Wish (Wishing Well #1)

Chapter 16

Emily stretched her arms above her head and rolled to her side, enjoying the soft feeling of her blanket.  She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the soft light streaming in her bedroom window, deciding that had to have been the best, most refreshing sleep of her life.  She pushed herself up lazily and meandered to her bathroom to shower and get ready for a lazy day off from work and school. She stepped into the shower and smiled fondly as she turned on the warm water.  Last night had been a good night; she had really enjoyed her time with Jimin and looked forward to spending time with him again. Finishing up her shower, she wrapped a towel around her body and stepped out, making her way back to her bedroom.  

She made it to the hallway when it happened, her feet, still a little wet from the shower, hit the hardwood of the hallway and she slipped, legs flying out from under her, almost like that old time cartoon where the boy repeatedly missed kicking the football.  She landed on her back, the force of the fall driving the air out of her lungs, her head hit the floor with a thud and she saw stars. The skittering of little kitty feet signalled Jack’s approach. His tail swished back and forth and he scampered around her sniffing her head, before lightly bumping his forehead against hers.  She smiled softly and reached up, gently petting his head.

“I’m okay, sweet kitty.  Just clumsy.” she murmured at the seemingly concerned feline.  She pushed herself up to a sitting position, groaning as she did so. She reached behind her and gently probed the painful spot on her head.  Good, she thought, feeling the bump forming, it’s swelling out, so I should hopefully be alright.  Her hair was still wet from the shower, so she hoped that all the wetness she felt was left over from residual water, and not that her head was bleeding.  She pulled her hand away and checked, just water.  Emily breathed out a sigh of relief.  Jack nudged the hand she had resting on the floor and meowed at her, tilting his head before scampering back to her bedroom.  She watched him scurry to her room, quirking her eyebrow when she saw him backing out the door shortly after entering, dragging a pair of her winter socks behind him.  How he had managed to get them from her sock drawer, and how he had managed to grab a pair that had grips on the bottom was beyond her. Her head was aching though, so she decided to be thankful for her quirky cat rather than ponder how he managed half of what he did.

When he reached her with the socks, she patted his head and cooed her thanks at him, before taking the socks and putting them on.  She stood and made her way to her bedroom where she dressed in a comfortable pair of gray, cotton shorts, and a black tank top. Flopping down tummy first on her bed, she swiped the book she’d been meaning to start for ages off her bedside table and began reading.  She read for hours, and was about halfway through the book before she realized she was starving and had never eaten breakfast. Standing, she realized that the ache in her head from before was gone, though the large goose egg remained. She headed out of her room, grabbing her phone off her dresser as she went.  

Emily made her way to the kitchen, distractedly skimming through the feeds on her social media as she went.  Stuffing her phone in the waistband of her shorts when she got to the end of the hallway, she turned to go into the kitchen.  Her eyes ghosted over her living room and the kitchen before the splitting pain hit. She cried out, grabbing her head and bending at the waist.  Her teeth clenched and tears leaked from her eyes unbidden. Then as quickly as it came on, it was gone. She slowly sank to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.  Emily pulled in shaky breaths as she screwed her eyes shut, trying not to cry. What was that? She thought did I concuss myself when I fell? Making up her mind, she grabbed her phone and dialled Angela’s number.  Angela answered on the third ring, “What’s up, Em?”

“I think I need you to take me to the hospital,” Emily answered, emotion clogging her throat.

“What?!” Angela screeched. Emily could hear things clattering in the background. “Hang tight!  Where are you? What happened? I’ll be right there.”

“I’m at home,” Emily choked out. “I fell and hit my head.  It stopped hurting, so I thought I was okay, but just now it felt like someone was splitting my head in two.  It hurt so much. I’m so scared.” The tears came again and Emily quit talking. Angela stayed on the phone with her, filling Emily’s silence with stories about her date night with Ralph and his latest food escapades. Before too long, Angela showed up, and helped Emily up, leading her to her waiting car as Jack peered from beneath the couch.  Jimin isn’t going to like this he thought as the women shut the door and left.

Wriggling out from under the couch, Taehyung shifted into his human form so he could reach out to Jimin. Something about being in one of his animal forms always hampered his ability to mind speak from long distances. He expanded his awareness, searching for Jimin's familiar presence. His eyes popped open when he realized Jimin's presence wasn't the only local presence he could feel. There were others nearby. He hoped he had pulled his awareness back before his mind had touched theirs, otherwise things could get tricky real quick. Tentatively, he reached out again and found Jimin's awareness almost immediately. Meet me in the park, he thought to his friend. Something happened to Emily and I'm worried.

Without waiting for a reply, Taehyung made his way to Emily's front door, leaving to meet Jimin at the park.

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Saying that Mr. Yoo was less than pleased would be an understatement. Jimin couldn't see him, but if he looked as angry as he sounded then it was probably for the best.

“What do you mean, you magicked a man from existence?!” Mr. Yoo growled. Jimin gulped, thankful that his boss couldn't see him.

“It was Emily's greatest, heartfelt wish in that moment. I had no choice.” He said, infusing his voice with more confidence than he actually felt.

“And how exactly do you know that was her most heartfelt wish in that moment?” his boss asked. This was where it was going to get tricky. Jimin and Taehyung had stayed up for hours deciding what their different contingency plans should be based on all the potential outcomes of this situation.

“Under the guise of friendship I had just been at her house hanging out. I was headed home when I realized I'd left my rings there.” Jimin said, spinning the most convincing lie he could. “When I reached her door I could hear struggling inside and realized that the door wasn't shut.  I peeked in and saw a man, pinning her to the wall. She ended up yelling that she wished he didn't exist and my genie powers took over and did the rest.” There was silence on the other end of the line. Jimin started pacing, pushing a hand through his shaggy bangs while he waited to find out if Mr. Yoo would accept his half truth or not.

“Did she see you?” Mr. Yoo finally asked.

“No, sir.” Jimin answered stiffly.

“Was the nature of the wish such that even if she did see you she wouldn't remember?” He probed.

“Yes, sir. The intent of the wish was that he never existed. Therefore all traces of him have been wiped from this earth, including memories related to him.” Jimin explained. “All she'll remember is that she had I hung out last night.”

“Very good. Don't disappoint me.” Mr. Yoo answered before hanging up. Jimin's head dropped, his chin hitting his chest as he heaved a deep breath. Rubbing a hand over his face he made his way to the couch in his apartment, flopping down to relax.

Taehyung's voice rang in his mind, Meet me in the park. Something happened to Emily and I'm worried. Jimin immediately sat up and raced to the front door, slipping on his black boots before racing toward the park.

Thank you guys so much for reading this story. You truly don't know how much it means to me and how much I appreciate it.

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