Three

Jasmine walked back to the road sluggishly and ordered a taxi to take her to her best friend's apartment. Throughout the drive to the apartment, Jasmine didn't take her eyes off the tall buildings and the people who were enjoying their evening, totally clueless about the girl in the car who was slowly losing her mind. A tear dropped from her eye and she wiped it away. Clearing her throat, she made up silly excuses for Alex and consoled herself with them.

Bethany, her best friend, didn't ask many questions when she opened the door and saw a wet and crying Jasmine on her doorstep.

"Oh honey, come here." She said as she drew her in for a hug.

"My things are in the cab outside. Can you help me get them and also pay the cab man?"  Jasmine said when she broke free of the hug.

"Of course, darling. You get in and dry yourself, okay?" Bethany said as she walked outside to bring her things in.

Jasmine knew that Bethany would want to engage her in conversations that would lead to more tears. As such, she got under the sheets, closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep.

***

The smell of coffee woke her up the next day and she struggled to open her eyes which were almost swollen shut.

"Good morning, Jasmine," Bethany said as she jumped on Jasmine who was sleeping face down, and was rewarded with the groaning that came from Jasmine.

"Get off me," Jasmine struggled to say as she felt Bethany lie on her back, pressing her stomach into the bed that they had picked out together.

"Not until you tell me what happened."

"Beth, I'm serious. Get off me. I need to go wait for Alex."

"What?" Bethany said and finally got off Jasmine who took the opportunity to run to the bathroom. Immediately after she got in, she slammed the door shut not wanting to tell her best friend what had happened to her last night.

"Jasmine, when you get out here, we are going to talk, whether you want to or not," Bethany yelled through the door.

"No, we won't. I am going to go back to my house to wait for Alex."

"Girl, it's your day off work and you want to spend it waiting for a guy?"

"Yeah." Jasmine could hear her sighing from the other side of the door and she knew that she had finally given up. Jasmine was too stubborn, even though she was the sweetest soul that had walked the earth.

"But at least promise me that we will talk about it?"

"Okay, fine. We will talk about it," Jasmine said as she realized that she at least owed her some kind of explanation for why she had to budge into her home so late at night. Jasmine heard the retreating steps of Bethany and rushed to take her bath and go back to her apartment. She didn't want to miss seeing Alexander, she knew that he would come searching for her and she needed to be around when he does. She couldn’t wait to tell him about all that she has been through since the previous day, and also to bring him to Beth’s place where she now stays. Sneaking out of the apartment, she rushed to her house.

***

Jasmine didn't care much about the petty conversations the cab driver was indulging her in as they drove to the house. She was sure that Alexander was already waiting for her and she didn't want to keep him waiting for long. With excitement, she rushed out of the cab as soon as it pulled over to the curb of her former apartment and she ran into the premises.

Her excitement fell when she didn't notice a tall, dark, and muscular man waiting for her outside the apartment.

"Well, maybe he just wants to come later. All I have to do is wait for him." She said as she climbed the stairs and sat on them with her hand supporting her chin. Jasmine ordered for food to be sent to her apartment and she spent the day watching, waiting and jumping at any sound she heard being made at the gate. Worn out and tired, she decided to keep waiting for her man in hopes that he will come for her, and the joy of seeing him again filled her up with strength when she felt weak.

*****

Alexander walked into the fully furnished apartment that his parents had gotten for him. His eyes took a quick scan of the house and he noticed features that he hadn't seen before due to anxiety. They had placed a piano in the corner of the room for his benefit. He didn't totally believe that his parents could just change their minds overnight, but he was thankful for whoever talked them into doing it.

He regretted standing and waiting for the airport officers to come to meet him. Apparently, they believed that he was a suspect in a drug case that they were trying to solve. After two hours of interrogation in their station, he was finally allowed to go. Alexander had decided to not tell his parents, they were already doing so much for him and he needed to be able to take care of himself without always calling them.

Pulling out his phone again, he tried reaching Jasmine again for the umpteenth time. He believed that her battery had died and that was why she couldn't respond to his calls. But he also knew that it was daytime over there in New York and that she must have had the time to charge up her phone. After having tried it severally, Alexander throws the phone on his bed and walks sluggishly to his fridge.

He removes a bottle of beer, goes back to the couch, and sips on it as he tries to cage his raising emotions. The hurt, fear, and uncertainty of not knowing what had happened to Jasmine soon overwhelmed him and he took out his phone again.

After trying her number one last time and still not being able to reach her, he puts a call through to his cousin. All he needed was for someone to tell him that she was alright, it would go a long way to stop his head from spinning and his mind from going mad.

With shaking hands, Alexander tried to hold on tightly to the phone as he heard Liam pick up the call.

"Alex! My God, what a pleasant surprise. What's up?"

"Liam. I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I heard you traveled again."

"Yes, yes I did. I actually called to ask for your help with something."

"Sure man, what's up?"

"Okay, I need you to go to Laker's street and help me find a young woman there."

"Oh, man," Liam's voice sounded sad as he spoke. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that today. I'm not in town at the moment and I will be going back home tomorrow."

"Oh, that's okay. You can always go tomorrow to check."

"Okay. I sure will. What's the name of the person I am to look for?"

"Ivy, her name is Ivy."

"Okay. I will go there tomorrow."

"Thanks, man."

"Sure anytime. I gotta go now, I have some work to do." Liam said and waited till Alex said his goodbye before he ended the call.

Alexander laid back on the sofa, took another sip of his beer, and assured himself that Jasmine would be okay.

****

Jasmine looked up at the sky which was covered with stars and knew that Alexander would not be coming. She bowed her head in disappointment, ordered a cab, and went back to Bethany's apartment.

