Nick sat at the foot of Jessica’s bed, watching her sleep. Glancing at the clock he realized that he’d been sitting there watching her for almost two hours. As he did every night before he left, he crept over to her bed quietly and planted a gentle kiss upon her forehead.
As Nick drew back from her, he studied her face. Her smooth skin, the strands of golden blonde hair and her luscious lips were all so enticing. His emotions took over and suddenly Nick couldn’t resist. He gently leaned forward again and brushed his lips against hers softly. Accidentally, his lips lingered slightly longer than he intended. He felt Jessica quiver slightly under him and he pulled back guiltily.
Jessica’s eyes fluttered open quickly. A scared and confused look took over her face momentarily. As her vision cleared and Nick’s face came into view, the look faded and her heart began to beat faster. “Nick,” she whispered. “I’m scared.”
Those two words were said with such feeling and emotion that Nick could feel his heart breaking. Suddenly Jessica appeared to Nick like a lost child desperately seeking its mother. Sitting down next to her, he took her hands gently lacing them both with his. “What’s wrong?” he implored.
Jessica stared up at Nick with wide eyes. Trembling, she began slowly. “Justin told me that if I ever told anyone about what he did to me, he’d…” she stopped as the tremor in her voice became worse. “He’d do it again,” she whispered hoarsely. This was the first time she had told anyone this. All the unshed tears she had been holding back suddenly began to pour out of her as Nick wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. “What if he comes back Nick? I’m so scared,” she repeated.
“That won’t happen Jess. I won’t let it,” Nick promised.
“If only I hadn’t gone to the beach that night none of this would have happened.”
“Jess,” Nick said placing a finger under her chin. He lifted her face up looking into her eyes. “None of this is your fault. You have to believe that.”
“Why me then Nick? What did I ever do to deserve this? How did he know that he could do something like this to me and get away with it?” she asked tearily.
Nick remained silent, his heart shattering into a million pieces. What could he tell her? Never in a million years did Jessica deserve any of this. No one did. Still it had happened. As much as he wished it would, nothing he could say or do would make it hurt less.
“I don’t know Jess. I really don’t know,” was all Nick could manage.
Justin walked down the crowded street. It surprised him how many people were out and about at such an early hour. He was in the elite shopping district of LA. After all Jessica deserved only the best.
Boutique upon boutique lined the street. The prices incrementing with each step he took. Vendors and shop owners greeted Justin with fake smiles, dollar signs practically flashing before their eyes. Justin however was oblivious to their forced smiles and seemingly friendly gestures.
He remembered a time in his life not too long ago when he would have easily fit in with these sorts of people. He remembered wearing their gaudy, showy type of clothes, flaunting his car and taking advantage of his social status. He was the captain of the football team, athlete of the year, one of the most popular guys at school. He had it all - the friends, the car, the clothes, the attitude, and the girl. In a heartbeat, it had all been lost. He was a different person now. For Justin, there was no going back.
Slightly disgusted, he continued down the street. He was looking for one place in particular. It was a florist shop he’d heard of. They supposedly had the freshest, most beautiful flowers for every occasion possible.
His eyes fell upon the shop a few feet away. Surprisingly much unlike its reputation, it was neither showy nor flashy like all the other stores on the street. The sign was simple yet classy. He liked what he saw. He entered the shop slowly. He’d never been one for flowers, but he knew Jessica loved them. She always had. He’d bought her many a bouquet in his time.
The interior of the store was filled with flowers upon flowers in a multitude of colours and types. He hardly even needed to look around though. He already knew exactly what he wanted. Something simple and elegant. Justin marched determinedly over to the counter.
“May I help you?” asked an elderly woman from behind the counter.
“Yes. I’d like a dozen roses please. White ones,” he added. Jessica didn’t like red roses. She always said that they were too common for her. She’d always had a fetish for white ones instead. Justin had always found it a little bit strange; a girl who didn’t like red roses. In his mind, that was practically unheard of.
