The Butterfly Effect

Chapter 5

Beelining out of her room to the kitchen in her apartment, Ashley couldn't sleep and all she needed to help her fall asleep was a hot cup of tea. Suddenly, she heard her roommate's door swing open and a five-feet-six girl ran to her bedroom door and rapped on it with her knuckles excitedly.

"Ashley! Ashley, wake up!"

"Jess," Ashley called out, "I'm over here. In the kitchen."

Jessica turned her head to the voice and looked rather surprised, but then she immediately dashed to her roommate. "Ash, I got good news!"

"What?" Ashley asked unenthusiastically as she dipped a chamomile teabag into her cup filled with hot water.

"Guess!" Jessica egged on.

"Just tell me."

"Sean asked me to come to his basketball game tomorrow!" Jessica squealed in an ecstatically happy tone.

Ashley's eyes widened. "What? Really?"

"Yes!" Jessica cheered. "He just called me!"

"Wait, weren't you on FaceTime with Kyle?"

Jessica clapped on her forehead, remembering something. "Oh, shit, you're right!" She ran back to her room, but a few seconds later she stepped out again. "He already hung up. Well, it's okay, he'll understand. I'm just going to call him again later. Too bad he can't join us tomorrow."

Ashley choked on her tea, coughing slightly. "Us?"

Jessica put a begging face, grinning. "I want you to come with me."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I know I'll be so nervous and awkward tomorrow. But if you're there with me, I won't be so nervous," Jessica explained.

"What are you talking about? You just met him today and you guys talked for hours."

"It's different!" Jessica denied. "C'mon, please, Ash."

Ashley shook her head. "No, I think—"

"Please, Ash, please help me!"

Ashley didn't say anything for she didn't know what to respond.

"You once said to me that you wanted to see Sean in person, right?" Jessica persuaded.

Ashley had to admit that Jessica was right. Yes, Jessica had already shown her photos of Sean, but she still wanted to meet this guy who made her best friend not able to move on even after they had broken up years ago. Caving in, Ashley finally drew in a deep breath. "Okay, I'll come with you."

Jessica cheered again. "Thanks, Ash!"

"But you're the one driving back and forth, deal?"

"Deal!"

Ashley was about to take a sip of her tea, but something came to her mind all of a sudden. "Jess, how about his girlfriend?"

"He said he didn't want to talk about her."

"What? They broke up?"

Jessica shrugged one shoulder indifferently. "I have no idea, but I don't want to think about it because I'm so excited right now!"

Ashley remained silent for a moment before opening her mouth and said, "Jess, I hate to burst your bubble, but you know what you put yourself into, right? You're playing with fire here. So, please, be careful."

***

Allison looked out of the cab window with a vacant stare as she passed the street adorned with lights under the night sky of New Jersey. Her eyes were puffy and her face was wet because of tears. She still couldn't believe Sean had left her all forlorn there. She couldn't believe he had been thinking about another girl for God knows how long. She couldn't believe she had been betrayed. She couldn't believe she wasn't the number one girl for him anymore.

Is he falling out of love? Does it mean our relationship is too fragile to hold on? she asked herself.

The sound of her ringtone slit the silence in the cab. Fishing the phone out of her purse, Allison saw a text from her Nana asking where she was because it was getting so late. After sending a response, she let out a sigh. Tears almost rolled down her cheeks again when Sean's last words to her earlier resonated in her ears. In a hurry, she reached for her phone again and opened Instagram to distract herself.

However, her action made everything worse instead. A few minutes after scrolling through her Instagram feed, she found a post uploaded by an account none other than Princeton basketball team's. A painful truth was discovered behind that post.

Allison felt her tears trickle down her cheeks again. Drowning her face in her palms, she attempted to stop her tears but it made them fall harder instead. The first time he had held her hands as he had whispered the words 'I love you' in her ear then kissed her softly, she thought he was the guy who would never, ever hurt her. Sadly, she turned out wrong.

All of a sudden, she could hardly breathe as if the oxygen around her was running out. As she was wheezing, she grasped her chest that felt deflated and it was incredibly painful. She hastily rummaged through her purse with her sweaty hand, trying to find her inhaler.

"M- miss? Miss! Y- you alright?" the cab driver asked in panic.

Allison ignored him and just kept searching for the tube.

"M- miss, do you- do you want me to take you to- to the hospital?" the cab driver asked again.

The best she could give as a response was a head shake. When she felt her fingers brush against a cold, little tube in her purse, she pulled it out as quick as she could. With a trembling hand, she shook it, placed it in her mouth and inhaled deeply in repeat.

Gradually, Allison could breathe normally again. Leaning back in the backseat, she took a deep breath and exhaled with relief, finally able to feel the oxygen in her lungs again. It was the first time in the last three months she had gotten asthma attack since she decided to stop her medications to cut the expenses. It was definitely not a good decision.

***

(to be continued)