Change of Heart 2

Chapter 83

Aiden's P.O.V

"Jasmine?" I impatiently pushed branches and leaves out of my way as I walked deeper into the woods. I knew she was here somewhere; her scent was strong. I had no clue though as to why she would come into the woods all alone.

Memories of her and I in the woods made me smile and laugh to myself but it also made me very unhappy and disappointed in myself. The happiness came from the fact that I really liked Jasmine. I've grown to like her a lot during the past few weeks. Our many dinners, strolls, talks and passionate moments in the woods distracted me from our impending doom which was coming tomorrow. What made me unhappy was the fact that Jasmine was not her. She was not Ember.

Ember.

The thought of her made my eyes moist. It was really hard for me to get over Cate; the girl I loved for the past one hundred years who never loved me as anything more than a brother. As time went by I forced myself to move on. Was it hard seeing her fall in love with Adrian? Yes it was. But I was happy for them nonetheless. I don't think I would be able to do the same with Ember.

Finally, the disappointment came from me. I was disappointed in myself. I was disappointed because I didn't look hard enough. I didn't know where she was. I should have searched everyday not resting until I got a lead on her location but I didn't. I was also disappointed because I never told her how much I loved her when I had the chance to. Maybe I deserved this.

"Jasmine? Are you here?" Her scent grew stronger and I could hear the water from the stream up ahead. "Jasmine come on let's go h−

I stopped walking when I stepped on something soft. Looking down I realized that it was a sweater; one that looked very familiar. Picking it up very slowly I scanned the area but no one was in sight. I brought the fabric to my nose and inhaled.

"Garret?" His scent was strong and now I knew why it looked so familiar to me. Why was Garret's sweater in the woods?

Dropping the sweater on the floor I walked further towards the sound of the water and stopped again near the blue T-shirt on the ground.

"Adrian." The T-shirt was his. Confused and a bit scared I began walking faster towards the black jacket near a tree trunk.

"Jessie." I dropped his black jacket down and ran towards the stream where I finally saw her.

Her hair was damp and so was the dress she wore. There was a pile of clothes next to her and she was frantically throwing them one by one into the water.

"Jasmine?" I said her name softly and with caution but she didn't acknowledge me. Her breathing was hard and fast as she flung each piece of clothing into the water.

"They're dirty." At first I thought she was talking to herself but for a slight moment her eyes shifted to me. "They're very dirty." She held what looked like Avalon's blouse in her hands and rubbed it continuously under the water.

"Jasmine...what do you mean? These clothes are clean."

"No, no, no Aiden look, look! They're so dirty I have to wash them." Tears trickled down her face as she grabbed another piece of clothing and washed it in the water of the stream.

"I don't think they look dirty Jaz." I stooped down next to her. "What are they dirty with?"

"Don't you see? Look Aiden, they're dirty...so dirty. They're soiled with it."

"With what?"

"Blood...blood. Lots and lots of blood."

Blood. Lots and lots of blood.