Color Me Blind (A Divine Love Story Book 1) (20 page)

The pain was almost
unbearable. She couldn’t believe he would throw that in her face after all this time.  She had to sit because she thought she would fall.  She couldn’t remember ever fighting with Blake let alone spewing words that could really end their friendship. 

S
he was the mean one. Blake had never been a vicious person.  How much pain must he have been in to push that button?  What was going on in her life?  Why was her world upside down?  She couldn’t believe she threw his dad in his face but all she could think about was pushing him as far away from her as possible because she was petrified of her true feelings. 

Damon,
Ahmed, and Lucy stood in their doorways and Carmen stood at the top of the stairs in shock. They had never seen Jasmine and Blake fight in all the years they had known them.  They definitely made up for missed opportunities with this one though.

Jasmine
felt the tears rising into her throat.  Her anger was like setting fire to the rain.  She was determined not to shed another tear for him. 

Lucy
was about to go over to her but Ahmed said, “Nah, I got her.  Give us a moment guys.” 

It was at that moment that Jasmine realized they’d had an audience. 
They all obliged and headed back to their rooms to get dressed for the day.  Ahmed grabbed her hand and pulled her off the sofa.  She was beyond embarrassed.  She kept her face covered with her hands as he pulled her into his arms.

“Jazzy
, you know I love you but I have to say only people who are head over heels in love with each can hurt each other the way you two just did.” 

It
was not what she wanted to hear.  It only added to her hurt and fury. 

“You know what
Ahmed, even if you were right and I was in love with him, I’m sure as hell not in love anymore.  As far as I’m concerned I don’t even like him.” 

She stormed up the stairs to her room.
  Ahmed shook his head. Jasmine had to be the most stubborn person he had ever met.  The four of them had a bet going about how long it was going to take those two to get together now that they were both single.  It had already been close to two months. Looks like Damon was going to win. It would take a catastrophic event to get those two to realize how much they really meant to each other.  He had a sick feeling that everyone’s day was pretty much going to suck.

Ahmed left his office early that day and went to the local park to hang out and absorb life.  He sat on one of the be
nches in the middle of the park. He needed to see the beauty in the world because his temper had been on edge all day.  It didn’t surprise him that the buzz around the office was about the shooting on the campus.  What did surprise him were the looks of disgust he’d received from people he had known and worked with for years. 

He wanted to punch something, or punch somebody.  It irritated him that Jasmine and Damon were right about people.  When he’d gotten back from his
three o’clock meeting there was a note someone shoved under his door.  It suggested he was laundering money for a terrorist organization while claiming to be a proud American. After that he was done. If he hadn’t gotten out of that office he would have terrorized someone with his fist.

It was just a bad day all around. 
He thought tragedy shouldn’t bring out the worst in people.  Instead he believed it should draw them closer.  Now he could see that when people looked at him all they saw was the face of a man who could be a terrorist. 

They didn’t know that both of his parents were born in America as was he.  It was true he was raised Muslim
.  But he was never raised with whatever beliefs terrorists were privy to in order to justify the brutal slaughter of innocent people. 

Ahmed was a pacifist.  H
e had no desire to cause harm to anyone or anything.  He couldn’t believe how quickly people turned on him.  He turned his attention to a mom and her three kids playing not too far from where he sat.  It looked like they had a picnic. 

T
he mother was now blowing bubbles as the kids were chasing them.  The littlest girl had to be about three years old.  She was laughing and clapping her hands to burst the bubbles.  Her chase led her toward him.  She was looking up at the bubbles and didn’t see the uneven patch of grass.  When she stepped in it, she tumbled.

Without a thought Ahmed was up to help her get up as her mom was trying to make it to her.  Her three kids had her really spread out.  The little gir
l was lying in the grass crying. Ahmed bent down and reached out a hand to help her up. 

“Don’t cry little lady,
it’s okay.” 

Since her tears were already drying up he realized she
wasn’t really in that much pain.  It was more about the theatrics.  Her mom raced over to them with her other two kids trailing behind her.

“Blake honey, are you okay?” 

The little girl looked up at Ahmed as if to verify with him that she was fine.

He
said, “Of course you’re okay because you’re a big girl right?” 

She gave him a big grin and nodded. 

The mother said, “Thank you so much I saw her about to go down, but I couldn’t get to her fast enough.” 

“She didn’t go down that hard
. I think it was more of an understanding that when you fall people expect you to cry.  She just got some grass stains on her pants.” 

