(Continuing Past)

I saw Jas lying in the operating room. I wasn't allowed to meet him until the surgery was over. I informed his aunt, Katherine, and impatiently waited outside. Joe, Larry, and Clara managed to show up in no time as soon as I informed them.

It was quick then, the doctor came out finishing the surgery.

"I'm sorry to say. But he lost one of his legs—the right one, to be precise." I couldn't believe what my ears heard.

He further said, "The truck tyres nearly mashed his right leg. Bones crushed into pieces. We tried much, but regrettably we couldn't fix it."

"Take good care of him. He'll need to stay here at least for a week." He left, patting my shoulder.

We never imagined, even in our wildest dreams, that Jas would have to undergo such a horrific phase. We were all shattered into slices. He just coped with his parents' loss. I didn't know how he would make it through this one.

After a while, a nurse came towards us, saying, "He's awake. You can see him now."

"Okay guys. Listen up. I know that by now, Jas would have desperately burst out. I don't want him to break down further by seeing our desolate faces. I want us all to cheer him up. So try to perk up yourselves." Larry's words dumped some sense into our skulls. I wiped my tears off and consoled myself.

As we got in, I saw Jas lying down, watching the closed window pointlessly. Tears rolled down from his eyes perpetually.

As we walked close to him, he twisted his head towards us, sensing our presence. I couldn't put up with his deeply torn eyes.

"Jas?"

"El!" Being broken, he poured himself into my arms. He started weeping like a child, holding me very tightly. I embraced him, not knowing how to console him.

"I was just riding along the sidewalk. And in a sudden flash of a second, I got lost in my thoughts and was riding absentmindedly." Jas paused. 

"It was slippery ahead, and I didn't notice. My bike collapsed in a flash, sliding me down. And a truck following me, unaware of this instant accident, drove over one of my legs. As the pain got into my nerves in a jiff, I swooned swiftly." I could sense the restlessness in his voice. 

"Slow down, Jas. It's okay." I tried to console him.

But he continued, "When I came to consciousness, I sensed the loss of one of my legs." He wiped off the tears and held them back from me. A dead silence prevailed for a while. We were all in absolute lack of words.

"It's really hard to accept. And I don't know how I am going to survive this." His throat choked as he said.

"Jas, have hope. It'll be alright soon. We are with you in this." Larry gave him a warm hug following me.

•••••••

A week later.

Jas got discharged. His aunt stayed with him for a week.

He appointed a maid to look after him as soon as his aunt left. She is an unmarried woman in her thirties. Susan—her name is. She was very appealing, and it wasn't hard to friend-zone her.

Jas appealed for a long sick leave and got it sanctioned from the high school. It wasn't a tough process since Mrs. Elliot helped us with the formal procedures.

After that, I made it my custom to pay a visit to him every morning before going to school.

In his earlier days, he found it hellish to do normal daily tasks. Every time I saw him struggling to walk, I felt very guilty and helpless. I desperately wanted to be his walking stick so that I could hold him tight whenever he was about to slip. Many times, he lost himself in the process of healing. It was hard for us to hold him up.

That phase of his life was something that changed him downright. He was wholly transformed into a new person. He was no longer the Jas he used to be. But I desperately wanted the old Jas back. So I pushed him every day to do something that calmed his feelings. I framed every single happy memory we all had and hung it around the walls of his bedroom, so whenever he takes a look at it, he'll be overwhelmed by happy vibes.

"El, please stop hanging your photos around. Jas's mood will drop the very moment he gets to see your face." Joe laughed as if he were telling a big joke.

"Keep your lame jokes apart, Joe. Or I'll kick you out."

"How dare you say my jokes are lame? I'll not spare you for that." He got hold of a flower vase nearby.

"Let's see that too." I equipped myself with a fork my hands managed to find. Jas laughed, seeing us quarrelling. And that was the beginning of his third phase of life.

•••••••

Present day.

A blaring horn from the truck passing by hit me back to reality from the fiasco past.

"To hell with the horns and traffic of California." I groaned.

I stopped at the nearby florist's and thought of buying a bouquet of orange poppies in the hope that it'd brighten Jas's day.

With a bunch of poppies in my hand, I got to Jas's residence.

"Come on, man, open the door", I got tired of ringing the bell for almost half an hour. There was still no response from the inner side. I tried calling his mobile, but it was switched off.

"Mr. Jason Bennett, what's making you so late to open the door? I got late to my classes. If you don't answer me in five minutes, I'll leave then." I screamed so that he could hear me even if he was still sleeping.

No response again.

"Okay, sleepy head, I'm leaving. I'll catch you this evening." I placed the bouquet safely on his doorstep.

"A guest is waiting for you at your doorstep. Pick her up and call me once you get to see this text." I sent a message to his mobile and shrugged dispiritedly. It was totally abnormal since he hadn't woken up yet. He never slept this long in the morning.

"It might be that he slept late last night." I assured my freaking mind.

While I maneuvered my blackbird to leave, a piece of crushed white paper lying in the lawn straight down Jas's bedroom casement caught my attention.

If a paper was thrown by Jas through his room casement from upstairs, it would have landed in the exact place where I found that letter. So, I thought there is a probability for that.

It was wet and covered by a layer of sand. To the extent of my wisdom, it mizzled only in the early hours of yesterday. So he might have thrown it last night. I felt proud, as if I had found the salient lead for city-threatening serial murders.

I rubbed off the sand coating safely. Once I opened the letter, I could sense Jas's handwriting in it.

To the days when I felt completely shattered,

I had enough of you within a few months of my life, so now I feel it's time to break up with you.

You kept me so occupied that I totally forgot what was going on.

I am exhausted, and sometimes I can't even breathe; my hands start trembling as if my nerves are partying.

I wish you could just disappear somewhere and want all those happy days back. Because of you, I almost forgot to live in the present. I was just surviving then.

And there are times when I loved you too and never wanted to get over what I was going through. But that's enough, we can no longer live together. I can no longer wrestle with you.

It's time to say goodbye.

Jason.

I completely dwelt in a daze. Every word he wrote pierced my heart. With no second thought, I rushed to his door and started knocking again. There was no response for another five minutes. I realized it was a total waste of time. So I called Susan to ask if she had another set of keys to the house. And she picked up the call after a few attempts.

"Hey Susan, I'm Elena. Do you have a spare key for Jas's house?" I tried to remain calm.

"Yeah, I have one." She replied in total confusion.

"I need the keys. Can you just come here shortly?" I felt guilty for disturbing her early in the morning, but I had no other choice. I just wanted to make sure Jas was okay.

She managed to come in a short period of time. With the look in her face, I could tell that she was totally confused and fed up with me already.

•••••••

To be pursued...

Have a delightful read buddies!

Cheers..!!

••••••••