Trust Issues

Chapter 12: Down and Dirty

I woke up to the sun shining through the plastic panels of the curtains again. I shift slightly and notice I'm on someone's chest. Jasmine was still here. Maybe this is my poor judgment of her again, but I thought she would have been long gone by now.

Her arms, decorated with many tattoos, are wrapped around my lower back as I lay on her bare chest. My chest also bare, in my underwear, tucked under the covers together. I stare for a little too long, that I guess Jas sensed my eyes on her. She shuffled a bit, so I removed myself from her space. Her blue eyes opened and landed on mine. Jas smiled lazily, rubbing her eyes then paused like a deer in headlights.

"Fuck, sorry I shouldn't have just invited myself over last night... and stayed over." Jas said running her hand through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"It's fine I just...was not expecting any of that...like at all." I spoke honestly about last nights events.

Let's just say, no one slept until at least 3am.

"Yeah, I guess it was driving me crazy that we couldn't finish what we started the other night at the gym." She said sitting up on her elbows to look at me.

I saw her eyes start to scan my silhouette under the thin white bed sheets. I felt a little self conscious so I pulled up the sheets covering myself a little more, blushing uncontrollably.

She put her hand over mine to stop me from hiding.

"You don't have to do that. You're beautiful." She smiled down at me.

I felt a sudden rush of butterflies that instantly turned into anxiety. This can't happen again, because when I can't have it anymore, it's going to hurt too much.

I then frown remembering our previous conversations at work.

"Can we please talk, about...everything." I asked her.

Jasmine's smile also dropped once she became aware of the topic at hand.

"I'm sorry you caught me dealing. No one else knows about this, except for my dad. I'm only doing it so I can pay for his medical bills."

She looks down in shame, playing with her fingers.

"What kind of medical bills? If you don't mind me asking." I cautiously questioned as to not overstep my boundaries.

"He was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease a couple of years ago. His condition has been pretty stable up until recently. On halloween night, I had to run out because he was having trouble breathing and it got so bad, we had to call 911. They had to keep him admitted for a while after. I take care of him since he isn't really capable of doing a lot without his condition flaring up. They diagnosed him when he was already at stage 2, now he's stage 3 which is severe. The casino isn't enough to pay for everything, he can't work, so dealing was the quickest and easiest solution I had available."

I sat there, speechless, sympathetic.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. That must be tough on you, being close to your family and all."

She shrugged, very evidently holding back any sort of vulnerability wanting to escape.

"I'm managing, but until I win the lottery, I'm gonna have to do some dirty work to support my family." Jas spoke honestly.

We sat there in silence, taking in what had just happened not only the night before, but with the sudden spilling of intimate details from Jasmine's situation.

"Anyway, I'll get out of your way. I've overstayed my welcome." She said getting dressed quickly and gathering her things.

I just stare from my bed, unable to move, my brain circling with emotions.