Chocolate Covered Strawberries [Remus Lupin]

𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢

Chapter eighty; Scared William

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Emptiness. Complete and utter emptiness through heart, through lungs, stomach all the way down her core and each and every one of her limbs. That's how Jasmine felt as she crumpled to the floor on the first step outside the front door of her home. Or what used to be her home, which now her mum forced her out of. She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to fully comprehend it. Losing a family felt strange.

But isn't that what she always wanted? To be free of her monstrous father, to be free of her stuck up brat of a cousin, to never have to see the front side of the house she spent her whole life in? Yes. But it never included her mum as well. She never wanted to lose her mom. She had no clue what happens now and thinking about it somehow made it worse. For years she dreamed how she'll escape and this time came, yet it was woven with bitterness and resignation. Guilt was eating her for letting her mum sacrifice herself like that.

The tips of her fingers whitened when she gripped the picture in her hand tightly. Her eyes glanced at it again, trying to make any sense but couldn't. Then she turned it over and for the first time noticed something was written on the back with black ink.

For Aleah

Nothing special, Jasmine concluded. It took her mind a few very long convincing moments to will her legs to move. Her eyes centred on the front door one last time before she picked up her trunk and wheeled away from the house. The sensation of her body giving in through the barrier was liberating. But that euphoria only lasted for another few seconds.

''Of course, it's you.''

Jasmine startled, her feet coming to a hard stop on the pavement, eyes flying up the figure that appeared out of nowhere. She realised from the polished shoes to the ironed slacks exactly who was standing in front of her. William was standing rather leisurely, with his hands in the pockets of his pants and an unimpressed look on his face.

Jasmine let out a long deep breath and slowly shook her head. ''No.''

In her head, she decided she had no energy to deal with him and decided to ignore him. Whatever he had to say to her it would probably just be a repetition of all the horrible things that her ears already picked up before. Jasmine lowered her eyes to the floor and moved past, unintentionally shouldering William along the way. But that turned out to be a mistake as he grabbed her by her upper arms and didn't intend to let her go.

''What the hell is your problem?!'' Jasmine pushed him away and dropped her trunk on the floor. Now she was facing the house while William was facing the street so in any case, she could just scram out of there easily. But upon closer examination, he had his wand in his hand and Jasmine had no idea what he was prepared to do.

''I should be asking you that, Jazzy. You couldn't stay in your room for one goddamn week and not cause trouble? I had to cut my training abroad short because dad said it's an emergency. And now I come home and find you here amidst your, what, escape?'' William flaunted the wand around as if it wasn't a weapon.

Jasmine's unconscious reaction would be to be flattered that her father was worried about her wellbeing but she didn't allow herself to be. ''One week!?'' She almost screeched at William's selfishness. ''I was in that room for weeks! Multiple, not just one. Isolated, with no contact to the outer world. I could only listen to your moans about Tom in the middle of the night.'' A disgusted expression settled on her features.

William involuntarily widened his eyes and took a careful step back, probably thinking no one heard him. But Jasmine had to live through that for more nights than she wanted.