The Truth in Pain | Book Two of the In Pain Trilogy

Danger Around the Corner

The girl bleated out an excited greeting to Jasmine. Rich wasn't fooled by it. He had watched her since he came, saw her jumping from person to person with the same fake perkiness. She was putting up a front for 'friends'. It was all show. He wasn't even sure she actually liked any of them.

Rich couldn't hear what was being said. He could hear the girl's high voice, but the noise in the living room drowned out much of it. All he saw was an average - if not forced - conversation before Jasmine's smile fell. He frowned.

Jasmine was blinking profusely now. Rich threw his cup aside, not sure what was wrong. Before he knew it, she was already darting out of the chair and into the crowd of people. Rich went after her.

Instead of going around the long way, Jasmine forced through. Although it was dark, he could see her, trying in vain to get out. He went in after her.

He made it out just in time to see her going into the elevator. He bolted for the doors. He slid in before they closed and went straight to the back.

Jasmine sniffled. She was crying, he realized. What should he do? Should he ask her what was wrong? As much as he wanted to, he couldn't get the words out. It burned in his throat, refusing to pass, so he stared into her back. Her head was down, her hair a cloud around her, blocking his view. Her shoulders jerked with her sobs.

The ride passed with nothing but the sound of her crying mingling with the elevator music. Rich could tell she was trying not to. It sounded stifled, muted behind her hand. When the door dinged upon their arrival at the lobby, Jasmine shot out.

It wasn't until they were outside the building did Rich work up the courage. "Hey," he called.

Jasmine didn't answer him. She began walking down the sidewalk, wiping at her tears. Rich jogged up her, clearing his throat. "Hey," he said louder.

This time she turned. He came closer. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She tried to smile but it wobbled away. "Got something in my eye."

"Both eyes?"

"It's a bit windy." The air could never be more still. Eager to get away, Jasmine smile again before turning to leave. Rich watched her walk away before he jogged back up to her.

He jammed his hands into his pockets. "Whoever he is, he's an asshole..."

Jasmine's head snapped up to him, her brown eyes wide and glistening with tears. "How did ...?"

"I figured that must have been it." No way was he letting her know he saw what went down. "As I said, he's an asshole. You're too pretty to have your heart broken."

Jasmine pushed out a polite laugh and shook her head. "It's nothing like that," she admitted. "I cry very easily."

"He shouldn't have given you a reason."

"Thank you for that. Really."

She was trying to get him to leave. He wasn't backing down that easily. He made it this far. "Want to know a fun fact?"

"Sure."

"Girls who cry more than others tend to have lower chances of mental breakdowns and heart attacks."

Jasmine blinked at him. "Is that true?"

Rich shrugged and grinned. "I have no idea," he said. "But it sounds cool, doesn't it? So let it all out. You won't end up in a mental hospital any time soon."

To his surprise, the laugh she made sounded genuine. "I don't even have any reason to be crying," she said. "He's not my boyfriend. We've only spoken a few times. I could call us friends but even that would be pushing it a bit. I just ..."