"Are you sure you should be giving this guy another chance?" Celeste asked
Jasmine looked at her, "Everyone deserves a second chance."
"Not when they got you injured." Celeste said
"Well, it wasn't entirely his fault.." Jasmine said
"But as the guy, he should have walked you home." Celeste said
"And as a tough girl, I rejected." Jasmine said
Celeste shook her head, "Look where your toughness got you."
Jasmine put the box she was carrying from the storage down on the floor, next to one of the ground shelves.
"I'm still able to carry things just fine." Jasmine said
"Yeah. Without using that injured arm." Celeste said, putting the box she was carrying down.
Jasmine turned to her friend, "Don't worry. I'm not going to get myself caught in the same situation again."
"You better not." Celeste said, "I won't have enough excuses."
Jasmine looked at the entrance of the soup kitchen by means of a passing glance when she spotted her brother walk through.
"Randy?" Jasmine said
Celeste turned, "What's your brother doing here?"
"I don't know... But, I'll go find out." Jasmine said
Just as she was about to walk over, Celeste stopped her by holding onto her good arm.
"Sling." Celeste said
"Oh, right." Jasmine said
She took off her sling and handed it to Celeste before walking out from behind the serving counter, towards her brother.
"Randy?" Jasmine said, "What are you doing here?"
"Hey baby sis." Randy said
He gave her a hug and Jasmine had to bite her lip to mask the pain she felt in her injured shoulder. Randy let her go and she quickly gave him a small smile.
"I came to see my little sister and to take you out for dinner." Randy said
"Out for dinner?" Jasmine said
Randy nodded with a smile, "Yup. I got promoted at the job I'm doing so we can go out and celebrate."
"You got promoted? That's great news, Randy!" Jasmine exclaimed
"Yeah, so, can I take you out for dinner?" Randy asked
"I'd love to but I can't tonight.."Jasmine replied
"Why? Has Big Paul got you working double shifts?" Randy said
Jasmine smiled and shook her head, "No.. I've actually got a.. date."
Randy looked at his sister in surprise, "A date? With who?"
"Um.. Colby." Jasmine said
"Colby.. Oh.. That boy with that two-toned hair like Celeste." Randy said
Jasmine laughed a little, "Yeah.."
Randy saw the look his sister gave and knew that this was probably the happiest she's been since their parents died.
He smiled, "Well, alright then. We can celebrate tomorrow. You have a good time on your date."
"I will." Jasmine said
"But not too much fun. I'll beat the living daylights out of that boy if he tries anything with you." Randy said
Jasmine laughed as she gave Randy a side hug with her good arm, "Nothing that exciting will happen."
He laughed a little before giving his sister a kiss on the top of her head.
"Alright, I'm gonna go home first." Randy said, "See you later."
Jasmine nodded as her brother broke the hug and headed towards the entrance of the soup kitchen.
Before he walked out, he turned to Jasmine, "Be back by 11."
"I will." Jasmine said
Another few hours passed and it was finally the end of Jasmine's shift. She hung her apron on the hook next to the storage just as Bryan came in from the kitchen.
"Hey." Bryan said
"Hey Bryan." Jasmine said
"Going on your date?" Bryan asked
"Yup." Jasmine replied
"You better be careful with that shoulder. It's still healing from the injury you had yesterday." Bryan said
Jasmine nodded, "I know."
"Anyway, will you be coming to the rally this Wednesday?" Bryan asked, "Phil's really hoping that you'll attend."
"You can count me in." Jasmine replied, "But don't tell Phil yet."
Bryan smiled, "Got it. The element of surprise."
Jasmine laughed, "Yeah. Well, I've gotta go now.. I'll see you tomorrow Bryan."
He nodded and waved as Jasmine made her way towards the serving counter where Celeste was still on duty.
"He's here." Celeste said
"Really? I thought he said we'd be meeting at the cinema." Jasmine said
Celeste looked at her friend, "After what happened, you still want to go back to the cinema?"
Jasmine shrugged, "There really isn't anywhere else we could go for a date."
"You could always do it here."
The girls turned around to see Big Paul behind them, a tray in his hands.
"See? Even Big Paul thinks you should be staying close to us." Celeste said
"Guys, relax. I'm not going to find myself in the same situation again.." Jasmine said
Celeste looked at the determination on Jasmine's face before saying, "Just be careful."
"I will." Jasmine said
Just as she was about to turn around, Celeste stopped her.
"Sling." Celeste said
"Oh, right." Jasmine said
She smiled gratefully and put the sling on before turning around, headed out when she saw Colby standing by the entrance to the service area.
"Hey." He said with a smile
Jasmine smiled back, "Hey… I thought we were meeting at the cinema?"
