Forgetting Billions | ✓

16 | Forgetting Sanity

JASMINE'S EYES focused on Selena, whose face contorted into a deep frown at the mere sight of them.

"Sel, what's going on?" Evan asked, seemingly concerned over how quickly his girlfriend had snapped out of it.

Selena leaned up and whispered something into his ear, causing Evan to watch Jasmine and Shayan in a similarly hostile way. Jasmine knew this wasn't how friends greeted each other, especially not best friends. Sure, they had a fight at lunch, but Jasmine didn't believe that it warranted a reaction like this.

"Let's go," she murmured to Shayan, her voice cracking out of the pure pain she felt.

"No. Why would they be so unhappy to see you?" he asked, visibly angered. "I'll go talk to them."

She grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him back, "Don't, Shayan. Please. Just let them be. I need to go home anyways."

He sent the pair a withering look before pulling Jasmine in closer to his chest, holding her securely in his arms. She didn't try to pull away this time, and instead relaxed into his solid upper body, letting her head rest above his heart. Shayan looked at her with surprise as they began walking back to the car, leaving behind their unanswered questions.

"Jasmine!" Selena called out abruptly and jogged up to them, showing no remorse on her face. For once, it was actually unreadable. Jasmine slipped out of Shayan's grasp and crossed her arms over her chest, staring her best friend down.

"What do you want?" She asked, not even bothering to cover up the fury in her voice. She was tired of her friends and family thinking they could do whatever they wanted to her, all while still expecting her to treat them the same. She was done being a pushover.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Evan and I. We just weren't sure how you would react," Selena mumbled as her new boyfriend held her in his arms. She looked at Jasmine with hope that she would just forgive and forget like she always did when it came to them.

"That's not what I'm angry about. You never told me you lost someone. You never told me that you go to the graveyard and cry for them. And you of all people should have known that I would have understood," Jasmine whispered, looking down at the ground, not out of shyness but rather because her head spun every time she made eye contact with Selena.

She continued, "And this morning, when I yelled and screamed at you two, you could have proved me wrong. That would have been the time to tell me and put me in my place. I wouldn't have been mad. I would have been relieved that someone finally understood the pain I've gone through for twelve years now."

"I'll tell you everything soon, when I'm ready," Selena said, her eyes trained on Shayan with suspicion. Jasmine realized that Selena wouldn't tell her anything as long as he was there. "It's just so hard to talk about."

Shayan scoffed, "Obviously not that hard if you told him."

Evan's body went rigid and his sympathetic gaze on Jasmine became a heated glare focused solely on Shayan. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing. I just don't think you're telling the truth. Either of you. And I think Jas loves you both too much to see that," he growled and Jasmine shrugged out of his grasp.

"I can make decisions about my friendships without your help, Shayan. I'm not helpless and I'm definitely not blind. I trust them. They're my best friends and they would never hurt me," Jasmine said, her voice growing stronger while her resolve weakened. Today was not the day for her to be having this fight, especially when she was already so drained. Her abdomen was no longer twisting but was sending sharp shocks through her body and it took everything within her not to double over in pain.