Serendipity

Ghost of the Past

Love is dangerous thing. It has the ability to consume you whole. Love can shield you from reality and tear you from logic. Some throw their lives away for a simple taste of love, some trade their souls. But with love follows heartbreak. An earth shattering pain. An eruption of anger, sadness, doubt, even shame.

I've played the game of love before, I threw in all my cards and I gambled what I couldn't afford. I fell for the boy with the green eyes dipped in honey. His deep tan skin and midnight hair. Our love was like the sun. It was beautiful and dangerous. Life can't exist without the sun, but it can burn you if you don't protect yourself. It can blind you.

It's hard to describe pain in words, so the most I can say is that you destroyed me. I gave you everything. Every imperfection, flaw, and insecurity; I exposed them all to you. You didn't just look at me, you saw me. You dug your roots into my body and before I knew it, I needed you to survive. But there are consequences to reliance. When you left without a trace, I could hardly breathe on my own. You left a flood and I was drowning. You were my oxygen, but there was none of you left to breathe. None of you left at all.

Jax Parker, where did you go?

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Rey's POV
2 years ago- July 23rd, 2017.

I pull off my apron and finish counting the money in the cash register. I wince at the smell of my shirt. It was drenched in the scent of coffee. I hear a low chuckle from behind me. I whip my head around and glare at the culprit, Grey Cohen. His tall figure hovers over me as I defiantly cross my arms.

"What!" I snap at him. I've always had a quick temper towards others and Grey was no exception. His stupid face pissed me off. His stupid, beautiful face. And boy, was he a tease.

"Rey, you work in a coffee shop and you hate coffee," he smirks in amusement, "Tell me the irony isn't even slightly funny!"

"Oh, ha-ha," I respond, my voice dripping in sarcasm, "You know I'm only here for the money."

Even though he got on my nerves, Grey was my best friend. He was there for me when things weren't the best at home.

"You all done?" He asks dangling his keys, "I'll be waiting in the car."

I nod as I finish cleaning the counter and and locking the back door. As I walk to Grey's car, I can't help but laugh at how janky it looks. Despite it essentially falling part, he still treats it like royalty.

"I swear if this thing breaks down on the road and we both die I'll never forgive you," I say commenting on the deafening noises coming from the engine.

"Hey! Susie is perfect and would never betray me."

Right, he even named the damn car. He turns on the radio and cranks the volume to high. Old 80's tunes blast out of the speakers and I dance in my seat. If Grey was one thing, he was a man of taste.

After 10 minutes pass, we arrive at my house. I look towards the window and see two silhouette arguing in the dim light, my mom and dad. My nails did into the fabric of the pants and I breath deeply. Grey takes notice and puts his hand on mine. He always noticed the small things.

"We can drive around for a bit if you'd like," he says as if he's in pain.

"No!" I quickly shout, "I mean no, it's fine."

The last thing I wanted was to be a burden. I knew Grey would do anything for me and I never wanted to abuse that. Besides, I don't want to be a little girl he pities.

I say my goodbyes and stand frozen at the front door. My heart beat widely like an untamed creature. I can't have a panic attack right now, I'm stronger than that. My hand grips the doorknob and the cool metal runs through my veins, into my blood. I build up the courage to open the door and I finally step inside.

My father was drunk again, stumbling across the floor. My mother looked at me with her head down, her eyes filled with shame. I try my best to run upstairs before he notices me, but I fail.

"You!" He screams at me, "Don't ignore me!"

Shit.

Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. I watch my mother grab his arm in an attempt to calm him down. He throws his empty beer bottle to the floor. A heavy shattering noise filled the air followed by a large thud. He passed out on the couch.

"Mom, I can't live like this!" I pull my hands into tight fists.

"Rey," her soft voice calls out barely audible, almost a whisper.

Nothing. She had nothing to say to me. I walked out the door without even thinking. The cold air pierced my lungs as I ran into the darkness of the night. I had no destination, no path.

I found myself running until my legs couldn't take it anymore. I fell onto the floors of an old playground and cried until there were no tears left.

"Tough day?" a low husky voice broke the silence.

Fuck, someone saw me.

"Maybe, you should mind your own business," I quickly turned away and wiped my face. God, this is embarrassing.

"My own business? What gentleman would I be if I left a girl alone crying? Not to mention, it's the middle of the night. It's dangerous for you to be out here."

"Don't scold me, you don't even know me. Let's keep it that way."

"Ah, so she's feisty! Listen, you're clearly upset and is it so hard to believe I'm worried about you? You don't have to trust me, but give me a chance."

I turned around and looked at this mystery man for the first time.

Green eyes dipped in honey.
Deep tan skin.
Midnight hair.

A warm blush creeped onto my face. If looks could kill, they committed a brutal crime. Everything about him screamed adventure and maybe adventure was exactly what I needed.

He held out his hand.

Something felt right about this moment, as if it were fate drawing me towards him. It was like a magnetic force between us. I could see in his eyes he felt the same way. Maybe I was crazy for listening to a stranger, but I took his hand and nothing felt more right.

"Can I at least get your name, mon trésor?" he asked running his free hand over his mouth in an attempt to suppress his childish grin.

"Nicknames already?" I roll my eyes, "and what would that mean French boy?"

"It means my treasure," he gives out a shy laugh, "I have a feeling your going to be something special."

My eyes widen in surprise. Something special.

"Rey Miller."

"Jax Parker."