Sweetener || HS AU (COMPLETED)

🍭 𝔼ℙ𝕀𝕃𝕆𝔾𝕌𝔼 🍭

FOUR YEARS LATER

Jailen

"No, no, no! FUCK!" I groaned as my car sputtered to a stop.

"Fuck!" the four-year-old in my backseat repeated after me.

"Hey!" I locked eyes with her green ones through the rearview mirror and shook my head as I pulled over to the side of the road, "We don't say those words. I told your ass this already!"

"Fuck!" She repeated and I sighed.

I looked around, frowning when I couldn't see anything except trees.

Fuck Jason for deciding to live this far out. I mean, really, who does this? He would've been perfectly fine raising his children in the city but nooo. The boy makes a few figures and decides to shut the world out.

I grabbed my phone from the cup holder and sat back in my seat. I tried to call my brother but I wasn't getting any signal. I took my key from the ignition and stepped out of the car. I held my phone up higher, squinting due to the sun and groaning when I still didn't get any signal.

I put my hands on my hips and looked around me. This area looked familiar, I think... Jason couldn't live too far. I'd just walk the rest of the way and have him drive me back later. I checked the time, it was a little after noon, which meant the sun wouldn't set for a couple more hours. And I knew it wouldn't take me hours to get to his house. Plus, the weather was nice. This wouldn't be too hard.

I opened the back door and kneeled down, "Mommy has no signal, so, we're gonna take a walk."

Hayden nodded, her hands immediately prodding at her car seat buckle. I unbuckled her and helped her out of the car. I grabbed my purse, her blanket, and her bag before making sure the car was locked and starting up the road.

It wasn't hard to see why Jason decided to move way out here, it was beautiful. The trees were tall and green year-round, and the air was always fresh. It was quiet, you couldn't hear the sounds of the city at all out here. I looked forward to spending time at Jason's house, I always got the best sleep here.

Hayden liked it too. Jason had plenty of space for her to play outside with her cousins and if we walked back far enough behind his house, we would run into his neighbor's barn. His neighbor was a nice, old man who'd lived there for years with his wife. They had lots of animals and Hayden loved them all. He even let her name one of the baby goats.

I looked down at the toddler walking beside me, unable to see anything other than her pink crocs kicking from underneath her as she walked and her curly, brown hair. She was talking about something, maybe the trees. I watched as she looked up towards the sky, her eyes almost crystal clear and for a moment, my heart stuttered.

The resemblance was uncanny. I saw it on February 2nd - the day she was born, there was no denying that. Not that I had to, it was obvious. It was him. She was literally him. And for a while, I figured that she was my karma.

Karma for what? For telling him that I loved him and leaving in the middle of the night. I deserved it and for years, I carried that guilt with me, holding onto the fact that I would apologize if I ever saw him again. But after Hayden turned three, I realized that wouldn't happen. I went out of my way to make sure I wouldn't be as easy to find and even changed my last name so that I wouldn't be affiliated with Mary or James.

The only person who knew anything about me or my whereabouts was Jason. And I planned on keeping it that way.

We approached a familiar house and I stopped to take a breath. I'd seen it before, which meant we were closer to Jason's house. Not as close as I would like, but it was progress. The only difference was the car parked in the driveway. Someone was home.

I looked around me. I was about to make a stupid decision, or maybe it was a smart one. Either way, i grabbed my pocket knife out of my purse and walked up the driveway. I focused on my surroundings, painfully aware of how quiet it was as I tightened my hold on Hayden's hand.

I rang the doorbell once and chewed on the inside of my cheek. I was starting to sweat and it wasn't even humid outside.

"Ew," Hayden commented, pulling her hand from mine and dramatically wiping it on her shirt.

I scoffed at the toddler, "Don't play with me."

"Your hand is sweaty," She said, "Yuck."

"My hand is not-" I looked down at my hands and frowned. They were sweaty. I rolled my eyes and rang the doorbell again. When I didn't get an answer, I was fully prepared to turn around and leave. But the garage door opened and the sound of barking filled my ears.

Hayden gasped excitedly as the large golden retriever withered its way underneath the garage door and ran toward us. It was obviously friendly, otherwise, we'd be mauled to death by now, I think. The dog circled at my feet and I chuckled.

I kneeled down in front of the dog and rubbed its head. "Gently," I told Hayden as she reached out and pet its head. She smiled at me and I grinned, "See, it's a nice doggy."

"Sorry about her, she likes company," A voice said from behind me.

Still, I kept my eyes on the dog, "No worries. She's adorable. What's her name?"

"Jezebel," He said, his voice causing me to pause. I felt the blood drain from my face, my hands immediately freezing as a familiar chill slid up my spine.

My heart swelled and my stomach filled with butterflies as I glanced over at the toddler, who was too busy with the dog to realize anything was happening. I bit my lip, slowly turning my head to look at the person standing behind me.

The air was knocked from my lungs, my eyes watered as I stood to my feet. I stared at him, everything about him was still the same, other than his hair. It was so much longer. His green eyes widened as he took a startled step back, "Jai..."

I swallowed harshly, "Hi, Harry."

***
ꨄ THE END ꨄ