From Cradle to the Grave

Chapter 26

Jasmine's POV

"Why did you name your daughter after me?"

My question was left hanging in thin air yet again, as we sat down inside a small cafe just outside school. It wasn't too crowded and was peaceful. Bailey sat in front of me and I asked her the question I've been asking for the last 10 minutes without any reply.

Bailey just smiled and looked down. I was about to say something again but she cut me off.

"You're the strongest girl I know Jasmine. And I'm not saying this because I feel guilty and obliged to say that to you, but because you really are. I remember all those times me and Hunter would torture you, yet you never shed a tear. You were hurt so bad but you never let us see your tears, you never gave us the satisfaction of knowing how much we hurt you. And maybe that was what attracted Hunter to you and made me jealous of you." She ended in a small, guilty voice.

I was dumbstruck. I didn't think she was going to say that.

"What?" I blurted.

She laughed softly and held my hand on the table.

"It's an honour to name my daughter after you, trust me."

I retracted my hand from her grasp and leaned back on the chair. I couldn't come in terms with everything that was going on. There were so many questions I wanted answers to.

"It's just......I don't know. It's just....there are so many things unexplained. Questions I need answers to."

Bailey nodded her head in understanding and gestured for me to go on.

I took a deep breath and asked the first one.

"Why did you do all those things to me? Why did you bully me? Why did your boyfriend bully me? As far as I know I had nothing to do with you guys. Then why?"

Bailey looked down, embarrassed.

"I was jealous of you Jasmine."

I blinked my eyes in surprise. Bailey jealous of me? Me? A gorgeous girl like her was jealous of me?

"But why? Why me? I'm not perfect. I'm not gorgeous, you are. I have nothing to show off, you have."

"I might have the looks Jasmine, but I don't have the good personality and attitude. You have that. You're beautiful inside and out. And you never noticed how much attention you were getting because of that. You were always in your own little bubble, unaware of the world around you that was dying to be near a girl like you. And that made me jealous. I wanted to be that girl. I wanted that kind of attention, but I never got it. I was, you can say, the queen bee. Only looks, nothing else."

"But the icing on the cake came when my own boyfriend got obsessed with you. He was so obsessed in hurting you and planning your downfall, he forgot to give me, his own girlfriend, the required attention. When I started whining for attention, Hunter told me he would love me more if I helped him in hurting you. So I agreed. I agreed partly because I wanted everything you had and partly to get my boyfriend's love. I know I was wrong and I won't justify my actions, but try to look it through my eyes, Jasmine. I was insecure and doubtful, and ended up hurting you to make myself feel better. And maybe, it was repentance of my sins that I could never get a good night's sleep remembering how I broke a strong and beautiful girl. I was trying to find peace in chaos, and obviously never found it."

I sat quietly, listening to every word that came out of her mouth. She looked so vulnerable it made me a little sad. This wasn't the girl who would seek pleasure from hurting others anymore. Her own past mistakes were getting back at her, stripping her off of all the confidence she was made up of.

"I understand your reasons, but what about Hunter? What did I do to him?" I asked the most important question, a question who's answer has the potential to change everything I have thought and lived by till now.

And Bailey's look confirmed my suspicions. My question can change everything. The answer to it can change everything.

However, Bailey had other plans as she started off on a different plot.

"The night Hunter got arrested was the night I found out I was pregnant. While Hunter had another year of school, I had only three months. He was a year younger than me if you didn't know. So naturally, I decided to keep the child and also inform him. I kept calling his number but he never picked up. I finally gave up and went to sleep, worried about his whereabouts. At around midnight I was woken up by constant knocking on my window. I opened it and saw Hunter outside. He came in and I lashed at him for worrying me. But what I noticed was that he wasn't even paying attention to anything I was saying. He was deeply thinking about something. I slapped him to get his attention and he finally turned his eyes to me. But what I saw in his eyes made me fear the thought of having a kid with him. His eyes had this crazy look and he was smiling so big I was afraid he would split up his face. When I asked him why he was so happy, he said he came after meeting you. I was of course furious and asked him why he went to meet you."

She stopped suddenly and I sensed something was wrong. Her eyes had this fear in them that sent chills to my spine as well.

"What did he say? Did he say that he....." I gulped as I couldn't complete that sentence.

She continued as if I hadn't spoken."Did you know that he was arrested from my house? The police had tracked him and came a few hours later to arrest him. I asked them why they were arresting him and they told me that he raped you. I was shocked and guilt stricken. I didn't know what to do anymore. I realised at that moment that I had committed the greatest mistakes of my life. I would've come sooner to apologise to you but I couldn't muster up the courage. Only after I have birth to Jasmine that I mustered up the courage to confront you."

I listened to everything, but something wasn't adding up.

"Bailey? You said Hunter told you something when you asked him why he was with me."

She looked terrified, as if she was afraid to answer my upcoming question.

Is it that bad?

"What did he say?"

Bailey looked uncomfortable and I suddenly felt like the room was small. I realised whatever she was going to say wasn't going to be good at all.

"Borderline personality disorder."

Huh?

"What?" I asked, confused. What does that mean?

"Hunter had borderline personality disorder. I found out about it a few months back when I received a patient at the hospital I work as a  receptionist. The symptoms were similar to how Hunter used to behave and I added up the things he told me that night and realised that he had a severe case of borderline personality disorder. I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't so sure about it."

My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding. Suddenly I didn't wanted to know the answer anymore. Somehow I felt that if I come to know about it, everything that I have built up after he was gone would come crashing down. I wanted to shout at Bailey to stop. But I couldn't even find my voice.

"Don't..." I softly croaked out but it was too late. The words had already left her mouth and managed to shatter the walls I built so hard.

"Hunter was in love with you, Jasmine."