Raymond's secretary, Jeremy, came over to Raymond's house in the evening, leaving a pile of letters to be signed, some documents and a message that the company lawyer had been trying to reach him all afternoon.

After making a call to the lawyer, Raymond went to the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of strong black coffee. Sipping his coffee, he walked to his home office and settled himself behind the desk. He set the cup aside and tackled the pile of work on his desk.
Without taking his gaze from the crowded pages, he groped inside the drawer of the desk until he located a fountain pen. Slowly he unscrewed the top and opened his laptop.

Taking a long sip of his coffee, he went to work. Making adjustments to the pages, signing letters and replying to business emails. Putting his elbows on his desk, he pushed his knuckles into the side of his head as he flicked through pages of the document.
His cell phone rang and he reached for it.

His heart did a quick somersault in his chest as he saw the callers' ID. As much as the action was weird and confusing, he had a pleased smile on his face.

He picked the call and cleared his throat lightly.

"Hey," Jasmine's soft voice said over the phone.

Her voice sent chills through his ear down to his stomach. The sensation was relaxing and satisfying. He'd longed to hear from Jasmine all day. He tried calling her but didn't know what to say. He'd spent 30 minutes on the phone struggling to create a message to send to her but ended up deleting it.

"Hey," he said calmly, as he relaxed in his chair.

"You didn't come to work today." She said.

He tried not to get excited that she missed him but his silly heart had plans of it's own. He was smiling like a fool, imagining Jasmine's worried face as she waited to see him at the gallery.
His smile quickly vanished as it came.
Maybe she didn't really care, he thought.

"Raymond?"

He snapped out from his thoughts, realizing he hadn't answered her. "Yeah..umm i had to take care of some business at the company," he said as he massaged the back of his neck.

"Okay. How's your palm?" She asked.

"Ohh." He looked at his wrapped palm and smiled. "It doesn't hurt."

"That's good," she said and then there was a long pause at the end.

"Jasmine?" He called, worried that she had hung up on him.

"Look Raymond...umm.. about last night." She hesitated.

"Okay?" He shifted on his chair. He wasn't comfortable with her silence.

"I'm really sorry for the way I behaved last night. I shouldn't have asked you to leave like that. It was wrong of me," she said calmly.

He let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. He'd feared that she had called to tell him that she wasn't going to be his date anymore.

"It's okay, I totally understand. I should be the one to apologize. I shouldn't have asked you about your parents if I knew how much it would hurt," he told her.

"You shouldn't apologize, you did nothing wrong. It's just that..." He heard her sigh over the phone.

"Is everything okay?" He asked in a worried tone.

She sniffed, saying nothing.

He raked a hand in his hair, a weary look on his face. "Jasmine what's wrong? Please talk to me."

"I've lost my sister." She broke down.

"What!" He exclaimed in shock, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

"We..we...umm..got into a fight ..and..and I couldn't control my anger so i chased her out from my house." She choked in her tears, sniffing hard.

He exhaled deeply, grateful that her sister wasn't dead but sad that Jasmine was crying. He couldn't bear it. Seeing how vulnerable she was in this state hurt him. He wanted nothing more but to pull her into his arms, hold unto her and never let go.

"Where are you?" He asked and closed his laptop.

She sniffed."I'm at home."

"Okay, don't go anywhere I'm coming to you now," he said, getting up from his chair.

"No no, please don't come. I just needed someone to talk to."

"No, I'm coming. You need someone by your side." He persuaded.

"No Raymond I'm okay. Its best if we talk on the phone. Please don't come." She pleaded.

He let out a frustrated sigh, throwing a fist in the air. He really wanted to be by her side. He thought of going against her wishes and driving to her house but feared she might get angry and kick him out again. Getting rejected a second time would hurt more and he wouldn't want to know how that feels.

He exhaled deeply as he sat down slowly. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm just feeling depressed and I don't know what to do." She let out a low moan.

