A Strange Kind Of Love

Chapter 3: Debt

Hi! Janet here! If you like this story please vote/comment/share or follow me for updates.

I also have a twitter personal account  @janet_polli  and one dedicated to A Strange Kind Of Love    @askolwattpad (I follow back on that account =)   

Chapter 3: Debt

Jasmine rolled over onto her side to look out of the window, she determined that it was early morning and still hadn't decided on her plan of action for the day ahead. Someone knocked on the front door, banged on it actually and when no one else seemed to be moving in the house she decided that she would have to go answer it. Emmett had once told her that if anyone knocked on the door they had to be let in and he had to be notified. Emmett was in the gambling business so if someone knocked on the door they were usually here to pay their debt to him.  She crawled out of bed and headed down the creaking stairs to the front door. When she opened it she didn't see the usual geezer staring back at her but a middle aged man whose face was lined with wrinkles that came from years of stress and he was dressed in an expensive suit. The grey colour of it matched his hair which was cut short but kept well. He wore a white shirt and blood red tie. To his left was a younger looking woman with fiery red hair and pale skin, she wore a black pencil skirt and blazer with a navy blouse. They were both carrying briefcases and didn't look very friendly. 

'Does Mr. Emmett Carter reside here?' The man asked, his eyes were cold. 'Y-yes' Jasmine stammered. 'Is he here at the moment?' The man asked again, sternly. 'Y-yes' was Jasmines reply. 'Could we speak to him?' The woman asked, she gave Jasmine a fake warm smile. 'Um, he's asleep at the moment' No sooner had Jasmine finished her sentence than a loud thump came from upstairs. The man and woman looked at each other then back at Jasmine, the woman arched an eyebrow. 'May we come in?' 'O-okay, could I have your names please?' said Jasmine and stepped out of the way for them to enter. 'My name is Ms. Wright and this is my colleague Mr. Smith' said the woman. 'Okay, I'll just go get him, make yourself at home.' she said then immediately cringed afterwards. 

She tried her hardest to walk without limping or falling towards the stairs and to the master bedroom. She knocked on the door and waited patiently, after around thirty seconds she knocked again and this time she heard him making his way towards the door. 'What?' He snapped as he opened it. 'T-there are t-two people here that w-want to see you' Jasmine replied timidly. 'What do they want?' He asked, annoyance evident in his tone. 'I-I don't know' said Jasmine. 'You’re such a waste of space' he stated as he pushed her to the ground and toddled past her. Jasmine held back tears and told herself to be strong as she made her way back to her room.

As the time passed she heard shouting, empty threats and bluffs all of which came from Emmett. She wondered what all this was about and who those people were. The conversation had died down now and soon she heard the door bang shut, she hear Emmett's footsteps as he ascended the stairs and shouted for Eve to 'Get her fat ass out of bed!' Which isn't true at all because Eve is anorexic. Jasmine could hear a hushed conversation taking place but some words were louder than others such as 'Debt', 'Trouble' and 'Loans'. The conversation grew louder and louder and Eve was saying something but her words got cut off as though she had been hit, which she probably had. 

Emmett stomped to Jasmines room and she braced herself for the beating which in his eyes, she had caused.'You!' shouted Emmett. 'It's your fault! You let them inside!' He moved ever closer to where Jasmine sat on her bed, his fat face reddening with every step. Jasmine hugged her knees into her chest hoping to protect herself. He was at the foot of the bed by now. 'They want to put me in jail! How am I going to provide for you and your mother if those people put me in jail?' He shoved her off the bed and she landed with a thud. He stood over her as she lay on the floor. He had a sneer on his face when he said that he couldn't provide for them anymore and that one of them would have to get out of the picture. Jasmine understood what this meant. The time had finally come, she was going to die.

As Emmett began his brutal assault. Punching and scratching her, Jasmine only flinched every time he came in contact with her but when Emmett pulled a beer bottle from his back pocket and broke it against the wall she couldn't move. She started to scramble to her feet but Emmett grabbed her from behind and pulled her into him so he could whisper into her ear 'It's all your fault.' Her body was shaking violently from the crying and as Emmett reared his arm back with the broken beer bottle in it and all she could do was close her eyes. 'Emmett stop!' shouted Eve, who had regained consciousness and now stood in the doorway of Jasmines room. Her face was bruised and scratched and her hair messy but her eyes were full of pain, not for herself but for her daughter. Emmett was speechless for a moment, then shouted back at Eve 'Shut it woman, I have to do this. Don't you see, it's either you or her!' The fake pain in his voice made Jasmine cry even harder. Emmett looked away from Eve and reared his hand up again. Suddenly Eve rushed towards them shoving Emmett to the ground. 'Run Jasmine!' Eve shouted as she wrestled with Emmett. It took Jasmine a second to process things but she was already running out of the front door when she heard her mother scream. Jasmine shut her eyes tightly to try to block out what was happening but it didn't help so she opened them again and ran on.

 Across roads and through alleyways until she couldn't breathe. She stopped and looked around, she was now nearly out of the town, she could see the bridge and the thick forest that surrounded it. She looked up at the sky which was getting dark. She wiped the tears away but then broke into fresh ones, she sat down on a rock and cried while until a crowd of young adults came up to her. 'Well, well, well. Who do we have here?' A guy said, probably the group leader, he had black hair and brown glazed over, bloodshot eyes. Jasmine started walking away from them. Some of the men were laughing at her, others making wolf whistles. They wore jeans and worn out coats, their faces dirty and hadn't been shaved in days, their eyes were also bloodshot like their leaders. The leader caught up to her and spun her around by her shoulders, ‘you’re a pretty little thing aren't you?' He said, half to himself, staring at her. He stroked Jasmine's cheek whilst smirking. Jasmine didn’t know what to do, if she ran they would just keep following her and she had nowhere to go anyway, so she stayed and continued to be touched. 'We were just heading into the forest and I think you'd love to join us.' He emphasized the word love in a way that made Jasmine want to cut his tongue out, but she stayed mute. He grabbed her hand and they started dragging towards the forest, the men were wobbling on their feet and obviously weren´t sober. Jasmine knew that it was pointless to put up a fight because she was severely outnumbered, one against nine.