The mother laughed and picked
up little Blake.  Ahmed put his hand up for a high five. Little Blake obliged. 

He said, “You
know you have a very cool name. My best friend’s name is Blake, except he’s a boy.” 

Wide eyed with
her tiny voice she asked in disbelief, “Really?” 

“Yep, really.” 

The mother extended her hand, “Thank you sir.” 

He shook her hand. 

“You’re welcome. You guys enjoy the rest of your day.”

Ahmed decided to walk around the park after the incident
had restored some of his faith in people.  She didn’t know him, but she didn’t shun him after he did what he thought any human being would to help a child in need.  Meeting little Blake made him think of his Blake and Jasmine. 

The thing that irked him the most about those two
was how much time they were wasting, and for what?  He was pretty sure that by now they had both figured out they had feelings for each other.  He couldn’t understand what their hold up was.  He thought about all the people that lost their lives today.  He wondered how many of them would have made different choices had they known that today would be their very last day on earth. 

Blake and Jasmine could have the kind of relationship that people looked to for guidance
. What was between them was so rare and so unbelievably perfect he wanted to shake both of them for being so stubborn.  He wished he could find someone with half the potential those two had.  If he could he would never let her go.  His thoughts drifted to his date for the evening, Victoria. 

She was
great and had lots of potential.  She just might be the one.  They’d only been out five or six times so he hadn’t brought her home yet.  He was pretty sure that after tonight he’d make it a point to introduce her to everyone.  They had known each other for years and had always danced around their attraction to each other.  They recently ran into each other at a work function and reconnected. 

They had plans to go out to dinner but he thought he might change it up and ask her over to his place so that he could cook for her.  He didn’
t feel like dealing with people.  He didn’t want other people to ruin their evening.  He took out his phone and sent her a text to see if she was up for it. 

He would tell everyone he needed the house tonight and to go find
something interesting to do. It’s not like they could argue seeing as how they told him to stay home.  She responded right away and said she would love to.  He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.  He looked at his watch, it was after five. He needed to get to the store and get something to cook.  He headed towards his car.

Jasmine was at the shop.  She had just finished her last customer.  She was sitting in her chair lost in space while biting her nails.  It was
nearing seven o’clock.  Though she was in no mood to go home she didn’t want to be in the shop either.  She had to wait for Lucy since they rode together.  Her plan to let her work consume her was a bust.  There wasn’t a minute that went by that she wasn’t replaying in her head the fight with Blake. 

It made her sick and ashamed at how she’d purposely hurt him.  She hadn’t been able to eat all day and poor Lucy was getting snapped at about every little thing she could think to complain about.  She knew she was wrong.  She bought Lucy lunch to try and make amends, but she was still feeling irritated.  She just wanted everyone to leave her alone.  Most of all she wanted to punch Blake in his pretty face. 

She had never been so mad at another human being.  It scared her.  She absolutely wanted nothing to do with him at the moment.  Maybe for a lot longer than that, she hadn’t yet decided.  Of all the ways he could have hurt her going for the jugular on the first try had offended every sensibility she had. 

She never thought that Blake could hurt her like that.  Even though he had the right to defend himself against her rant, she felt he’d taken it too far.  She asked for some space, but he dangled the end of their friendship in her face without a second thought.

She was too pissed off to cry.  All three of their stylists avoided her all day once they got wind of her attitude.  She tried to just keep quiet, but anytime someone said anything to her about anything she had a less than pleasant response. 

She made a mental note to send each of them flowers and a card the next day to apologize.  She realized what a horrible human being she had been that day.  She tried to pray about it but that was annoying her as well.  Every time she would pray it was like her feelings for Blake would be slammed in her face. 

Having an honest conversation with herself she kept coming back to the same conclusion about why she couldn’t be with Blake.  The only problem she had with him was he was white.  What did that say about her?  She was so frustrated and disgusted with herself that the only way she could deal with it was to ignore it. 

If that was truly the case then there was something much bigger than being attracted to him that was becoming clear to her.  She was head over heels in love with Blake Jessup but she hadn’t a clue what to do about it.  She was deep in thought trying to process her revelation and come to terms with the fact that she had racist tendencies when Lucy interrupted her thoughts. 

“Jasmine.” 

She snapped, “What?” 

Lucy shot her a glare that said she was done being her punching bag.  She looked around.  Her customer was the last one to leave while there was still one stylist cleaning up her station.  Lucy didn’t want to air their dirty laundry in public so she walked up and grabbed Jasmine’s arm with quite a bit of force. 

