| Chapter 4 "Hold up. What do you mean 'their old boyfriend', Bri?" Nick asked sternly. "Oh, Jassy didn't tell you?" Brian replied almost teasingly, almost. "No, Jasmine didn't tell me." Nick stressed Jasmine's name. Only I call her "Jassy" Only me. Nobody else. Me. Me. Me. Me. ME DAMMIT. I'm ok. Think happy thoughts. The ocean. Jasmine sitting on the beach by the ocean. Me sitting with Jasmine on the beach by the ocean.. Jasmine's voice ended Nick's trip to his "happy place." "Well..Josh and I used to date." Jasmine said trying to explain. "Lovely." Nick replied with no emotion. "You always talked of him like he was a dick." "Just because she dated him doesn't make him a nice person. We all make mistakes." Brian said beginning to get a bit aggressive. "No, he wasn't one of the nicest people." Jasmine said trying to ease the tension between the guys. "He aws into drugs and all that stuff. But he was a good person, generally speaking." "Didn't he deal them?" Nick asked softly. "Yeah." Jasmine replied matching Nick's own soft tone. "He's the one who got Alyssa into heroin. He feels so bad about it though. He really loved her." "He loved you, too." Brian replied. "I wouldn't say that." Jasmine said. "But I suppose he did at one time." Wait, could this Josh guy be the person in the dream? Nah, definitely not. I'm just paranoid. "How long did you two date?" Nick asked. "They dated for a year." Brian interrupted. Gee, Brian. I didn't know your name was now Jasmine. Nick choked on air as he looked at Jasmine in disbelief. "You dated him for a year?" Jasmine nodded. "Well, actually it was about ten months. I was 15 when I met him. HE was 19. We started dating on a whim. It was nice for a while. We started getting serious when I was 16, making him 20. He cheated on me with Alyssa and he played Alyssa like a deck of cards. That's how I met her, actually. Josh and I broke up after we dated for 10 months and 24 days. We're still friends." "Were you into the drugs, too?" Nick asked cautiously. "Yes, but nothing major or often. I only smoked pot occasionally. Josh and Alyssa gradually moved towards harder stuff like speed, coke, and ultimately heroin. Josh always got frustrated because I wouldn'tt ry anything else because I liked the weed. I was dumb. I haven't even touched the stuff since I was 17." Jasmine looked at the ground as they walked towards the hotel. She knew she had disappointed Nick. "Anything else?" Nick asked quietly and obviously hurt that he had not heard this all before his best friend. Jealousy thy name is Nickolas. Ahh..bite me. "He was my first." Jasmine said biting her lip. "But not by choice, of course." Brian followed quickly. Nick looked at the two in disbelief. No. The whole thing about Jasmine was that she wasn't like the other girls Nick dated. In other words. she wasn't a slut or a bitch. It can't be true. While she never claimed she was a virgin, Nick had assumed she was. This can't be. She's..she's..innocent. She's MY angel. She's perfect. She's...she's..oh God she's telling Brian more than me. Jealousy..no. Envy is more like it. Nick loved her still, of course, he was just in the state of extreme shock. "What do you mean 'not by choice'? Nick asked. I really don't want to know. "He raped her." Brian said bluntly. Holy shit. "No, he didn't." Jasmine said glaring at Brian. Would someone like to enlighten me? "You told me you didn't want to do it." Brian said to Jasmine, totally ignoring Nick. She told YOU..hell..she never told me she wasn't a virgin. "I said I regretted it." Jasmine said getting angry. I'm lost. "You said you wished you hadn't and wished he hadn't pressured you." Brian replied getting red in the face. I'm still lost. "For God's sake, Brian. You can't rape the willing. No, I didn't want to do it. Yes, he pressured me. Yes, I wish I hadn't done it. No, I can't take that back. Yes, at the time it was NICE I actually LIKED it. Yes, as you said I'm going to hell for premarital sex. It's not like you're fucking perfect anyway. Now, let's change the subject." Jasmine angrily yelled at Brian. Whoa, she's pissed. She glared at Nick and walked away. Wait, what did I do?? Jasmine quickened her pace in front of the two. Nick motioned for Brian to go up to the room. She's my girlfriend. I'll take care of this. I'll take care of YOU later. Brian reluctantly followed his orders. "Jas..." Nick said catching up with her and gently grabbing her arm. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because I was afraid of how you would react. Brian told me you'd overreact and you would break up with me because he said thatyou thought I was just this perfect little angel who could do no wrong and that it would break your heart to know that I"m like the other women you've dated." Jasmine quickly sputtered out. Note to self: Kick Brian really hard. "You'll always be perfect to me." Nick said as he hugged her. I love her. "Let's catch up with Brian and talk this out." Just as they were ready to go a guy's voice sounded out. |