Ch-17 ★Hopeless Love

[Aulaura]

Gray Mansion, London

Soon days turned into weeks which turned into months. Three months passed by faster than I had expected. Maybe it was because of Jay’s presence that made time fly by faster. We would occasionally bump into each other at parties, meetings my father would organize.

I enjoyed the little pockets of time I had with him. They were like my pieces of happiness. They made my heart flutter, my stomach churn, and my whole body become alit with strange sensations. Jay always greeted me with warmth, and sweet kindness. We’d talked about the most random things from who came first the chicken or the egg? to how things were going on?

I had shared almost everything about my life with Jay. I had told him about my parents, the broken state of my family. He would listen to me patiently, offer consoling words in between but he would never share his heart’s burden with me. I wanted to know the reason behind the pain. I wanted to know about that lost look that haunted his eyes. I wanted to know about the secrets hidden behind his breath-taking smile. Sadly, Jay didn’t trust me enough to tell me all that.

 It has occurred to me that I loved Jay. It was a scary, petrifying realization. I hope he feels the same way. I don’t know what I might do if he doesn’t. In a buried part of my heart, I knew he would never say those three words I longed to hear.

Eventually I forgot about Hunter and his threat. Hunter didn’t try to contact me once in the past three months. I took his threat as mild warning and waved it off.

Sam and Matthew were growing closer and closer to each other. With some envy, I watched them go on late night dates and movies. They were already so ahead in their relationship. On the other hand, Jay and I stood on the first block. I was waiting for Jay to make a move, it’s stupid of me to think that kiss might have actually meant something to him.

I lay in my bed, buried under the heap of cottony, soft quilts. The lazy rays of the rising sun streamed in through the white curtains, encasing the room in its warm glow. A content sigh escaped my lips as I turned over to one side.

Jay’s latest song ‘broken lies’ strummed through my ear-buds, making me feel all nice and fuzzy. The ear-buds dug deeper into my ear when I twisted my head to the side of the pillow.

I’d lie to you and tell everything will be alright

It breaks me every time

You cry

Because love tears don’t really suit you

A smile crawled up my mouth as my heart beats rose. I remember that night of my birthday party when Jay had found me crying on the steps, he had told me that tears didn’t suit me. I wrapped my hands around my arms, everything blurring into different shapes of pink, I felt my cheeks heat up with warmth. 

There is nothing else I can give you

Other than

Unfinished Kisses, Shattered Heats

And Broken Lies

I felt my lips tingled with warmth.  My hands automatically went to my mouth, traveling along the part where I had felt Jay’s lips. His lips were warm, comforting, and captivating...I closed my eyes, a hand resting above my heart. I felt it beat with excitement.

God, how could he affect me so much?

His coffee like addicting brown eyes were always on my mind, his tortuous, breathing taking smile made it hard to breath. His laugh, God, it seemed like angels were laughing together in unison. His flaws made him even more lovable. His anger scared me yet made my attraction grow.

This wasn’t fair.

All of the sudden, my bedroom’s door flung open with a thunderous bang, jolting me out of bed in an instant. Sam rushed in, her blue eyes brimming with unshed tears, her cheeks tinted red, and strands of blonde hair falling out her braid curving her oval shaped. With shaking hands, she took a seat on the edge of my bed.

My hands reached out for her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. “Sam, what’s wrong?”

She looked at me with a distraught expression on her face, tears slid down her face. “Ja-Jay” She gasped, in between breaths.

Dread settled itself inside my chest. My chest hurt so badly as I felt bile rose up my throat. “What happened to him? Sam get hold of yourself,”

Sam squeezed her eyelids tightly. When she opened them, she seemed to have calmed down a bit. “Matthew called, he told me that-“Her eyes studied my face as if she was trying to choose her words carefully to lessen the blow.

“What did he say?” I snapped, running a hand through my tangled locks.

“That Jay has been arrested,” And for a moment, my world had stopped spinning.

~*~*~

West Wale Prison Station, London

The vacant police station reminded me of a rat’s hole. Everything was so cramped, handcuffed prisoners passed by me giving me stealthy stares. This earned them a menacing glare. Idiots, who did they think they were messing with?

The chubby police office, sitting behind a cluttered desk, munched away on the chocolate donut in his hand, getting crumbs on all the files lying in-front of him.

“Sir, Can I go see him now?” I hovered over the empty chairs in-front of his desk, tapping my fingers impatiently against the chair’s edges. It’s been an over hour since I had arrived at the police station. The annoying, lethargic policeman said I couldn’t visit Jay since his wounds were being dressed. Apparently Jay had gotten into a fight with the bartender and had beaten the guy brutally. The bartender was hurt so badly that he had to be admitted to the hospital.

