𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 | Jay

14

 "There's something in the paper. Like on banknotes," she noticed. Jay nodded "exactly".

----

The girl narrowed her eyes. "That's a C" she recognized after studying the note more closely. "What could that stand for?" Jay asked thoughtfully and the girl thought hard too. "Probably a name," Jay said then. The girl nodded "we'll find out later". "By the way, I found the key to the drawer," Jay informed. The girl looked at him "Have you opened it yet?". He shook his head "I wanted to wait for you".

Together they went back to Jay's parents' bedroom, where the locked drawer was. Jay unlocked the drawer with trembling fingers. As he slowly opened it, they recognized, as expected, many letters. Jay took some out "the paper is the same again and the dates of the threats match those to your father" Jay recognized quite quickly. The girl sighed "they never told us about it...". Jay nodded and looked just as sad.  "They protected us. With their lives".

The girl swallowed. Suddenly she felt that terrible pain again. Her eyes burned and she knew she wouldn't be able to make a sound without crying. She didn't cry often, but sometimes it felt really good to cry. "I always wonder if I could have protected him," the girl sobbed before bursting into tears. Jay quickly laid the letters on the now always empty bed and pulled the girl to him.

When he held the girl in his arms and felt her crying, he had to cry too. It hurt him to see her so hurt, it hurt him to see his parents' empty bed. It hurt him that his father had to constantly live with the fear that he or his loved ones would be killed. Jay hated the person who did this to them. He hated this person because he lost his parents. He hated the person because Y/n lost her parents. He knew he would protect her. Even if he had to lose his life too.

The girl slowly broke away from his embrace and looked at Jay.
The two couldn't stand each other. But today, as they stood face to face, all they could see was pain and sadness in each other's eyes. They both knew that they had no one now. They had lost their parents and were alone with no family. It was all just a misunderstanding and they wished so badly that their parents had known that a third person had caused all the hatred between their families. All the competition was unnecessary. Jay and Y/n knew that it was at their parents' will that they had to find out who had been terrorizing the two families for all these years. All the hate and distrust they used to have for each other was gone. They were a team now. Disregard their romantic feelings for each other. They felt each other's pain and realized how much they needed each other.

"I don't know what I would do without you" the girl whispered through sobs "I think I would have killed myself too" she admitted. Jay wiped away tears "I know exactly how you feel but you are not alone. We are both not alone anymore. We are there for each other"They looked deep into each other's eyes and their faces grew closer and closer until their lips finally met. It was the first kiss that didn't just feel like lust. It was soft and full of emotion. Both closed their eyes. The tears rolled down their cheeks and hit their lips. They felt the loss of their parents and the longing for love and protection. They held each other tight and kissed over and over again like they would never let go.

Jay slowly pulled his lips away from the girl's. He still held her face in his hands. Carefully and tenderly, he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs to dry her tears. "I swear on everything I have left, we'll find that person who did this to us," the girl whispered.

----

All the information they had collected so far they brought together in Jay's office. They stood in front of the letters and their notes and thought hard. "Do you suspect anyone?" asked the girl. He shook his head "besides you I had no enemies". She looked at him with a raised eyebrow "I don't believe you". He now crossed his arms in front of his chest "and you? You're not exactly likeable either". she grinned. Their teasing would probably never stop.

Then she sighed "so we don't have anything". "I have no idea who could do something like that. It could be anyone or nobody."
Jay was right. Anyone could want to take their position as the most successful hotels, but none came to mind. "Do you have any idea how to proceed?" Jay asked. The girl took a deep breath in and out "maybe I should ask Smith for help after all..." she thought. Jay shook his head "you said you had a bad feeling. I trust your feeling". "What if he has important information?" she asked. Jay walked over to her and took her hands in his. "Listen to me. You know we can't trust anyone. We don't know him." Y/n sighed "I hope you're right...".

"What if..." Jay then began. When he didn't speak further, Y/n looked at him questioningly. "What if we work together. Officially. Nobody would expect that". She looked at him confused "Official partners?". Jay nodded "our hotels together. Nobody would come close to us". The girl thought "isn't that too risky? That would only provoke the perpetrator more..." "But above all it would surprise the perpetrator". She was still looking at Jay, thinking. "I have to think about it," she said after a while. Jay nodded, "Of course. I don't want to rush anything, I just want to do something. I feel so stupid. We're not making any progress."

Y/n nodded. "Jay I have to go now. I'm sleeping at home tonight."Jay looked at her confused "I thought you were free today?". She nodded "I'm visiting Mary" the girl smiled. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked uncertainly. The girl shook her head "I just want to spend time with my only friend Jay. Everything's fine. Don't worry about me." He sighed and nodded "Have fun Princess". She smiled and left the room to take a cab home first.

There she got a few things like charging cable, laptop, clothes to change and shampoo etc. Then she took the same cab that had been waiting for her for a moment to Mary's family home, which wasn't that far away. She had arranged to meet Mary tonight because she just wanted a little distraction.

When she rang the bell, Mary opened the door. The girl immediately hugged her. Y/n smiled slightly and hugged Mary as well. She had really grown fond of the girl. Mary was a good friend. She had listened to Y/n and had done everything not to be too sad.

"We're home alone today," Mary explained happily, winking at Y/n. Y/n laughed "I'm not making out with you though. I just like boys". Mary laughed lightly, "I thought so, but you're so hot. Joke, I didn't mean to. I have a lot to drink, this is what I meant," she grinned. "My parents are on a business trip," Mary informed as we walked into the living room.The girl looked around impressed "you have it really nice here" she stated. Mary nodded "I really like living here too. Please sit down". Mary gestured to the sofa and Y/n sat down smiling. Mary disappeared and shortly returned with two glasses and a bottle of Spanish wine. She handed Y/n a glass and she took it.

The two toasted " to our friendship" Mary then smiled. Y/n nodded "to our friendship".