THE RAIN

"What do you mean he proposed?"

Jade was so shocked that she almost dropped the carton of eggs she had in her hand.

Julia looked at her with a smile, "He asked her to get married. Last night I was getting into bed, Steve was already in bed and we heard shouts and bangs coming from Emma's room. We ran out to see, Alec standing with his hands on his knees panting while Emma stood with the door open as confused as us. Alec didn't answered any of our questions and instead proposed to Emma as soon as he got his breath back. To say she was overjoyed would be an understatement."

So he had asked her to get married. He has given her the ring. Even after talking to her in the club. And being so awkward about the whole scenario. As if he didn't really want to marry Emma.

She wanted to move and run away from there. But her feet were stuck to the floor. She gripped the carton in her hand till her knuckles were white.

"Jade? Are you okay? You look sick."

She was startled out of her thoughts at the sound of Julia's voice.

Tears were stinging her eyes but she swallowed them and trying to force a smile on her face.

"No I'm okay. It's a hangover from yesterday night I guess." She tried to make her smile a little more convincing before continuing, "That's very good news. I'm very happy for both of them."

"I know. I wonder why Alec didn't call you"

Jade knew why he had not called. And she didn't think that she would actually pick up the phone if her even did.

"No. He must be busy."

"He's a fool. Emma's been jumping around the whole house since morning. She's already planning the engagement party."

She had to get out of there before she broke down in front of Julia. It would not be a good idea if Julia came to know what was happening.

"Julia I should get going. I just remembered that I had to make a important phone call."

"I was thinking we could have coffee together. Can't you stay for one cup of coffee?"

Julia actually looked disappointed. Whether it was because Jade was cancelling the coffee plan or because she would have to go back home and face the overexcited Emma, Jade didn't know.

"We'll take a rain check on it? Sorry!"

"Okay. But next time we have to go."

Jade smiled, doing her best to ignore the heavy feeling in her chest.

"Sure."

She said bye and went to the billing counter on auto.

The only thing going on in her her head were Julia's words from earlier and Alec's words from last night.

"Alec proposed to Emma."

The last thing Jade wanted was to breakdown in front of the guy who was billing her stuff.

She paid for the stuff took the bags and went to her car.

The sky had become darker than it had been when she had entered the store.

A storm was on its way.

She put all the stuff in the trunk and stood up.

This was how it had felt 8 years back when Alec had told her that he was going to Thailand. Only this was a million times worse.

Now she understood why people kept talking about broken hearts. Her heart felt like it had been broken into tiny small pieces, only Alec could fix.

She shut the trunk and started walking.

If there was just one way to delete all the feeling she had for him she would have done it without a second thought.

If he had not come back and if she had just heard about the engagement from Susan maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad.

Who was she kidding? It would have hurt just as bad.

Till now she had a hope of Alec coming back into her life. But now....

The diamond ring on Emma's finger was the end to all her hope.

Alec will go back to London with his fiancé. And here she would be alone and desperately in love with a guy she will never have.

Before she knew it tears were running down her face.

Jade never cried. But ever since Alec came back to Millbrooke she found herself crying ever day.

She had no clue where she was headed. She just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

There was thunder in the sky and it started raining. Her tears mixed with the raindrops.

She knew that she would get drenched in a matter of minutes and she was not even dressed for such weather.

But it made no difference to her. She kept walking. Alec's words going on and on in her head.

There were no people on the streets everyone had taken shelter to stay away from the cold rain.

"Alec proposed to Emma."

................................

"You remember this picture?"

Amanda placed a picture of Jade in front Stuart.

They had been doing this for an hour now.

They were sitting with all the photo albums in the house and going through them with a bottle of red wine to keep them company.

"Of course! It had taken you more than an hour to finally put her into that dress."

Amanda laughed. Jade had always hated anything with ruffles on it, even at the age of three.

And the dress that she had on in the photo was pink with more ruffles on it than any other dress in the world.

It had been a 3rd birthday gift from her Aunt Martha, and Amanda had hated it almost as much as the Jade.

She didn't remember the last time she had just sat with Stuart going over old memories and laughing with any inhibitions.

It was a new experience and she was enjoying it thoroughly.

The old Stuart, the Stuart she had been waiting for was sitting next to her and she could not have been more happy.

