| Jade couldn't speak. She just let herself cry and be comforted by Mike. So much pain he and I had gone through. Oh Mike, why didn't you tell me that you needed the money? Why didn't you tell me the truth? After a long while, she stopped crying and moved from Mike. He gazed at her waiting. "Mike, I'm sorry but I couldn't give you an answer now. I don't know if I'd forgive you for what you did. Give me some time to think over ok? I don't think its good idea for you to join my party. Sorry." Jade turned from Mike and was heading for the door when he spoke up, "Jade! I understand but I'll be waiting for your answer. Please give me another chance. I vow I won't betray you!" She entered her house without any reply. Mike stood rooted at the spot for a few moments more before leaving. ************ Unknown to Jade and Mike, Gabriel had witnessed the whole exchange from afar. He had decided to arrive at Jade's house early with a surprise for her. Guess another surprise arrived earlier than mine. Even from his car, he could see Jade's facial expression changed from shock to bitter pain to sadness to finally, acceptance and something he couldn't identify. Who in the world is that guy? Gabriel didn't see his face and already felt jealous of how much impact that stranger had on Jade. He wanted to know what was really going on with the two of them. How come Jade allowed him to embrace her? So many questions and only one person can answer. Should I ask or not? I didn't want to hurt her anymore. Besides it's supposed to be a happy occasion. Gabriel set his mind on just keeping it secret for now and headed for Jade's house. Jade opened the door a long while after he had rung the door bell. "Hey Gabriel! You are very early!" She said cheerfully with a smile. Although she was smiling, he could see that her eyes were still red from crying. Impulsively, he gave her a comforting hug and gave Jade his gift. She thanked him and invited him in. Keeping an eye on her, Gabriel asked casually about the whereabouts of her parents. "Oh they were having their own date." She chuckled a little as she set aside the gift. They sat together and watched the TV programme silently. Jade wasn't paying much attention on the show but was trying to make a decision about Mike. She had known Mike at her workplace during summers 2 years ago. From the beginning, he was very sweet and friendly to her. He was 2 years older than her and they weren't in the same high school. However they really enjoyed the summer together. After the summer, Jade had started suddenly receiving a bouquet of her favourite flower -violets each week without fail. He had lived not far from her and would show up at her house unexpectedly with mysterious gifts for her. Surprisingly, none of the gifts he had given her ever the same. Slowly in her heart, he won her over with his artistically and creative gifts. She began to look forward to his gifts. Often, they would just take a walk around the nearby park and talk about anything. Mike was just a normal guy, not very rich but his efforts in making her gifts to please her really made Jade cherish this friend. And Mike was a very great friend and listener. He was sort of a loner and didn't like to talk much usually. Whenever she was down, he tried to cheer her up by bringing her to the kids' playground and watched the kids play, making stories up about the lives of those kids or telling some funny stories. Julia had met him and she liked him too. She was convinced that Jade and Mike would be a perfect couple together. True enough, they became couple 6 months later. Their parents were all supportive of them but something changed 5 months later. Jade's powers weren't exactly secretive and every mage knew that he/she could increase his/her strength by killing another powerful mage and drinking her/his blood. At that point of time, Mike's mom had fallen sick and Mike's dad already not around. Mike had a financial difficulty in paying his mom's medical bills. He tried having a job but the money wasn't sufficient at all. Jade didn't know that, she only knew his mom was sick and he was very busy most of the time. She started to see a change in Mike. He became very nervous, even more quiet and distant. Jade had thought he was worried about his mom so she tried to get him to confide in her but he kept insisting he was alright. |
| Chapter 4: Fear |