Misery's Company

Jasmine woke to a dull morning light filtering through the cracked blinds. Her head ached as the pain of yesterday’s truth resurfaced. Her eyes unable to shed another tear and her throat unable to elicit another sob.

The bed was old, creaking with every movement she made. She laid there for a moment, unable to find the motivation to sit up. Her chest heavy as her mind swirled with everything she had to accept. 

Her father’s confession played on a loop in her head. Benjamin. Her brother. He was her brother. Her blood brother. 

He had been stolen, sold for money, and the deal her father had made was one she could never undo. Her mother had spiraled into a depression from the pain of her father’s decision. And Jasmine had grown up with an empty space where a sibling could have been. 

The reality of the truth was far darker than she had imagined. Her father’s guilt and sorrow were obvious, but it wasn’t enough to erase the hurt he had caused. She wanted to understand him. To somehow forgive him, but it was too complicated. 

She needed time. Time she didn’t have. Time was taken from her, and she would never get it back. 

Her hands shook as she finally sat up, the new reality sinking deeper into her bones. The house, her childhood home, was a hollow shell. It mirrored the state of her family, all the dirty secrets and abandoned dreams. It was dead, as dead as she felt inside. 

Her eyes followed the light coming through the blinds. The ray of light landed on the framed photo of her mother. It didn’t matter if the greater good wanted her to find the positive, she wasn’t ready to leave the company of her misery. 

The photo was just a reminder of agony. Everything about this place felt suffocating. The once-lively room now felt cold, empty. She needed to leave this place and never return, but the invisible shackle of pain kept her chained inside. 

Jasmine pushed herself out of bed and stood in front of the mirror. She was staring at the woman she had become. Unable to recognize herself anymore. The innocence she had left was faded, and in its place, she saw a woman who had been shattered and reconstructed in ways she couldn’t begin to understand.

Old memories began flooding back, taunting her and keeping her tied to the misery within the walls. Memories of better times when she’d run through these halls, playing with imaginary friends and making promises to herself about the future. But it was all gone now. 

The future she had envisioned felt distant and impossible. The people she had loved were gone, and what remained was a tangle of secrets and lies that she didn’t know how to untangle. That she couldn’t untangle. 

Benjamin had the box of proof, but she wasn’t sure what good a box of old papers would do. Getting her hands on it wouldn’t bring back the missed years with her brother or her mother. Clara’s family was so powerful, she knew there was nothing she could do.

She had to find a way to move on.

She walked through the house slowly. Her footsteps echoing in the silence. She wandered from room to room. Painful memories of her mother’s laughter and the smell of dinner cooking wafting through her mind. 

Yet, she was unable to shed another tear. 

She ran her hand across the old couch, feeling the rough fabric beneath her fingers. She could almost hear the sounds of her mother humming in the kitchen and the distant chatter of her father talking about work. But in reality, all that remained was an emptiness so vast that it threatened to swallow her whole. 

To consume her, trap her into a living hell. 

She reached the foyer and paused, staring out of the window at the yard she had once played in. The garden was overgrown now. The flowers her mother had lovingly tended to in the past now wild and untamed. The sight made her chest ache. Her mother had always taken care of everything. 

But now, everything had fallen into disrepair. She couldn’t remember how her father maintained everything before she left. Memories between her mother’s passing and her leaving for college were a blur. 

Jasmine sank to the floor. She leaned her back against the door and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but she needed something. Anything. She needed to find a way to make sense of it all. 

The sadness in her chest was still raw, but it was slowly being replaced by an overwhelming sense of anger. Rage even. She was out of tears and sobs, but the urge to scream and break things were sprouting. 

She no longer knew who she was or who she needed to be to survive. The man who had promised to protect her had made choices that had stolen so much from her. He wasn’t protecting her… he was selfishly protecting himself. 

She had to figure out what to do next. If she spent another night in this house, she might burn it to the ground. The fire and ash would hopefully cleanse her pain by destroying the one place that brought her so much grief. 

She wished she had someone to talk to. Someone to confide in, vent to, and seek refuge within. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Elijah.

The absence of his presence felt like a wound. She had pushed him away by disconnecting herself from him. The thought of hurting him made her heart ache in ways she hadn’t expected. He was the one person who had been there for her, but now… without him she felt more lost than ever. 

