A WATTPAD FEATURED STORY
?Love pays no attention to color?
Jasmine Karesh never thought she'd spend her senior year of high school struggling to accept her Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis, a disease that forbids her from forgetting the scho...
"Jas! Where are you going?" Shayan called out, an unrestricted laugh mingling with the autumn wind.
Jasmine turned around as she ran, her hair flying in her face. "Follow me, I want to show you something."
With a shrug, he ran after her, until they were jogging side by side. She grew out of breath before he did, but she powered through, wanting to show him the amazing place Selena had introduced her to.
Her fifteen-year-old self was extremely conscious of how Shayan's eyes would drift to her every few seconds while they ran. She was immensely grateful for her darker skin in these kinds of moments, for he couldn't see the heated blush crawling across her cheeks.
"Are we almost there?" Shayan asked between pants. "And why are we running? Couldn't we have walked?"
"That's no fun," Jasmine grinned at him. "Just a little longer now."
Shayan grunted and finally, she slowed down as they neared a group of swaying willow trees surrounded by lush green grass.
"This is it?" he asked, looking disgusted at the fact that he ran for a bunch of greenery he could have found in his own backyard.
She swiftly punched him in the arm. "Give it a chance, Shay."
"Don't call me that. It sounds like a girl's name," he exclaimed and Jasmine merely rolled her eyes.
"You say that like being a girl is a bad thing," she teased, trying to muster up all the courage within her before taking his hand. His eyes snapped to hers at the touch. Jasmine smiled. "Ready?"
"Always."
Weaving herself between the trees, her hand shaking slightly in Shayan's, she brought them to a large expanse of a field and when the boy beside her shot her a confused look, she only grinned brighter.
With a glance at her watch, which just clicked to noon, she announced, "Anytime now."
Shayan raised his eyebrow, "What are we even waiting fo–."
He was cut off by the distinct ringing of bells as a herd of cows moved into the field, one after another. His eyes widened and he stared at the girl in front of him, "Where did you find this place? What does it even mean?"
Jasmine laughed. "It's Selena's aunt's farm. She showed me this place a few days ago and said that her cousin brought the cows out at noon every day. I thought you'd like to see my favorite animal in the flesh."
Shayan's shook his head good-naturedly, "You're crazy, Jas."
"That's why we're us, Shay. You balance me out."
He was about to reply when Jasmine let out a loud squeal, the cows surrounding them tickling her legs as they tried to get to the grass beneath her feet. She noticed Shayan watching her with some gaze she couldn't quite understand. His fingers reached out to her cheek and Jasmine looked up at the touch.
"Yes, Shayan?" she whispered.
"May I?" he asked, his eyes flicking to her lips and then back to her eyes.
All Jasmine could do was nod and his lips connected with hers, soft and gentle. It was all she could have hoped for in a first kiss.
Jasmine's eyes flung open, her breath coming out fast and erratic. She didn't want to remember him. She didn't want Shayan to occupy her mind again, forcing her to believe that she would not have come to accept the shooting without him. She didn't want to associate herself with any remainder of her past, outside of her immediate family, and she hated Shayan for weaseling his way into her heart anyway.
"Are you alright, Jas?" her dad asked, clicking off the television with a worried glance.
"Yes, I'm fine," she whispered, mostly to herself than her father. Her mom's soft breathing indicated that she had already fallen asleep and the redness at the corners of her dad's eyes showed that he was about to. "You can go back to sleep. I'll be upstairs."
Without another word, Jasmine pulled herself off the couch and climbed up the stairs, wanting nothing more than for her head to hit the pillow. She knew she wouldn't sleep, fearing what her mind would conjure up in an unrestricted dreamland. What she wanted was to lose herself in the world around her and hope that could bring her to peace.
What she wanted was to stare at the crown molding etched into her blank walls, wondering if the solution to her pain would be found in its details.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Kind of a short chapter today but I promise you it's not a filler! Like I've said in previous Author's Notes, there are clues everywhere if you know where to look.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you all for being a HUGE part in getting this story ranked at #256 in General Fiction. That's crazy!
