From Cradle to the Grave

Chapter 16

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Chris's POV

Andrew and I had a history.

A bittersweet history.

We met the sophomore year of our school life. He had just transferred from Miami and was the new guy. We became instant friends and he became the third to our squad including me and Ashton. Things were pretty good among us until Andrew fell for a girl.

Charlotte was the 'it' girl of our school. Popular and beautiful. She wasn't considered as the bitchy queen bee of the school. She was pretty polite and kind. But I always had a bad vibe about her. Don't know why, but I did.

And I was proved right.

I was the first one to know about Andrew's crush on Charlotte, since Ashton couldn't be trusted because of his babble mouth. I encouraged him to ask her out and one day finally he gathered the courage to ask her out.

And that was the last day of our friendship.

It was the end of school and Andrew had planned to ask Charlotte out. I decided to give him space and went outside to wait in my car. 20 minutes had passed when a knock resonated on my car window. Thinking it to be Andrew, I opened the door and got out, grinning.

My grin was wiped out when I saw Charlotte standing there.

"Hey Andrew was looking for you." I said.

"Yeah I know. But I was looking for you." She said.

Even before I could react, she leaned forward and kissed me. Shocked I stood still for a few seconds. Then realising the situation, I pushed her away and wiped my mouth, disgusted by her.

I was about to say something when I heard footsteps near me. Turning my head, my face met with a fist. I fell down clutching my nose. Looking up, I saw a furious Andrew looking down at me.

"To think I regarded you a friend." He spat at me and left. I got up and ran after him to tell him the truth. But he was already in his car and speeding away.

The next day word spread around that Andrew and Charlotte were a couple.

I never bothered again to tell him the truth.

"Andrew."

Andrew froze as soon as he heard my voice call him. He slowly turned and his eyes met mine. For a moment, I saw a glimpse of hurt and longing in his eyes. But it was gone as quickly, before turning cold and hard.

"Christian." I cringed at his use of my full name. He started calling me that after our misunderstanding. It was never 'Chris' for him again.

"How are you?" I asked softly.

"Good." He answered cryptically.

I gave out an aggravated sigh. He was being too difficult.

"Listen Andrew. I know we didn't have a good past together, but I need your help right now."

He scoffed. "The great Christian Robinson needs my help? Is the world coming to an end?" He asked sarcastically.

I gritted my teeth. "Andrew, I never kissed Charlotte. I know it has been a long time, but if it makes you happy, then that's the truth. She came up to me, I didn't. So if you can just forget the past and please help me now, I would forever be grateful to you."

Andrew looked into my eyes for a long time. Slowly the hardness in his eyes melted and he sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and looked worn out. It actually worried me seeing him like this.

"Can we talk somewhere private?" I recommended and he nodded.

We got into the elevator and went to my office. I asked my secretary to cancel all the meetings till noon. I wanted to have no interruption during my conversation with Andrew.

We sat inside my office.

"Why are you here Drew? Is everything fine?" I asked.

"Naah man. It's my step brother. He was on a restraining order but now it's lifted. I came here to talk to my lawyer to extend his restraining order." He said.

"Your step brother? You mean, Hunter?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"What did Hunter do to get a restraining order?" I asked.

Andrew seemed hesitant to reply so I decided to drop it for now.

"How do you know Jasmine?" I came straight to the point.

Andrew seemed taken aback by my question and his eyes widened. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish. And then he finally spoke up.

"Jasmine? How do you know her?" He questioned back.

"She's my neighbour." I said.

Andrew thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"Well?" I prompted.

"What?" He asked innocently. I gave him a 'are you serious' look and he slightly chuckled.

"I'm sorry mate but I can't disclose that information to you." He said and anger immediately seared through me.

"You can't tell me or you don't want to?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

Andrew sighed. "I forgive the past man. In fact, I apologise for it. It wasn't your fault, and I realised it after Charlotte left me for another guy. And the past has nothing to do with what equation I share with you right now. I'm sorry but I can't disclose Jasmine's information."

I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. I had to know about it. I had to know what was wrong with Jasmine. I can't sleep at night knowing she's in danger of something I don't know about. I truly, genuinely care about her and there was no denying that anymore.

"I like her." I blurted.

Andrew's eyes grew as wide as saucers and he gaped at me. I looked square into his eyes. He searched my eyes for sincerity and when he realised I was honest about my feelings for her, he snapped his mouth shut.

"But she's like 10 years younger than you man!" He exclaimed.

I rubbed my face. "I know, I know. But I can't ignore these feelings for her. Try to understand mate. I genuinely like her. I care about her a lot. I used to be her babysitter when she was small and after I returned I saw so many changes in her. She's not that same, strong and fiesty Jasmine anymore. And it scares me. Please tell me if anything's wrong with her. I need to know." I pleaded.

Andrew closed his eyes and shook his head. We stopped talking and I felt like I lost my chance. He won't tell me what he knows about her. I closed my eyes and threw my head back on the chair.

"She's my patient."

Andrew's words pulled me back into a sitting position and I looked at him intently, urging him to go on.

"She's my patient. I'm a psychiatrist." He said.

I frowned. "What's wrong with her?" I asked worried.

He didn't say anything for few seconds. Growing impatient, I was about to say something when his next words left me confused.

"Hunter got a restraining order for bullying."

"What does Hunter has to do with this?" I asked aggravated. Was he trying to stall my previous question?

Drew kept looking at me, without batting an eyelash. I was about to say something when the wheels turned in my head and I gasped.

Holyshit. No it can't be.

"Jasmine is a victim of bullying."