The next couple of months went by in a breeze, they were pretty stressful for daddy mainly because he was worried about the limited room space and lack of privacy, so much so that on many occasions he planned to call the whole moving thing off.

I tried to calm him down, reassure him each time that it would all be worth it at the end and each time, one glass of champagne would prove to be an amazing stress reliever for him. 

Jasper still wouldn't talk to me and other than the occasional glance or two or "Yeah" or "No" every now and then, he wouldn't say a single word to me. Every time I tried to approach him and apologise, he would run away or just ignore what I was saying. He completely changed. He started remaining quieter and would barely talk to anyone. Everyone seemed to notice this sudden change of behavior of his and were worried.

Work was going pretty crappy considering the rich asshole decided to never show up, turning my hope for the junior vp position into a lucid dream.  But I could always count on Jason to cheer me up each time, be it with work stress or awkward failed dates, he was always there with a hug and a large mug of hot chocolate.

Jacob and I bonded very well during the course of the few months spent moving. He was the brother one would always wish to have; kind, protective, funny and a bit goofy too, just like Jasper used to be.........I missed his joyous presence.

Family dinners were pretty uncomfortable as well. With Jasper completely shut up and Jacob and daddy trying to lighten the mood while Jason and I shared  painful glances hoping the dinner would soon come to an end, they were disasters, but guess what? I wouldn't trade them in for the world.

Then came that one emotional moment when the diary given by Dr Cagahan where I would talk to ma came to an end, and I took it to the Surfrider and let it float, where I first left ma.....This time with her picture as well, the last one daddy and I had of her. Mainly because it was too hard for him and I to see someone whom we loved and cherished for the longest time, only to realize that they no longer existed. Jason and Jacob accompanied me to the beach,while Jo stayed at home with Daddy, comforting him while he would cry.Of course, there were many tears on my part too and luckily, I had two amazing people who were at my beck and call whenever I needed.

Jo proved to be an amazing person. She was kind to me, supportive, super stylish (her fashion advice was always on point, no kidding!) always there when I needed her, and I could talk to her freely, almost as if she were my...........

No, she could never be. No one could ever replace ma..... But would it really be so bad if I wanted to move on from what happened two and a half years ago? I would find myself asking that question multiple times a day, the answer always ended in me feeling beyond guilty and nothing could shake it.

I started noticing daddy and Jo being extremely secretive since the last two months, the constant whispers, occasional nudging when I was around and the frequent visits to "Sheila Albany" who they claimed was a mutual friend of theirs were starting to make me feel suspicious, but then again, who knows?

On a saturday morning, which I had fully intended to spend lazing around, sleeping, and watching Netflix was ruined when daddy barged in, interrupted my nap then shook me violently.

"Lamb, lamb! Wake up! We gotta cook something special for tonight.... I got a book for help!" daddy was jumping on the floor and was highly hyper.

"Daddy..... Did you eat one of my pills?" I asked suspiciously.

"Of course not, I only ate the peach ones on the desk."

"Daddy..... Those are my adderall tablets! "

"But they looked so yummy! I just couldn't help it!" he continued jumping up and down with surprising amount of energy for a person at 7 in the morning.

"Okay okay! So.... uh we can go cook in an hour, the affect will lessen within the time. Daddy you just lie down on my bed, I'll get you some coffee.

Basically after an hour of babysitting my father, he eventually came back to his senses and demanded to know what happened.

"Daddy, you woke me up saying that we had to cook something fancy for tonight's family dinner."

"Oh, I did? Yes....Oh... We should start cooking.Today's the day Jo and the two boys officially move in!" he ran to the kitchen in an instant.

Oh shit!That's today?Please God kill me now..... No wonder daddy got high!

Sometimes I worry about that guy.

"Oh, well this is going to be fun." I rolled my eyes.

After four hours of menial labor and fatigue, with only the duck left to bake. I heard the key slide in and the door open. Jo and the trio had arrived. She hung her coat and was lured into the kitchen through the delicious aroma of something called "Fancy Foods"

"Hey guys, whats the awesome smell?" Jo asked as she entered the kitchen.

"It's  sausage manicotti, alongside duck breast with apricot chutney, for dessert we have pavlova but it doesn't have any raspberries mainly cuz we were out but uh......."

They were shamelessly making out in the kitchen by the time I had turned around, scared they were gonna do it on the counter, I tried to think of something.

I gagged. "We topped it off with extra whipped cream as a substitute." I shouted rather loudly.

Sadly, they did not stop. So I went for Plan B. I ran before I was scarred for life. Mid way my plan to escape this traumatizing event, I bumped into Jason in the hall.

"You do not wanna go in there, trust me." I shuddered at the thought of all the nasty thing they were doing in there. I pointed at the kitchen.

"I can only imagine." disgusted, Jason tried to make a run for it.

"Take me with you." I pleaded holding onto his arm

"No thanks." and with that, he ran like a coward

I obviously ran behind him.

He was seating himself in his civic when I barged in and sat in the passenger's seat.

He raised his left eyebrow.

"Sorry, I don't remember inviting you in." he rolled his eyes.

"Keep driving boy." I said looking straight ahead

He chucked. "Aye Aye captain." and with that, we drove off to the nearest coffee shop.

We talked for about what seemed like ages, laughing, making jokes and overall being severely cringy with a side of goofy.

"Hey....uh do you remember that one night, the night we met after a year, a couple of months ago....I uh told you I was gonna die?Do you want to know how?" he looked into my eyes as he held my hand.

"W-wait so that wasn't a joke? You are going to die?" I shuddered. A few hot tears welled up.

"No.... it wasn't." he said in a rather serious tone.

"Do Jo and your brothers know?" I trembled as I spoke.

"They don't, and if I tell you, you have to swear not to tell anyone....." as he spoke I saw genuine concern in his eyes for his family.

"Y-yeah."

"Okay.... So you know my mother died, she drowned in the sea atr Surfrider nearly thirteen years ago......." Just then his cellphone rang.

A girl titled " love"was calling him, and in in that moment I couldn't help but feel rather jealous

He got up and walked out the shopto receive the call, talked for about twelve minute only to walk back in and tell me he had to leave.

"Hey.... I'll uh.... drop you home...It's just..... something came up, I'm really sorry."

"No, its okay, we can talk about this later." I brushed the crumbs off my shirt and tried to hide the large drops of water forming up in my eyes with my lashes.

The whole car ride went by in silence. After an agonizing seventeen minutes of driving (Yes I counted) he pulled over to the house and opened the door for me.

"Tell Alex and my mother that I'l be home for dinner." he said.

I didn't respond and walked up to my house. Then he ended up spontaneously hugging me from the back.

"Thank you." he whispered as grabbed my stomach in his left hand.

"For?" I questioned.

"For making my life bearable, even if its for a few days."

"Days?! And you're telling me now?" I tried to slap him but he caught my hand.

He pinned me to the concrete wall, forcing my hands back.

He whispered in a seductive tone. "I didn't want to."

 His voice alone was enough to make me melt like butter in his arms.

"Why?" his strong arms and muscular torso kept me from moving even the slightest inch.

"I don't want you to worry 'bout me." he loosened his grip went back to sit in his car.

And just like that, he bloody left, no explanation, no proper goodbye, nothing, and I couldn't help but break down. 

He was going to die.... and there was nothing I could do about it..... unless there is a way to save him.