A Lady

After weighing the pros and cons, she decided to reply him anyway. It is not as if he will wait forever for her answer. She sighed. She cannot count how many times she has sighed today. "Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Brad," Jasmine muttered to the hearing of Brad. Her voice came out parch and croaky; she is not surprised though. She cannot remember the last time she took water.

"Oh come off that, no need to act too formal. You can call me Brad I will gladly answer that," he said with a casual air. "Now, hop in let us leave here. I am getting cold." Brad smiled and both entered the car. He was more than happy to hear her voice although it sounds tired and depressed. "So, what is your name?" Brad asked cautiously as he hit the highway.

"Jasmine," she replied. He hummed as he deliberated on her name while thinking of a pet name to give her instead of calling her name in full. However, he stopped himself before he could blurt it out. She needs to be comfortable around him first before he could come up with any pet name for her.

Jasmine immediately settled in her thought, this time around, determined to leave behind her worries and immerse herself in her utopian world. However, her mind decided at that moment to be on its own, causing Jasmine to think deep about her earlier decisions. Did she make a mistake by accepting his offer? What if something go wrong? What is he is just being nice and very soon he will unleash the beast in him? What if he has hidden plans against her? So many 'what ifs' filled her mind, she searched her mind to see if she is missing anything but her heart seems to be at peace with that decision. She sighed, relaxed her head on the car's seat, and breathed long and deep. Soon she drifted off to the dreamland – the only place she feels genuinely loved and happy.

Ring, ring, ring...

The ring of Brad's phone interrupted jasmine's nap but she remained calm, pretending to be asleep while eavesdropping on his conversation with the caller. "Hey Ava baby, how are you doing?" Brad asked immediately he picked up. "Doing good. Uhm, you are on the highway?" Ava said but it came off as a question at the end of the statement. "Yeah, I am driving." He responded. From the way the conversations were going, Jasmine could deduce that the caller is a girl and both seem to be fast friends. But…but he is a gay? Jasmine was confused for a while and only sighed inwardly. Or maybe he is a bisexual. That is it. That is the only explanation for it. Her heart immediately picked up its pace. Did she make a mistake by accepting to stay with him? Is she going to face same thing here? She however decided to leave everything to fate and go with the flow.

However, what Brad said next interrupted her line of thoughts, "Yeah, she is coming with me, Ava. You can come over tomorrow to come see her, okay. I would be expecting you. Have a wonderful night." he disconnected the call and continued driving. Jasmine has been so lost in her thoughts that she did not even realize that Brad was discussing her with Ava. She coughed lightly and peeked at him while sighing inwardly. Soon, the car stopped at the grocery store and Brad picked some groceries before driving towards his apartment.

"Jasmine, welcome to my apartment," Brad ecstatically said, clapping his hand together while moving inside with Jasmine trailing behind. He turned on the light; Jasmine could not help but be awed at the interior decorations. The light bulbs seem to have added another beauty of its own to the sitting room. Her thoughts were disrupted by a shriek from Brad. He had gone to the kitchen to prepare noodles for them, seeing how tired and hungry Jasmine looked. However, the sight that graced him was unexpected.

Jasmine rushed towards the direction of the sound but before she could take notice of her surrounding, a bouquet of flower was thrown at her but her reflexes kicked in immediately and she caught it before it could hit her face. She furrowed her brows and looked up to see Brad and another person standing before her showing off their pearly 32s. A lady.

Brad had entered the kitchen to see Ava holding a bouquet and smiling, but because he was not expecting to see anybody there, he shrieked out of fear but Ava was quick to drag him to a corner and hurriedly briefed him of her plan. She was actually on her way to his place when she called him and she immediately bought a bouquet to welcome Jasmine. She had not expected that Jasmine would be this beautiful, but she was not bad herself.

"Hi, I'm Ava." She introduced herself to Jasmine when she realizes that Brad was still too excited to introduce both of them to each other. "Unfortunately, I'm this asshole's bestie." She said teasingly while referring to Brad as an asshole.

"I'm no asshole, Ava. I'm a sweetheart, humph." Brad retorted glaring fake daggers at Ava, causing Jasmine to chuckle hard. "By the way, who told you that you are my bestie?" Clap clap clap. "Newsflash, you have been dethroned baby girl. Jasmine here is my bestie. You can go find yourself a new one, duh," he added while walking towards the cooker to prepare the noodles.

Ava turned to giggling Jasmine and whispered, "Don't mind him. That is how he behaves, he does not mean any of these things; well, except the fact that you are his new bestie, since you will be living together with him from now on. Ouch, I'm hurting," she said while touching her chest, feigning to be hurt. And almost immediately, she became serious once again. "Jasmine, so tell me something; where do you live? And, your family, what about them? Won't they be worried that you left home without telling them?" Ava asked inquisitively. She had failed to notice that Jasmine's smile stiffened at those questions.

Jasmine was thrown off balance at Ava's question. She was not expecting it and she was not even ready to talk about the traumas she passed through in the Anderson's family. Her mother, no, the woman she thought was her mother because she was as sure as hell that no real mother would allow her child pass through what she had passed through in her hand. Jasmine heart tightened and her eyes glistened; thankfully, Brad came to her rescue.

"Don't you think you're being too inquisitive, Ava?" Brad asked when he noticed that Jasmine has been too quiet for a long time and she is not even making any move to reply Ava. "It's not inquisitiveness. I am just being curious and thoughtful too. Remind me what friends are for, again." Ava replied, facing him head-on. "That, I will gladly do. Ava, friends are to help each other when they are in need. Friends are supposed to know when the other person is not in the mood to talk or discuss something so personal, emphasis on so personal. And yes, lest I forget, friends are supposed to watch each others' back." Brad educates while demonstrating with his hands and after he was done, he turned towards the cooker and continued with the dishes.

"But I was doing just that," Ava retorted, not backing down. "Oh you were," Brad mockingly replied causing Ava to roll her eyes. Almost same time, Brad turned in time to catch her rolling her eyes. "Yeah, keep on rolling your eyes, you might eventually find a brain." He snapped causing Ava to roll her eyes again. "Jasmine dear, please ignore her, okay. She is sick in the brain." Brad told Jasmine who nodded innocently. Obviously, she is aware of the fact that both he and Ava were just pulling each other's legs and they do not mean any of the 'hurtful' words they might have told each other. Sighed, she just found a new home, again and somehow, she felt safer and happier being here.

"Food is ready," Brad announced and everyone picked up their plated of noodles and walked towards the sitting room while Jasmine trailed behind.

Jasmine was a bit surprised to see that they will not be eating on the dinning and she could not help but wonder. "Yeah, we won't be eating there because Ava lacks table manners and dinning etiquette. She is so bad at it." Brad replied Jasmine, causing Ava to glare murderously at him. Wait, did she just wonder out that loud? Good lord! Jasmine coughed awkwardly and faced her food.