Without her phone, there was no way for him to reach her. No way to know where she was or how much she needed him. And though part of her wished he would find her, the other part of her couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him. The thought of having to explain everything, made her nauseous. 

Unbeknownst to Jasmine, Elijah was in full panic mode.

For two days, his mind raced as he sat in the darkened office. His phone ringing endlessly, the screen lighting up with missed calls and messages. None were her. 

No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t get through to her. He tried calling her phone again, but there was no answer, and the ping died in the middle of nowhere. He tried her email, send her job requests on the HireMe app, and search her social media for clues. 

Nothing.  

His concern deepened with every passing minute. An agonizing feeling of dread settled over him. He couldn’t accept that Jasmine was gone, and he couldn’t shake the thought that something had happened to her. 

His mind snapped back to the team. He gathered them together, demanding they find Jasmine. He needed to know where she was, and he needed to know now. They spread out, their resources pulling in every direction. 

Elijah sat in the center of it all. Anxiously watching the clock tick by as the hours stretched into what felt like an eternity. He paced, frustration growing with each passing minute. His heart raced, his eyes darkening as the minutes became hours and still… no one had found her.

Maya had joined the search late due to her own graduation plans. Her calm demeanor an anchor in the sea of chaos. She was quiet but effective, combing through leads and checking every possible location where Jasmine might have gone. 

Maya was a skilled hacker, and it wasn’t long before she realized something important. Something his team missed. Something they all missed.

Elijah’s men had picked Maya up when they picked up his car at the university. It hadn’t crossed her mind then, but she realized she didn’t see her car in the parking lot. Jasmine had her car… it was a smart move.

“Got her!”, Maya said. Her voice steady but urgent, “My car. It’s showing up and not at the university.”. She had a fail-safe in her car that could help locate Jasmine.

Elijah’s breath caught in his throat, “Where?”

“Her father’s house.”, Maya replied. Pulling up the coordinates on her device. “It’s hours away, but she’s there. I’m sure of it.”

Elijah’s face hardened as he processed the information. Without another word, he moved quickly, giving instructions to the team. They would go to Jasmine’s father’s house. They would find her, no matter what.

By the time the team arrived at the dilapidated house, the sun had set. The house loomed in the distance, a sad reminder of Jasmine’s past. Elijah stepped out of the car. His expression dark as he surveyed the area. 

His concern for Jasmine only grew stronger with every step he took. Elijah didn’t wait. He marched straight to the front door, the others following behind him.

The moment he rounded entered the living room… his eyes fell on Jasmine. She was sitting in the corner of the room. Her body curled up in a tight ball as she stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. She didn’t move.

She was pale and cold. Her expression unreadable, but then the tears welled up in her eyes. Her body trembled. 

Before she could say a word, Elijah was by her side. Without hesitation, he scooped her up into his arms. Holding her close to his chest.

“Jasmine…”, he whispered. His voice strained with emotion, “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

She didn’t respond. Her body was limp in his arms, and he could feel the tension in her frame. She passed out from exhaustion, the weight of everything finally taking its toll on her. 

Elijah’s heart ached as he held her. Feeling her fragile form in his arms. His protective instincts kicked in, and without hesitation, he carried her outside to the car.

“Where are you going?”, her father called out.

They ignored him and kept moving.

“Get her to the car.”, Elijah ordered. His voice sharp with urgency. 

The team quickly moved to comply.

Elijah climbed into the back seat of the car, still holding Jasmine in his arms. His eyes were focused on her. His thoughts running wild as he cradled her fragile body. He could feel her shallow breaths against his chest, but he didn’t let go. 

He couldn’t. Not now. The car started moving, and Elijah watched as the driver guided them away from the house. Maya loaded Jasmine’s father into her vehicle and followed behind them. 

The silence in the car was deafening as Elijah held Jasmine. His mind racing with everything he had learned, everything he had failed to understand before. His world had been turned upside down, and the only thing that mattered now was getting Jasmine home. 

To their home.

He looked down at the shell of a woman she had become, and a tear fell down his cheek. Elijah didn’t know what the future held, but he knew that Jasmine needed time. Time to heal, time to process, and time to find her place in a world that had betrayed her.