She said, “We need to talk.” 

This was a side of Lucy Jasmine had never seen.  Sheer shock was the only thing that kept Lucy from getting slapped.  After Lucy pulled Jasmine into the office she slammed the door and lit into her. 

“Jasmine, what is your problem?  The world is not to blame because you and Blake had one fight.  How dare you treat me like that and in front of the entire
salon?” 

Jasmine was momentarily stunned.  When she tried to speak Lucy put her hand in her face.

“No shut-up!” 

Jasmine’s eyebrow arched.  She wanted to laugh more than retaliate because angry just didn’t look right on Lucy.  She was too sweet.  She should leave the mean to her. 

“I understand today sucked royally, I do, but that isn’t any reason for you to use me as a punching bag because you’re mad at the world.  If you ever talk to me like that again I will smack you where you stand.  Do you understand me?” 

Jasmine gave a long stare, blinked and stared some more.  She was completely outdone and could not help letting out the laughter that bubbled up.  She sat down on her desk and had a much needed laugh.  Lucy just stared at her like she had gone over the deep end.  She waited for her to compose herself.  When Jasmine finally looked up she was wiping tears from her eyes. 

“Oh my God Lucy, that was hilarious.  I know you meant it, but still you just can’t pull off mean convincingly.” 

Lucy folded her arms across her chest and frowned.  Jasmine stood up and wrapped her arms around Lucy. 

“I’m so sorry for being a jerk.  Yes I did use you as a punching bag, but that’s only because I knew you’d still love me.  I will never do it again.” 

Lucy was a softie so she just wrapped her arms around Jasmine and mumbled, “Forgiven.” 

Lucy grabbed Jasmine’s face.

“Are you going to be okay?” 

Jasmine nodded.

“I’ve never fought with Blake so I can’t say how long it will take us to get through it.  I know it won’t be today.” 

Lucy laughed but her response was interrupted by Jasmine’s phone ringing.  Jasmine picked up the phone from her desk.  She didn’t recognize the number but she answered anyway. 

“Hello.  Yes, this is she, who is calling?” 

Lucy watched as Jasmine’s face went from light hearted to confusion.

She asked,
“What is it?” 

Jasmine shook he
r head as she listened intently. 

S
he gasped, “Oh my God!  Is he okay?  Is he conscious?” 

Now Lucy’s heart began to race.  Someone they knew was
hurt. 

“Okay, we are on our way right now.  I will contact his next of kin.” 

Jasmine pressed the button to end the call.  Her hands were shaking as she tried to call the first person that came to her mind, Blake.

“Jasmine what happened, what’s going on,” Lucy asked. 

In a shaky voice Jasmine answered, “Ahmed is being rushed to the emergency room.” 

Lucy shrieked, “No!  Was he in an accident?” 

Jasmine was fumbling with her phone trying to call Blake again.  He’d sent her to voicemail and brought her anger back with a vengeance. 

“No he was attacked in the grocery store par
king lot.” 

Lucy began to panic and Jasmine tried to dial Blake again while going to her desk drawer to get her purse.  Lucy grabbed hers from her desk and headed out of the office.  When Blake had sent her to voicemail for the second time her temper flashed so strong it gave her an instant headache.  He knew she would never call him back to back unless it was important. 

She quickly sent him a text telling him Ahmed had been attacked and was in critical condition at the ER.  He was to meet them there ASAP.  Lucy was already out of the shop, before Jasmine made it out she yelled for the remaining stylist to lock up because they had a family emergency to see to. 

∞∞∞

It was approaching seven p.m. Blake did not want to go home.  The fact that all of his friends lived in the same house with the one person he absolutely did not want to see made it even worse. 

He never thought he would see the day he regretted not
living alone.  He was sitting in his office feeling like a man with no control over his own life.  It wasn’t like he was actually doing any work. He just couldn’t bring himself to go home. 

Maybe he’d call
Damon and have him meet him for a beer. On second thought maybe a drink.  He could not wait for this day to end, but tomorrow was not promising to be any better.  He’d walked around all day with a heavy weight on his chest. 

It was very ha
rd to focus on other people’s lives when his was in shambles.  He was so infuriated with Jasmine.  He knew she would never apologize first because she was too stubborn to be the first to admit error. 