The elderly women disappeared slowly into a room behind the counter. When she returned a few minutes later, Justin was staring off into space trying to picture the look on Jessica’s face when she received the flowers. “She must be a special girl,” the old women commented when she noted the look upon Justin’s face.
“She’s very special indeed,” Justin replied quietly.
Lila sat at the kitchen table by herself reading the morning paper. She could barely concentrate. She’d read the same line almost three times. In front of her lay a platter of untouched fresh fruit. Food hardly seemed appetizing to Lila this morning.
She flipped through the paper aimlessly her eyes skimming the page for something interesting. Suddenly Lila’s eyes fell upon a large picture of a mother cradling a new born baby in her arms. ‘Birth of the Miracle Baby’ the title blazed. Lila stared at the picture, the mother’s radiant glowing face smiling up at her. As her eyes skipped over the article, she noticed a smaller picture. Tears sprung to her eyes as she read the caption. ‘Proud father Billy Carlton and his new born son.’
Tears streaming down her face, she closed the paper quickly. That was how it was supposed to be. Someday she and Brian were supposed to be proud parents. Somehow everything had ended up wrong though. She was lying to Brian and betraying his trust. Lila wished that things didn’t have to be this way. They did though; there was no other way to go about it.
“Calm down Lila,” she ordered herself. Suddenly feeling overly tired, she gathered her platter of food. Lila walked over to the fridge and carefully placed the untouched food back inside. As she closed the fridge, her teary eyes suddenly landed upon the floral calendar, which was tacked onto the freezer with a magnet. Being the ever-so organized and prepared person that she was, Lila had insisted they keep a calendar in the kitchen for quick reference. Every morning she crossed off the days as they passed and pencilled in important dates. Removing the calendar, slowly from the fridge she grabbed a pen from the drawer and went over to the table. She carefully and neatly crossed out the date with the red pen.
As she crossed it off, her fingers began to tremble when she looked at the date. She had been so consumed with guilt and worry recently that she had managed to overlook the fact that she was almost a week and a half late.
Jessica walked alone down the stairs slowly. Earlier this morning she had practically forced Nick to leave. She couldn’t always depend on him. She had to learn to fend for herself sometimes. As much as she wished Nick could be there all the time, he couldn’t. He couldn’t protect her from every little thing that happened to her.
Before Nick had left, he had asked her time and time again if she was all right. Lying through her teeth, Jessica had answered that she was fine. Before leaving he had wrapped her in a sweet embrace and kissed her gently on the lips. For a second Jessica wished she could stay in his arms forever. She wished that he would hold her and never let go of her. If she had asked, she was sure Nick would have obliged and stayed with her for as long as she needed him to. Jessica hadn’t asked him though. She couldn’t depend on him so much despite how scared she was inside.
With a sigh, she continued slowly down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. Despite the fact that her stomach was empty she didn’t feel like eating anything. She was quite thirsty though. Walking over to the wooden cupboard, she carefully removed a glass from the shelf. Filling it with water, she carried it to the table.
As she approached the table, she noticed that Lila had forgotten to put the calendar back up on the fridge. For a second, Jessica found it a little strange. Lila usually never tolerated things being out of place. Shrugging it off as a careless mistake, Jessica leaned closer to it, ready to pick it up to put it back in its correct position. As her eyes fell upon the calendar, she noticed the date. Her body suddenly tensed up with fear and her hands began to feel clammy and cold. The room began to spin around her. It has to be a mistake. Today can’t be that day.
A low moan escaped her mouth as Jessica realized that it wasn’t a mistake at all. The shaking glass in her hands immediately tumbled to the floor, water spraying everywhere. The sound of the glass as it contacted the floor echoed throughout the whole kitchen. She stood frozen; the jagged pieces of glass scattered around her feet as she remembered what had happened to her exactly one year ago today.
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