Jasmine's POV.17Please respect copyright.PENANAO4vrCnhQPo
I stepped out of the hospital only to see Laura sitting on the pavement waiting for me. Immediately she saw me, she stood up to then walked up to me "hey, I saw you enter the hospital, are you okay?" she looked genuinely concerned "yeah, I fine, I just needed to speak to a doctor" I said "okay, um, I've got to go" she said looking at her phone screen. "your sister just texted me, I need to go and you have to leave also, before Santiago finds out" she explained. Right, I've forgotten that my life was under threat, by my sister's husband "um, we still haven't spoken about.." I trailed off, hoping she'll get the message "yeah, um, maybe you should punch in your number" she said giving me her phone "okay, so I'll call you.. later" she said stuffing it back into her pant pocket.
"okay, so I'll see you around then" "yeah, see you" after about two steps "um, Jasmine" "I turned around "Emily has booked your ticket" my reply was straight forward "tell her I don't want it" she's gonna have to try harder and besides, she's probably not aware that I've left home anyway, not that I'm going to tell her about (yet). Laura looked taken aback but then she nodded in understanding. "good-by then" she said and I reciprocated.
I waited for a few minutes, wanting to flag down a cab to take me to the Robertson's mansion but then I saw a poster on the wall not too far from where I was standing with the words: No Cabs Allowed, boldly printed in red ink. "what?" I muttered in disbelief, why in the world would cabs be banned from a street? I groaned inwardly then started my excruciating walk to the beginning of the street.
On my way, I saw an old lady, she wore a long faded dress which was a color I suspected to have been bright yellow but was now dark brown, her dirty blonde hair was all over the place on her head making it look like a bird nest, and a pair of worn out slippers adorned her feet (see, I can do sarcasm too, take that Kyle). In her left hand, she held a battered leather bag, and in her right, she held the left hand of a young boy (probably her grandson) and just like the lady, he was another sight to behold. He wore faded blue shorts, brown polo T-shirt and battered black loafers, the band in his auburn hair and the baseball bat in his right hand made me think he him as a baseball fan (Kyle used to say that I have a problem with describing people, I wonder if that's true).
I had just passed them when the old lady called my attention "hey" I stiffened then turned around slowly, "good afternoon" I said then instinctively dug my hands into my pants pocket and produced a hundred dollar bill which I stretched out to her. She swatted my hands away then said in a surprisingly loud voice "do I look like a beggar to you?" well it depends on which response she wants, either honest or polite. If I were to be honest, I'd just blurt out yes, but if I were to be truthful then I'll say 'no, she looks like a sweet mum taking her equally sweet son to baseball practice' but, sadly, no one likes to hear the truth these days "no, of course not" I replied trying to sound as polite as possible "I want to tell you something" she said "me?" I looked behind me just to be sure, in case she was referring to someone behind me "yes, you" right, just great.
"hey wacko, go ahead I'm right behind you okay?" she said to the boy nudging him forward, wacko? hell, what have I gotten myself into? "do you really want to go back to them?" she said all of a sudden "what?" I mean you heard what the doctor said, your body is changing, and you know that" "I don't under... how do you... Who are you?" I stuttered trying to find my words "there's a lot at stake, Santiago is planning something big and you're the only one that can stop him, your health is plummeting and your condition is spreading, if you don't do something about it soon, everyone in the world is going to develop a cracked face just like yours. You can't sit and relax not at this crucial moment" I stared at her blankly (I really think I need to work on the speed at which my mind processes things), and by the way telling someone they've a cracked face is not a polite thing to say.
"who are you" I asked again, this time in a steadier voice "call me Dolores" she smiled then reached up to remove the mask on her face. My eyes widened, turns out the old lady isn't an old lady after all "good to finally meet you Jasmine" I was now standing face to face with a pretty lady, and yup, I think I'mma just faint.
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