Now that
he’d had time to calm down he realized she didn’t mean it. She couldn’t have.  There was a reason she was pushing him away.  He just couldn’t figure out why.  He was sick about throwing her abortion in her face.  He still couldn’t believe he’d let that come out of his mouth. 

She was by no means an angel that deserved any mercy but still he
would never forget the look he’d put on her face as long as he lived.  He knew that was still an open wound for her. It was for him too.  He didn’t understand this wedge that was growing between them.  He also knew she wouldn’t get over this anytime soon. 

He wasn’t ready to talk about his change of feelings for her
, but she was pushing him away like she blamed him for her break-up.  Was that it?  Was she regretting her decision to choose him over Derrick?  The thought of that was too hard to bear.  Nah, it didn’t sound like Jasmine, but what could it be? 

For the first time since he’d known her he couldn’t fi
gure out what was bothering her.  Why was she avoiding him?  Her resistance almost seemed like it was driven by fear.  He had never known Jasmine to be afraid of anything.  Somewhere something was foggy in the back of his mind about not having fear. He just couldn’t remember where he’d heard it. 

His phone rang.
It was Jasmine.  He didn’t want to talk to her because he was still hurt.  He sent her to voicemail.  A few moments later she called back. It made him mad.  He didn’t want to talk to her.               She usually didn’t call back to back, but he was giving her the space she so desperately needed.  Let her call someone who wasn’t suffocating her for whatever she needed.  His phone beeped signaling a text message. He wanted to ignore it but curiosity won out.  When he’d read the message his heart hit the floor. 

“Oh my God!” 

He was up and out of his seat, reaching for his suit jacket as he ran out of his office in a panic.

∞∞∞

Damon was still in his office.  His work was actually keeping him there.  He was managing his first major project and wanted it to be successful.  His bosses were putting a lot of faith in their youngest architect.  He vowed he wouldn’t disappoint.  He was a little off his game today though.  Everyone at the office was talking about the tragedy that happened on the college campus not far from his office. 

The mood was very somber as he imagined the mood
was all over the city.  He’d heard countless anti-Muslim remarks by co-workers.  It made him think of Ahmed. 

He was glad he’d put his nine millimeter in
Ahmed’s glove compartment.  He knew he would find it as soon as he got in because that is where he kept his sunglasses.  He could be annoyed about it or he could be smart about it. 

He could also attribute his dismal mood to Blake and Jasmine
being at each other’s throats.  He couldn’t believe how it went down between them that morning.  He was more shocked at Blake.  It was like Jasmine to pull out the dirty punches because she couldn’t stand to lose, but for Blake to push whatever button he pushed meant his temper had to be well beyond his control.  In all the years he had known him Blake protected Jasmine, he
never
hurt her.  As a matter of fact, he threatened bodily harm to anyone who might try to cause her pain.

For years they had
been trying to figure out what happened on June 8th between those two, but they wouldn’t budge on the secret.  Whatever it was it was definitely the wrong card of Jasmine’s to pull.  He honestly didn’t know if they would be able to get past this.  Jasmine was the queen of stubborn and Blake could be prideful when it wasn’t smart to be. 

He was wrapping up the last of the
day’s work.  He had just locked his file cabinet when his phone signaled a text message.  It was from Blake. He opened it.  When he read it his heart stopped.  He had to read it twice to make sure he’d read it right because it was a forward.  When the reality of the text set in he hurried to the elevator.  Wasting time wasn’t an option.

∞∞∞

Carmen was at the house by herself trying to relax.  Her shift at the restaurant was brutal.  She had been in a sullen mood all day long.  It was too much negative energy all around her.  Everyone at the restaurant talked about the horror that plagued their college campus until she finally had to pull rank and tell them not to talk about it anymore in her kitchen.  Being the head chef had its privileges. 

Carmen plopped down on the couch in her sweats and propped her feet up on the ottoman with a buttery, salty bowl of popcorn to veg out in front of the TV.  She avoided all the news channels like they
were deathly contagious.  She hadn’t really watched the news with any consistency since 9/11.  She tried again, but after Hurricane Katrina she was done with reality playing out on the news. 

It made her physically sick to see such senseless death.  She was struggling with her
disdain for religious fanatics.  She had some choice words to say when they first heard about it, but she bit them back because she didn’t want to offend Ahmed or make him uncomfortable in his own home.  Ahmed was one of the sweetest people she had ever met.  She knew he didn’t think like those zealous nuts, but she could definitely understand people’s aversion to the Muslim community.