The Betrayal Within

Holiday Bonus Chapter #2 - Thanksgiving (Part Two)

Song of the Chapter: 93 Million Miles by Jason Mraz

Recap (Jasmine's POV):

How can I say no to free food? I nodded and she walked over to some of the customers. There was a girl that looked like the same age as me staring at me.

When people stare at me, I assume that there's something dirty in my clothes. But she was looking at me since I went in the room. She was part of Pat’s staff, even though the rest of the waiters and servers took over, she was distracted by looking at me.

She walked towards me with a confused look on her face. “Your name is Jasmine?”

“Yes,” I answered. “Why?”

“You don't remember me?” I gave her the weirdest look. I barely remember what I ate this morning. She didn't look familiar at all.

“I'm Laura, your best friend.”

Paulene’s POV

“So why did you beat me in dominos four times in a row?” One of my old best friends Carlos asked me when the dominos were scattered.

Carlos was an old childhood best friend from Queens that I didn't know that I would see after all these years. He was always the tough guy that gets in trouble by gangs and criminals. Even my parents doesn't know why I'm friends with him.

Me either.

In Queens, I didn't have friends. People bullied me because I was quiet and short. It felt like I was a tiny mouse, compared to the other kids that was normal height.

Carlos was bigger in school and no one wanted to mess with him because he seemed like he was a bully himself. He was, but not towards me.

A lot of the kids didn't mess with me anymore because I became friends with the bad ass kid in school.

Since I moved from Queens to Philly, I used to talk to Carlos a lot until he got in extreme trouble with a rival gang. They shot him twice, one in the shoulder and one in the leg, and went to the emergency room.

He was fine after that, but since then, we became distant; so distant that we stopped talking.

I realized that I could've gotten hurt him by being an accomplice.

Since he came inside my aunt’s house, we'd played an hour’s worth of dominos. His physical appearance changed the last time I'd saw him. He has facial hair and his hair's gotten longer. He lost some weight and gained more muscle.

“Hey, Paulene.” He snaps his fingers to alert me. “I know I'm sexy, but don't drool like I'm some animal.”

“You are an animal, dumb butt.” I chuckled what I said. “Now what was you saying?”

“Nah, it wasn't important.” There was an awkward silence after that. It became weird.

“So how's school?” He asked. “Want me to visit there?” I sense that there's something wrong.

“Alright, spit it out,” I told him. “What's going on?”

“Well we haven't spoken to each other in two years,” he said. “And I think it's because of my--”

“I became busy, that's all.” Half of that is true. The other half believes that I could be in big trouble if the commissioner finds out that I'm friends with a criminal.

“Nah, that ain't true. You're hiding something.”

“Why can't you believe that I'm telling the truth?” I questioned. “Or you have something to tell me.”