"Yeah but I figured after what happened there… We shouldn't go to the cinema." Colby said
"Oh.. then you wanna have our date here?" Jasmine asked
Colby chuckled, "I won't mind but your friends will be glaring daggers at me the whole time.. Especially Celeste."
Jasmine turned around and saw her best friend giving Colby a deadly look.
"Yeah… Maybe this isn't a good place…" She said, "Any other suggestions?"
Colby grinned, "I have something in mind."
Colby and Jasmine walked for about 10 minutes from the soup kitchen till they reached a small park. This was the only park that was left untouched by the Makers as they felt it was necessary to show everyone that they were not 'all about making money'. The city once had a big park but eventually, they were taken by the Makers and sold as plots of lands for their own monetary gains.
Jasmine looked at the park's entrance before looking at Colby.
"I thought they bought all the parks." Jasmine said
"They did. But, they left this one." Colby said
"It must have been too small for them to make money off." Jasmine said
Colby looked at Jasmine, "I thought you were afraid of voicing your opinion in public."
She chuckled a little before looking around, "We're not exactly in public. This place is empty."
"Point taken." Colby said, "Shall we?"
Jasmine nodded and the both of them walked through the park's entrance, deeper into the park. They found a good spot under the tree that wasn't in clear view for privacy and to be hidden from view, just in case they encountered any of the Makers' lackeys.
Once they sat down, Jasmine finally noticed the basket that Colby had been carrying with him.
"Did you cook dinner?" Jasmine asked
Colby smiled shyly, "Yeah.. I did. I got my dad to teach me a couple of his signature dishes."
"Is that the reason why you picked this place?" Jasmine asked
Colby grinned, "Yeah."
Jasmine laughed just as Colby opened the basket, taking out 2 plates of homemade Sloppy Joe.
"You packed the plates too?" Jasmine asked
"Had to make it look good." Colby replied
Jasmine smiled, "Well, it's a plus point."
The two of them started eating Colby's homemade Sloppy Joes while chatting and surprisingly, the date was going better than ever. Jasmine was almost certain that nothing was going to ruin the date until she heard Colby's phone beep.
"Do you wanna get that?" Jasmine asked, looking at his phone.
Colby picked it up and looked if for a second before silencing it mid-ring and putting it back down.
"Nope, I'll just read the message later." Colby said
Jasmine smiled and took another bite of her burger. As she was about to take another bite, the phone vibrated a few times on the seat.
She put the burger back down on her plate and said, "Maybe you should read the message now. It seems important."
Colby picked up his phone and looked at it. Jasmine watched his expression as he frowned a little before looking back at her.
"It's not important." Colby said, giving her a smile as he put the phone back on the seat.
Jasmine put the plate on her lap and looked at him, "If it isn't important, you won't have frowned at your phone."
"What's going on?" Jasmine asked
Colby looked at her and his eyes landed on the sling. He realized that it was time he told her the truth. He owed it to her after what happened after he left her alone the day before.
"I've been looking for someone for some time." Colby said, "And I've finally found her, with the help of some friends... That's why I've been getting so many text messages. And that's why I left early yesterday..."
"So it wasn't your mother?" Jasmine asked
"No, it's my ex-girlfriend." Colby replied
"Oh…" Jasmine said
"There's nothing going on between us." Colby said, "She dumped me a few months ago and I haven't heard from her since. That is until her parents contacted me."
"What happened?" Jasmine asked
"They said that she's been missing for a few months." Colby replied
"And they thought she'd be with you." Jasmine said
Colby nodded, "I told them that she broke up with me and I haven't seen her since a year ago."
He sighed, "Even if I didn't want to look for her after what she did to me, I owed it to her parents to at least try and help. They were really good to me when I was dating her and I couldn't forsake them just because of the history she and I had."
Jasmine nodded before saying, "Have you found out anything about her disappearance yet?"
"I don't have anything concrete yet because of the lack of evidence. But, the last I heard was from one of my acquaintances and he told me that she joined The Getaways." Colby replied
"What?" Jasmine said, "Colby.. That's bad. Once she gets in, she can never get out."
"I know... That's why I need photographic proof that it is her." Colby said, "If it is, then I'll be able to let her parents know and they can at least have a piece of mind knowing that their daughter didn't just disappear."
He looked at her, "I hope you'll understand that this doesn't mean I still love her..."
"I understand." Jasmine said, "You don't have to worry.. I'm not one of those obsessive-possessive girls."
Colby smiled, "Thank you for listening."
She smiled, "You're welcome. My listening ear will always be here if you need it."
He chuckled a little as he saw the sauce from the Sloppy Joe on the side of her cheek. He reached over and helped her to clean it away before kissing her cheek.
"And that's what I like about you."