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“No, the second I told her I was bringing her back here and we would take care of her, every muscle in her body relaxed. She has clung to me, and you saw the way she walked straight into Christian’s arms. She never used to hug us, we always initiated physical contact, but slowly she’s come to trust us and let us in and I truly believe she knows how we feel about her.”
“It’s decided then, we start showing our girl how much she means to us and caring for her in the way she has always deserved,” Christian announces. We all nod in agreement.
“Well, I’m going to check on her and then go to bed. We’ll meet in the office at nine to arrange the day. We need to let Jazzy sleep as long as possible.”
I say a quick goodnight to my brothers and head up to Jasmine’s room to check on her, quietly hoping she will already have fallen asleep.
She looked so exhausted and frail this evening, the bags under her eyes so dark that her make-up couldn’t cover them. Her lifestyle needs to change, she needs to put on some weight and get a decent amount of sleep each night. These are all things we can help her with, and we will.
I come to a stop outside her room and knock softly. There’s no reply so I slowly open her door just to check if she’s asleep, but even through the darkness of the room, I can see the bed is empty. I look further into the room and see Jasmine sitting on the windowsill with her legs pulled up to her chest as she looks out into the night.
“Hey, what you still doing up?” I ask softly. Jasmine jumps and quickly starts wiping her cheeks. I walk over and sit down next to her. “Are you crying?”
Jasmine tries to hide her face, but I place my hand over her damp cheek and make her look at me. My heart breaks when I see so much pain and fear in her eyes. “Come here angel,” I whisper as I pull her onto my lap, she instantly curls up into my chest, and her body shakes as she starts to cry again.
I hold her against me as I run a hand over her damp hair. Realising she must have showered I reach forward and pull the throw from the back of the chair and wrap it around her so she doesn’t get cold. I continue to hold her close and occasionally kiss the top of her head hoping to reassure her.
“Talk to me, angel. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what you need,” I whisper after a few minutes as her tears subside.
“I don’t know what to feel, what to do, nothing,” she whispers into my chest.
“You don’t need to do or feel anything, Jazzy. We’ve got you, and we are going to look after you,” I try to reassure her.
“But what about in the long run? I can’t stay here forever. Eventually, I will need to find another place and I can’t ...”
“Hey, enough,” I interrupt. I lean back so I can look at her face and into her bright blue eyes, which always remind me of a clear summer sky. “You are not going anywhere; this is your home now. It will always be your home,” I tell her forcibly. “You never have to worry about finding a new place, you are staying here with us and that’s final.”
“Yeah, until you have a girl with you and realise that you don’t want your ‘once stepsister’ next door.”
I sigh and hate her parents even more than I ever have. All this woman has ever known is abandonment, she has looked after herself since her dad left and never came back when she was eight. She has never had a parental figure to take care of her and that changes now.
“What did I tell you? I’m not seeing anyone, I haven’t for the last two years when I realised that no one compares to you.”
“What?” Jasmine asks as her eyes bulge. I smile at her and tuck some damp hair behind her ear.
“I care for you Jazzy, I have since the moment I met you. There is nothing that will ever change that,” I whisper as I look back into her eyes. “I know that deep down you knew that. Same as deep down you know that the guys and I aren’t going anywhere,” I add. I can tell from the look on her face I’m right.
“Now, you’re going to go back into the bathroom, wash your face and use the hair drier under the sink to dry your hair properly and then I will tuck you into bed where you will sleep for as long as you need.” I lean forward and press my lips to hers softly before smiling at her when she doesn’t fight me.
“Go on, do as you are told. I’ll be right here when you are finished.”
I help her to climb off my lap and watch as she walks into the bathroom looking a little dazed. I quickly pull out my phone and fire off a text to the group chat my brothers and I have.
Jason: I’ve told her how I feel, she was upset and thought we would be kicking her out in a few weeks.
Christian: How did she take it?
Jason: she didn’t argue the fact, so time will tell. I didn’t mention you guys.
Sean: We can deal with that tomorrow, the last thing she needs is to be overwhelmed this late in the night.
Maximus: Agreed, speak in the morning.
I lock my phone and climb off the windowsill to make sure Jasmine has everything for a settled night’s sleep, probably the first one in a long while.
12
Jasmine