Bethany's face gleamed with joy when she saw her best friend walk into the house.

"Well, look who’s back. How was it?" She said whilst trying to make dinner.

"I don't want to talk about it," Jasmine said as she hung her shoulders and started walking into her room.

"Oh no, you don't!" Bethany turned off the gas and walked into the room with her. "Lady, we are going to talk about what's bothering you right now. I know you always don’t want to talk about the things that hurt you, but not this time."

"But, I'm tired."

"And I don't care. Now come on, sit and tell me what the problem is." Jasmine looked at her best friend and knew that the young lady wouldn't give up this time. She had no other choice than to talk.

"Okay fine," Jasmine said as she finally sat down. "It's about Alex."

"What about Alex?"

As much as Jasmine hated to admit it, she had to read the writings on the wall. While confessing her deepest fear to her best friend, she felt the tears she had managed to suppress coming back. "I think he is blowing me off. We were supposed to meet yesterday but he didn't show up and he hasn't shown up today either. I don't know what to do."

"Why don't you just call him?"

"I can't call him. I was robbed and my phone was stolen. I was also evicted from my apartment for no reason. I don't know what's going on but I really need Alex now and he is nowhere to be found."

"Okay, let's look at this objectively. When was the last time you spoke with him?"

"That was yesterday. He told me he was looking forward to our date but that he wouldn't be able to make it because he was stuck at his uncle's house. We were supposed to meet today but I waited all day for him and he never showed up."

"Oh, I'm really sorry, love," Bethany said as she gently patted her friend and pulled her in for a hug.

"Don't be sorry for me just yet." Jasmine pulled away from the hug and spoke. "I'm going back there tomorrow and I am going to wait all day again."

"But Jasmine, you have to go to work."

"No, I don't. I'll just call in sick."

"Jas, I don't know about this."

"My mind is already made up, Beth. I need to see him. I just need to and I won't stop till I do." Jasmine walked into the bathroom to freshen up and prepare herself for bed. She tried to hide it but Bethany could see her heart breaking and despite everything that Bethany tried saying, she refused to eat dinner. Jasmine cried herself to bed while saying consoling words to herself to help soothe her rapidly beating heart.

*****

"Hello, Liam."

"Alex, good morning."

"Good morning." Alexander wasted no time in calling Liam as soon as he was sure that the day has broken in New York. He needed information on Jasmine and he was starting to get desperate. "I called to remind you to check on that woman for me. I dropped the address for you in your mail."

"Okay. I will." Alex didn't wait to engage his cousin in any petty talk, he immediately ended the call and tried going about his daily duty without thinking of Jasmine.

*****

Jasmine rushed out of the house before Bethany could wake up. She didn't need anybody trying to convince her to give up on her mission. She was positive that sooner than later, Alex would show up. She reached her former apartment and tried to avoid making conversation with her landlord who looked pale upon seeing her and still walked away without a word.

Ignoring him, she placed a call to her boss and pretended to be sick.

"Good morning ma’am," she said with a crooked voice.

"OMG, Jasmine are you okay?"

"No ma’am. I'm very sick and I can't move at all."

"Oh, you poor thing. You know what, take today and tomorrow off okay? Come back when you feel better."

"Okay. Thank you, ma’am," Jasmine said while trying to suppress a laugh. Immediately she ended the call, she burst out in laughter and sat down to wait for Alex.

*****

Alexander came back from music classes and as much as he loved the classes, he couldn't think straight. He couldn't even concentrate on anything else. He immediately placed a call to Liam who picked on the third ring.

"Hello, Alex."

"Liam. What's up?"

"I'm sorry man. I can't go today, I am so tired and I need to rest. But I promise, tomorrow I will be there unfailingly."

"Okay. Thank you." Alex couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice but he also couldn't force Liam to go against his wishes. He knew how busy the young man was, after all, he owned his own company and was building it up to be an empire. He laid back on his bed and imagined that Ivy was wrapped around his arms. The imagination helped him to fall asleep.

*****

After having waited for what felt like an eternity, Jasmine got up and left. This time, she was angry and slightly disappointed. She couldn't understand why Alex would leave her alone without saying a word. She decided that she would wait for him one last time and if he didn't show up, she would give up and move on with her life. Her anger still couldn't stop the tears from falling down her eyes.

Bethany saw how depressed she was looking when she got into the house and decided to not bother her. She also pretended to not hear her when Jasmine snuck out of the house again early the next morning to resume her mission of waiting for the love of her life.

Jasmine said a little prayer as she opened the gate and walked into the apartment. She still saw no sign of Alexander. She said another prayer as she made to sit and wait for him this last time. She really hoped it wasn’t what she was thinking… She refused to think that way.

****

Liam made up his mind to go to the address his cousin had been telling him about. He set an alarm to remind himself. As soon as his alarm rang, he turned in for the day and drove out to the address he was given.

Jasmine had waited yet again for hours, but her wait was all in vein. Her heart was breaking, her thoughts were filled with thoughts of Alex, which were interrupted by the sounds of thunderstorms. Shaking herself back into reality, she realized it was already getting dark. She finally admitted to herself that Alex had left her for good. The realization brought tears to her eyes and Jasmine didn't know when she started crying. The hurt, pain, and anger came together and made her cry like a baby. Her wailing sounds were drowned in by the rain that had started to pour heavily.

She walked sluggishly out of the premises and through the tears and rainfall, Jasmine managed to see a car drive towards the compound and her heart leaped for joy at the thought that Alex had actually come for her. She cleaned her eyes and stood to watch her man come out of the car in anticipation, with a whole lot already running through her mind. Disappointment brushed through her and made her shiver, as her hopes were dashed when the masculine figure that came out of the car gracefully was not Alex.