One Day, Maybe. #NewAdult

Ch.10. Snake Bite

        You know, The understatement of the century would be to say that seeing Jemma with Bastian didn't do anything to me.

        It started with fear. My heart fighting to escape its entrapment as if it suddenly didn't have enough space in my chest to beat. I was certain that if I could rip open my chest, everyone would be able to see the abnormality of my heart's movements.

        This wasn't happening, it wasn't happening, it couldn't be. It was all in my head for some fucked up reason, or maybe I was so deep into the book that I was suddenly confusing reality with someone else's imagination.

         I tried to take a deep breath after I shut my eyes firmly. It wasn't until I felt a hand on my shoulder that I reopened my eyes and looked to the side for a second at Jame's mother who stood worryingly next to me, her face was guarded, her smile was careful as if she were dealing with a scared animal.

          "Charlotte, sweetie, you're breathing really heavily right now. You gotta calm down before you approach them or you're going to scare Sebastian." Her voice was calm but there was still a hint of something in the way she said it, watching me.

         I smiled back at her, something to possibly reassure her, but maybe it was something she saw in my eyes or the fact that I was unable to keep that smile off my face that had her shake her and say, "aye, aye, aye. This girl don't know what's coming for her with this mama bear on her tail."

        Because, if how I felt inside was the exact replica of what was showing on my face, then Jemma better run because at that very moment, I couldn't say that I recognized myself.

       The hand on my shoulder dropped as I started making my way towards the swing playset Bastian had been playing on. James was standing there with an irritated smile as he kept a hand on the kid who was oblivious to the tension running through the man and thus kept babbling while looking back and forth between Jemma and James as if to make sure all focus was still on him. But the second James noticed me coming their way, he kept his eyes glued on me as I made my way to them.

        He didn't have to say much, I only knew what he was thinking just by how hardened his face and posture seemed to be at that moment. I couldn't say I was running, but I also wasn't so sure that my feet were touching ground as I kept walking.

       "Bastian," I called out the second I was close enough. And while I was able to smile at my son when he finally heard me and easily detached himself from Jemma's hold and ran towards me happily, the uneasiness I felt at having her this close to him couldn't possibly be missed. I caught him in my arms and lifted him up to hug him tightly to me.

          James, who had been walking behind Bastian stood next to me, his hand on my lower back reassuringly. Our eyes met and without uttering a single word, I knew what he was saying. I nodded once as my eyes once again, fell on Jemma who had by then gotten up from her crouched position she had been in to be somewhat at eye level with the kid.

          She smiled innocently which completely contradicted the vibe coming off of her. There was nothing innocent about this woman which is why the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood to attention as that smile appeared.

        James who was still standing next to me, started rubbing my back softly, which was his way of telling me to calm down because the sight of his snake was enough to send me over the edge. I took a deep breath and placed a kiss on Bastian's temple before handing him over to Melinda, while somehow keeping my eyes on Jemma who was now approaching me.

         "Melinda, do you mind taking him to the car and wait for us? This shouldn't take long."

        I heard something coming from James' mother as she was leaving that I couldn't quite catch. I decided to ignore it as I had other things occupying my thoughts.