It’s hard to believe that Jay would lose his calm like that. The only time I’ve seen him get really angry was the time I stepped into the room containing Melody’s photograph.

The policeman dusted off the crumbs from his thick mustache. “Yah-yah go but make it quick,”

I was escorted by another lanky policeman. He had various badges clipped to his chest. He was muttering something into a black, square box in his left hand. “Make sure you get him good...yes I’m talking about third degree torture. Get that bastard to spit the truth,”

A cringe escaped my body. This people were brutal against their prisoners. I hope they’re treating Jay fine.

We walked through a series of narrow, stinky halls with small doors leading into separate prison-cells. The lighting was dim, I kept close to the lanky officer-afraid- that someone would jump out of the dark and snatch me away.

I hadn’t told anyone other than Sam that I was coming here. If by any chance, my dad finds out about this, he’s going to cut my head off and put shackles on my feet then tie me to the Innovation headquarters permanently.

The lanky officer came to abrupt stop, pulling out a pair of keys from his trousers. He inserted them into the lock under the knob of gray, steel door.

“You can go in after Mr. Hutchins leaves,” Matthew was here? I nodded my head, stepping inside the room. The officer clicked the door shut behind me.

It was small, square area, with a sofa placed along the wall, there was another steel door, guarded by a pair of stern men dressed in black. They were really buff, muscle rippled through their arms. I wouldn’t want to pick a fight with them.

Matthew came out of the room, a lady in scrubs next to him (I suppose she was the nurse). He gave the nurse a brief nod before striding forwards, he caught me staring, a relieved smile broke out on his face.

“Aulaura,” He breathed out, rushing towards where I was standing. His curls swayed with each step. I couldn’t help but noticing the cresses of worry filling the sides of his emerald green eyes.

“Is he alright?” I asked him the instant he came to my side. “How is he? I hope he’s not too hurt. When will they bail him out?”

Matthew let out a sigh. “Calm down, he’s fine. His bail should be ready by tomorrow morning,”

“Thank God,” It felt as though some had lifted a boulder off my shoulders. My pulse returned to normal and so did my breaths. “How did this happen though?”

He pressed his lips into thin line. His eyes met mine. “He got into a fight with bartender. He wreaked the guy’s head with a champion bottle,” My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe Jay would do that. He’s not a violent type of guy. “He’s okay now, just lost a-lot of blood and his skull had to be stitched together,”

“Bu-but why did Jay hurt him?”

“I don’t know,” Matthew stared at the wall behind me, his jaw clenched while his hands were balled up into a fist. I had feeling he didn’t want to tell me. Whatever it was, it wasn’t  his business to speak in.

“I can go see him,” I diverted my eyes from him to the cell door.

 “Of-course,” He smiled, solemnly. “Just don’t ask him about the fight,”

“I won’t,”

The guards guiding the door stepped aside when I neared towards the door, I cautiously stepped inside. The prison cell was better than what I thought it would be. There was single bed placed against the furthest wall and a tiny window in the corner through which the morning sun’s rays fell into the cell.

My heart contorted in a strange manner when I saw Jay. He was sitting on the bed, his knees wide apart and his face buried into the nest of his hands. The navy blue shirt he was wearing had been torn into fragments at the hem and sleeves. His arms were covered in white bandages and so were his hands, I waves of pain surge through me. It was as if those cuts were digging into my flesh instead.

“Jay,” My voice barely above a whisper. I neared towards him.

He lifted his face upwards, there was a long, deep cut running along his left jaw..  His brown eyes were bloodshot red, they widened at my sight.

He got up from the bed and rushed towards me, encasing me into a tight hugs, almost knocking me off my feet by the impact. I wrapped my arms around his back, trying not to cry. The familiar smell of Jay's cologne surrounded me, despite the strong smell of alcohol, he still smelled like my Jay.  I could fell his breaths trickle down my neck, calming my anxious heart.

“Are you okay?” I mumbled into his chest.

I felt him tighten his hold on me, he held me onto like an anchor an ocean of storms. “Yah, I just can’t believe came here to see me,”

He pulled away, his hands still on my arms. I instantly began missing the warmth of his body.

I titled my head to one side, smiling slightly. “I had to come,”

He smiled back, though it never reached his eyes. “Thank you,”

I wanted to ask him how did this happen but then I remembered Matthew's warning. I bit down on my lips to prevent the words from slipping out of my mouth. “You had me worried sick,”

He stared at my face for a moment, trying to figure something out, he furrowed his eyebrows together, a cress separating them. “Why?” he finally spoke.

