of them managed to pull her into a sitting position propped up against her counter. With Jasmine sitting, Luke began to tend to her cuts, cleaning them quickly after wiping off the excess blood before covering them with a bandage. In no time, Jasmine was beginning to look less like a victim from a slasher flick - it really was stunning how much blood could erupt from such tiny scratches.

Jasmine kept her eyes closed as Luke tended to her, head back and mouth slightly agape. Her breathing was shallow and she was sweating profusely, hands slightly shaking. Jasmine looked positively exhausted.

"Jazz?" Luke asked, gently shaking her shoulder. "Here," he offered her a big glass of water and two little pills: her panic attack medication.

Jasmine sighed as she accepted her meds, popping them in her mouth and taking a large swig of water, downing the entire glass in one sitting.

"Thank-you." She whispered, voice small, hands fiddling in her lap.

Luke let out a long breath and took a seat next to her, knees bent and wrists resting on them. Luke looked at his ex-girlfriend for a long time, watching as she repeatedly stroked a strand of her.

"Jazz," he said softly, her head snapping up to look at him at the mention of her name. "How are you doing?"

Jasmine swallowed hard, staring ahead, refusing to meet her ex's eyes. "My heads hurting a little ."

"You know that's not what I mean. "

Jazz wrung her wrists, head bowed. "I know," she whispered.

"When was the last time you saw Dr. McGill?"

"It's been a while."

"Jazz." Luke said pointedly.

She winced. "Sorry," she murmured. "It's been a few months."

Luke exhaled loudly and leaned his head back against the kitchen cabinets. "Why haven't you scheduled another appointment? You need to be strict with this, Jasmine."

Jasmine snapped.

"It's none of your business what I do or don't do, Luke. It hasn't been your business ever since you put your dick inside another woman." She hissed, fire dancing across her tongue.

"Jasmine I-"

"Save it." She turned her head away from him and reached up to grab onto the countertop, hauling herself to standing.

"I want you to go." She said, still refusing to look his way.

Luke scrambled to his feet, resisting the urge to help her. "Jazz, wait I was just trying to help."

Jasmine closed her eyes. "Luke, stop. I want you to leave. Now."

Luke reached a shaky hand out towards her, but she merely turned away. "I'm sorry," he mumbled and turned towards the door. Luke glanced back once more as he opened the door. When Jasmine refused to look back at him, he sighed and left, feeling his heart sear at the venom in her words.

That night, as Luke stared out into the Los Angeles skyline, well past midnight, he found his fingers itching to move. He felt anxious and defeated after his talk with Jasmine, and he wanted nothing more than to march back over there and fold her into his arms.

But unfortunately, that was no longer an option and hadn't been for some time.

The hotel penthouse was fairly bland despite being of five-star status. Luke hadn't bothered to unpack, save for his acoustic guitar that was leaning against the wall. Luke reached for it and began to strum mindlessly.

The words filled his brain as if on autopilot, and soon enough, an accompanying melody was filling the room.

Is it easier to stay? Is it easier to go?

I don't wanna know.

But I know that I'm never, ever gonna change.

And you know you don't want it any other way.

Howdy y'all its been a hot sec hasnt it? Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! More things to be revealed in upcoming chapters