“I promise it will grow back,” she said when he continued gaping.
He shook his head, trying to brush it off as he walked towards her. “So I got my credit card bill for last month,” he said casually and opened the door again. “Vegas?”
“I took a wrong turn and ended up there by accident.”
He chuckled, walking with her down the corridor to the dining area. “Stuff like that happens all the time.”
“And all those drinks you see on there were nonalcoholic.”
“My baby girl is all grown up and lying to me. I’m so proud.”
“I know, right? I’m proud of me. I was really convincing with that last one.”
“You’re not the legal age to drink in this country, so I have to be disappointed and tell you not to do it again.”
He spoke with his normal no-nonsense dad tone, but she didn’t take him seriously. They had spoken about her trip enough for her to know that he was glad she had done something so outrageous.
He led her to the far end of the dining hall to a long, fluffy rug that was strategically placed in front of a blazing fire. The lights of the Christmas tree in the corner danced across the walls and carols playing in the background made her forget that they were actually at a resort.
Jasmin smiled as soon as she saw a bowl of marshmallows on the small table a few feet away from the fireplace. He really was going to keep his promises this time. She’d thought it would take time to rebuild their relationship. It had taken mere days. Once they got back to Chicago, he’d go back to working crazy hours and she would soon start her new job, but she had faith that their relationship would continue to strengthen. They had a deeper understanding now and both of them were not going to allow busy schedules to interfere with that. He promised her that she would always be his number one priority and she believed him.
“So how was your date?” he asked as he sat down on the rug and pierced a skewer through a marshmallow.
“It was fun. We went to a karaoke bar. I was awesome.”
“I’m sure you were,” he agreed with a knowing smile. “And Dalton?”
“Dalton’s great, Dad. He’s such a nice guy, but he’s just…I mean, he…”
“He’s not like that other boy you were telling me about?”
She hadn’t told her fatherallthe explicit details about Kevin. That would just be weird. But he knew the gist of what happened. Moping around in her pajamas for three days was a dead giveaway that something was wrong, so she’d told him why she was so depressed.
“It’s weird,” she said, slowly turning her marshmallow over the flames. “The fact that they’re nothing alike should make me like Dalton more, but I’m so hung up on Kevin. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m ninety percent certain that I’m in love with him and a hundred percent certain that it’s just plain stupid to feel that way when he doesn’t feel the same. How do I get over this, Dad?”
She expected her father to say that she was too young and inexperienced to understand what real love was, but he didn’t dismiss her feelings. Instead, he shrugged as if he didn’t have an answer. “It’s only been a few days, Bhajia, not long enough for a broken heart to heal. When someone you love hurts you, a part of you will always remember the pain.” The distant look in his eyes made it obvious that he was recalling everything her mother had done. “The pain will ease over time. What you need to do is let go of the anger. That’s going to take time too, but once you accept what has happened, it will be easier to forgive him. And once you forgive, you can move on.”
She nodded, giving him a sad smile. So that was step one. Acceptance. It reminded her of the story she’d told Kevin about King Jasmindeous and King Kevidius. The moral of that story was more relevant now.
Not every battle is worth fighting. Sometimes you just have to accept that losing is inevitable.
She wasn’t going to fight for Kevin. It wasn’t worth it. She accepted the fact that she’d lost him, that she’d never really had him. But she needed to find a way to get closure, close off that small chapter of her life so she could open herself up to possibility again.
December, 19
Great Falls, Montana
She cut her hair. No. She butchered it. All of it gone. Kevin knew this because he’d been keeping tabs on her. Stalker. That was the word that aptly described him. Digital stalker. He generally hated social media. If it weren’t for Perry, he wouldn’t even have an account. Yet now he was on some sort of site every day, sometimes until three in the morning. Hour after hour, day after day, all he did was stare at her pictures, read her posts over and over again. It didn’t help that some of his clothes still smelled like her. Crazy stalker. Obsessive stalker. Dying-to-speak-to-her-just-one-more-time kind of stalker. It was torture, but he’d become somewhat of an expert on self-inflicted pain.
A few days ago, Connie had posted a long thank-you letter on her wall. Jazz had asked her dad to start a bursary program and South Star had donated a substantial amount of money to Connie to pay for Beth’s college tuition. Connie was just the first of many. They’d returned from their trip nine days ago and Jasmin was already doing great things.
It was a good reminder of why he’d ended it. She was flourishing and he, being the miserable prick that he was, would have only brought her down. Now more than ever, he knew he’d made the right decision to cut ties, kill everything they had. She’d been through enough and was better off without him.
She’d made amends with her father, started a new program, and somehow still managed to socialize with the locals at a karaoke bar. All in the space of nine days. He’d known it wouldn’t take long for her to get over him and she was happy now. Very happy.
Seeing pictures of her and that…Dalton guy was like a punch to the throat. He had his arm around her while they sang, and there were pictures of them laughing and being all cutesy.
Kevin clicked through picture after picture, his jaw growing tighter as he gritted his teeth. He couldn’t stand seeing them together and yet he couldn’t look away. That’s what he’d lost. No. That’s what he’d thrown away. But for good reason.
