The Guarded One ✔

Chapter Eighteen

When the ambulance arrived, I sat at the back with Aunt Laura. She was taken to the same hospital that Jess was staying at for her bone marrow transplant. The only silver lining in this whole situation is that I get to see Jess.

I sit beside Aunt Laura's bed and watch Doctor Raff Marcus stitch up the back of her head. "All done," he says as taking a step back.

"Thank God" aunt Laura attempts to get out of the hospital bed.

"Hold on" Raff puts his hand out, "that's your third seizure this year...which means-"

She drops her gaze to her fingertips and releases a sigh. "Yeah, I know what that means"

I run my fingers through my hair and think about the consequences of Aunt Laura's seizure. She automatically loses her drivers license because she is now seen as a danger. Her whole life is driving. She needs to drive to the bar where she works and to her art studio.

"I can drive you to work" I offer, "I'm already Hayden's personal chauffeur so..."

Aunt Laura struggles to smile. "No, that's okay, I'll work something out...maybe I'll catch a bus or something" Raff and I exchange sad looks as Aunt Laura continues to force a smile. "No, really, I'll be fine"

***

"Have you spoken to Angel lately?" I ask as Raff and I walk side by side down the hallway.

Raff nods. "Yeah, she's doing well"

"Good good" I look down.

Raff has known my family for almost three years. Angel dated her son back in high school and somehow he managed to become her counsellor. He has also became quite close to aunt Laura and I.

Maybe I'm wrong but I've always seen them as more then good friends. I believe that they may have gone out on one date years ago, but that's the extend of their relationship.

"And you?" Raff raises a brow. "How's the anxiety?"

My heart begins to beat twice as I look up at my doctor. "I can't sleep...or eat...It's like whenever I close my eyes all I can see is...her...and Jimmy...and Hayden and Duncan, Tyler and Jess, Aunt Laura, Angel-"

"Jason, say her name" he begs.

I look down and sigh as my mind goes back four years.

"Angel" I gasped.

"Elise" she corrected me while furrowing her brows, "you're Sam's friend, right?"

I nodded slowly in shock. "I'm Jason, Jason Sanders"

Elise half smiled. "you're on the Lockwood team, right? For someone who just won the game, you don't seem too thrilled"

I cleared my throat while taking a step towards her. "No I uh am, I'm sorry, it's just you look a lot like my sister"

I shake my head violently as looking up at Raff. "I can't...It's just easier to treat her like she was never real...then admit to myself who she really was...to me"

"And to Ned and Evangeline" Raff corrects.

I clench my jaw. "You can't judge me, Raff, I feel guilty enough as it is"

I believe that each and every one of us has a ghost in life that symbolises our greatest mistakes and darkest secrets.

For Angel, it was our sister Trisha. For Sam, it was Angel for a while. For Tyler, I believe it is his biological parents. Perhaps for Jess, it's her doctors. In Duncan's subconscious it will always be Jimmy.

Elise is the ghost that taunts me. She represents every mistake and dark secret that I have.

A part of me hates her for leaving me here on this earth to carry her secrets. Another part believes that I should have told Angel and Ned along time ago.

"I'm not judging you Jason" Raff assures me. "I admire you for what you've done"

"I've gotta tell them" I sigh, "I'm sick of going to sleep every night with a guilty conscience"

"No" he shakes his head, "I think that it's best that no one finds out about this"

"What?" My eyes widen in surprise as we stop at Jess' hospital room.

"This secret will only cause more problems then it will fix" he admits.

"It has been eating me alive since she died, Raff" I clench my jaw at the guy, "don't you understand that?"

He nods. "I know...but think about everyone that you will hurt because of it"

"So it's either I hurt or I hurt everyone else?" I nod as looking through Jess' window to find her sleeping in her bed.

"Sometimes we do what we have to in order to protect the ones closes to us," Raff tells me.

"Maybe that's in your DNA but it sure as hell isn't in mine" I narrow my eyes at Raff as walking down the hallway, away from him.

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Hi all,

For those of you who are reading The Precious One and The Guarded One, you would know that Elise and Jason have a dark history. That history is explored throughout The Precious One and the upcoming sequel The Honest One.

Does anyone have any theories about what this dark secret is?

I have decided that the next book 'The Honest one' will be about Aunt Laura.

This chapter and the one before this one is a taste of her book, where you'll get to know characters such as Doris who was mentioned in the previous chapter.

Please VOTE if you enjoyed this chapter and please share your theories :)

Thank you

Happy reading!

- Rose xox