Because I love you. “I’m your friend. Of-course, I would be worried,” I stated, hoping my calm façade would conceal the inner turmoil.

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“What more do you except?”

“Nothing,” He nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. Then a strange expression broke down on his face, there was mixture of hesitation and desperation. He ran his hands through his hair several times, before finally turning to look up at me.

“I need your help,”

Startled by the sudden change, I stumbled backwards only to be caught by a tight clasp on my wrist.

“What do you mean?” I straightened my posture, pulling my wrist away from his grasp.

He let out a deep sigh, his eyes on the verge of tears. “I need you help Aulaura,”

I didn’t get it. Jay had everything- what would he need me for? I will help him nevertheless, even if that meant jumping off the edge of a cliff.

“Okay,” I smiled at him. “How can I help?”

Jay looked everywhere but me. His eyes refused to meet mine. “I-I lost all my money in a bet. I was wondering if you could um-um lend me-“

“Stop!” I was on the verge screaming. Money, I wanted to laugh, I wanted to burst into tears. He wanted my money. Isn’t that always the case? The only reason people befriended me was for my father’s money. All my life, I have been surrounded my selfish people who only cared for money and fame. I thought Jay was different, I thought he understood me. I thought he understood my pain.

I was damn wrong. I was horrified by the person in front of me. How could he? He had played with me. He had toyed with my emotions. His browns eyes seemed pale and disgusting. His black hair looked filthy, his sharp jaw, straight nose everything about him seemed horrifying.

How did I fall for him? Why did I fall for him? Why did I love him?

“Dad,” I stared at the person who once used be my loving, caring father. He used to my best-friend, the person I could tell all my secrets to. He used to me my hero. He used to be the world’s best father. Now he was nothing more than a person lost in the craze to gain money and fame.

His eyes were glued to the computer screen while his fingers danced across the keyboard.

“Dad, mom is crying,” My eleven year-old self spoke again, nudging his shoulder. He wasn’t listening, his mind was fully-focused on work. “Daddy,” I shook his shoulder harder than before.

“I’m busy,” He snapped, the sharp tone of his voice caused me to cower in fear.

I put aside my fear for my mother’s sake. Mom needed dad. She had been crying in her room for several hours. “But dad, mom-“

“What is it?” He groaned setting his glasses next to the keyboard. He rubbed his eyes together with his fingertips.

I felt giddy that I had his full attention. “Mom is cr-“

He turned to face me, a tired look on his face. “Look Aura, let me work, I promise I’ll make up it to you once my company gets higher on the stock market,”

“Mom is crying,” I replied. “Please go talk to her,”

“Okay, I will,” He sighed. I felt so happy that I could jump fifty in the air “Later,” My happiness melted away like a lump of salt-later always meant never.

“Dad, she needs you,”

“I need to work, I’ll deal with your mother later,” He picked up his glasses and started typing again.

I stomped my feet. “No, talk to her now,”

“Aulaura, tell me- can talking fill someone’s stomach?”

“No,” I mumbled.

“See, you’re a smart girl. We need money. Money can buy everything even happiness, Now shoo I need work,”

I didn’t believe him then but now I do. My father was right, money could buy everything. This world belonged to those who had money.

A strange thought entered my mind. Jay wanted my money. I’ll give it to him. I loved him and there is no-way I can stop myself from loving him. The chance of Jay feeling the same way are zero to none so...

“I’ll give you some money,” I smiled brightly, hopefully my smile concealed the scheme bustling through my mind.

Jay stared at me, unbelievingly. His face broke out into a wide grin.  “Really? Thank you so much Aulaura. You don’t know what you’ve done for me-”

“But I have one condition,” The smile on his face dimmed. “As you know everything comes with a price,”

“What would be the price?” He couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes and the tremble of his hands.

I smiled, satisfied with the effect.

I pointed a finger at the center of his chest. “You,”

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Note: I’m not happy with this chapter but it’ll have to do. (okay, okay I admit it, it's pathetic chapter) I didn’t want you guys to wait any longer, so yah...

Sorry :( for the long wait. I feel so guilty about that.

Hopefully the next update will be soon. Fingers crossed.

The book will be ending soon…. I guess, I’ll be summing everything up in eleven chapters. (this is not final, if I’m able to  accomplish it then hopefully the last chapter will be posted by the end of this year)

^-^ anyways please do comment.