"Let me help you Jasmine okay. I could call a private detective and we'll look for your sister. Just send me...."

"Thanks for your help but you don't have to." She cut him off quickly.

"What?" He frowned.
She wouldn't let him come over. she wouldn't let him help her, what does she want from him!
He couldn't understand...

"I know where she is but she wouldn't let me talk to her. She hates me for throwing her out and doesn't want to see me again." She explained bitterly

Christain got a call from Christine, telling him that she was staying at a friend's place and won't be coming back home. When Jasmine had tried to talk to her, Christine hung up.

"No, she doesn't hate you. Maybe she's just angry. You know how teenagers are." He tried to calm her.

"You're wrong Raymond. This time, she hates me for good." She said quietly.

He sighed deeply, raking a hand in his hair. He didn't know what else to say to her. He wished he could find a way to help her out with her troubles. Her sadness was eating him up and it disturbed him greatly.

"You know when my parents died with my little sister, Christine was never the same again. She blamed herself everyday for their death." Her voice was small and calm.

His heart sank. He wasn't prepared for this. What was he going to say to her?
That he was sorry for her loss?
His mouth went dry and he could feel a lump in his throat. He craved to have her in his arms, to protect her and never let go.

"Christine.." Jasmine continued.
"She's a sweet girl. Despite the anger and the hate, I know she's struggling with her demons to be free. That's why I never gave up on her. For years I've had to go through shit because of her. I've sacrificed so much for my sister and it breaks my heart every time to see that my efforts were for nothing."

Raymond listened with a heavy heart, not wanting to interrupt her. This was what she needed.
Someone who would listen to her.
Someone who would appreciate her efforts.
Someone who wouldn't blame her.

"I know that their death was a huge burden for her but there were other ways to heal. Other ways to...to let go and move on and not through drugs and..and alcohol..and.. and getting into fights. This is not the life for her. She deserves better..she..she deserves more than this. It breaks my heart every single day to see her living this way. I've done everything I could Raymond, I fucking tried. Why won't she change? What didnt I do? What did I do wrong?" Her voice cracked.

"Hey, you didn't do anything wrong okay. You didn't. You don't have to blame yourself, please don't Jasmine."
He pleaded.
He couldn't bear it anymore. He wanted nothing more but to take her pain away and assure her that it was never her fault.

She sniffed hard. "You know, it never crossed my mind that christine was suicidal only two years ago. I forgot my flash drive and came back home to get it when I saw her with a kitchen knife. She wanted to ..to kill herself. I think that was the most scariest day of my life. We struggled with the knife. She didn't want to let go. She really wanted to end her life. I didn't want to let go either and so I fought with her to get it. During our fight, she'd cut me below my right breast. She didn't mean to and I saw the fear in her eyes."
After the failed attempt to end her life, Christine went for rehab for a year.

Raymond shut his eyes tight, placing his palm on his forehead.

'So that explains the scar I saw that day.'

He let out a defeated sigh, images of Jasmine's naked body on his couch came back to him. He remembered running his finger tips slowly on the long scar that night.
A shiver ran down his spine as he tried not to imagine the pain the cut must have caused Jasmine.

He heard her chuckle lightly and she blew her nose. "I'm sorry for bothering you with my depressing story. I just..I just needed someone to talk to. I've never cried over the phone to anyone. I feel so stupid."

"Please don't say that. You're not bothering me and dont ever call yourself stupid Jasmine. Please don't. You are a brave and confident woman with a beautiful heart. I want you to believe that because it's the truth.
And please, If you need someone to talk to, someone who would listen to you, I want you to call on me. I'm always here for you, I promise."

She said nothing.
Her silence was an assurance that she'd heard him and she was grateful that he listened.

She baded him goodnight and ended the call.
Dropping his phone on the desk, he gazed thoughtfully into the distance.
He didn't care about his unfinished work or the emails he was meant to reply.
Wallowing in the silence of his inner thoughts, his heart wept for Jasmine.