She looked at him, the blue eyes still sparkled with humour, the black hair was now streaked with white. But that give him a more dignified look.

"Stuart..."

Amanda was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"I'll get it."

He pushed himself up and walked towards the door.

It had been raining very heavily out there for sometime now. Whoever had come in the middle of such a storm sure was gutsy.

He pulled open the door, and there on the doorstep stood, Jade. She was absolutely drenched.

Her black hair was sticking to her pale face.

Her clothes were soaked through and her eyes were bloodshot. She had been crying.

"Jade?"

At the sound of her dad's worried voice, Jade looked up.

"Dad." She sobbed.

Her knees were weak. It was a miracle that she was standing and had not fallen to the floor yet.

"Come in! Come in! You're drenched.... Come... Amanda!"

He was so surprised at the state in which his normally cool and composed daughter was in that he practically didn't know what to do.

He pulled her inside away from the rain.

"What?... Oh!"

Amanda came up behind Stuart and saw the state in which Jade was.

"Amanda... Jade..."

Stuart stuttered.

"Mom!"

When Jade had started walking aimlessly from the grocery store, somewhere in the back of her mind she had known where she was headed.

The one place where she was the most comforted. Her mom's house.

"Stuart, go get some towels first and then please make a cup of tea for her." Amanda said taking charge of the situation.

"Okay."

Stuart was only too happy to go out of there. He had never been good with crying women.

They made him feel helpless and weak.

And now that it was his daughter it made him feel even more helpless. Helpless that he could not prevent anything from hurting her.

He was surprised at the protective feeling he got for his daughter.

He hurried of to get dry towels for Jade.

"Jady, come with me."

Amanda guided Jade into the living, while she still sobbed.

The centre table was covered with photos.

She made her sit on the sofa and sat beside her.

"Sweetie?"

Jade looked up at her mom's kind face and burst out.

"Alec asked Emma to marry him. Last night. And mom it hurts so bad. I never meant to fall in love. And Alexander Carter was the last person I had thought I'd ever fall I love with. But he made me fall him love with him twice. Twice mom!"

Amanda had always known this would be how the friendship between her daughter and Alec would end. With a broken heart. Either hers or his.

No one can have such a strong bond with another person without falling for them.

"Jady..."

Jade interrupted her, "When dad left, I said that's it. I won't trust any other man. I will not give any guy the power to break my heart. But then Alec... He earned my trust along with my friendship. He taught me how to love and it don't know when friendship turned into love. And then... And then... He went away. Went away to follow his dreams. He didn't fall in love with me. Again I said over no more falling in love. No more... And then he came back. And he made me fall for him again. I know he has a girlfriend and I know it is wrong. But I couldn't help it. I hoped.... But then he... He proposed to her. And it hurts so bad Mom!"

Amanda pulled her daughter into her arms and let her cry as she used to do when she had been small.

"I understand, sweetie. I understand."

She patted her back. There was only one thing worse than going through a heart break. It was seeing your child go through a heart break and not having the power to do anything about it.

She held her tightly while Jade's body shook.

"I got the.... Towels" Stuart came into the room with two white fluffy towels in his hand.

She took the towels from his hand and put them on Jade.

"I'll go get the tea."

He went out of the room again. His blood was almost boiling.

He had heard what Jade had said, and at that moment he wanted to kill that boy.

How could he happily get married, after breaking Jade's heart? How could he do this to someone who was so in love with him?

And then it dawned on him. What Alec had done was not so different from what he himself had done.

Only he made a even bigger mistake. He had broken Amanda's heart more times.

He had made her cry many more times.

In the living room, Amanda took hold of Jade by her shoulders and made her sit upright.

"I know how you feel, baby. Believe me. There's no one else who understands how you feel right now more than me. But you have to be strong. You have to go on. And you have to believe that everything will become better."

She had been through this. All this. And she wouldn't let her daughter lead the life she had been living, waiting for Stuart to come back. She had got him back, maybe Jade wouldn't be as lucky.

"How? How do I do that?"

"When your dad left I had only you. Only you to comfort me. Nothing else. I did it didn't I? And you have me, your friends, your work. You have a great life in front of you. I know it seems silly what I'm saying. And you've no interest in listening to me. Right now, you just want to cry and yell. But there will be a time, sooner or later, when you will have to wipe your tears, get up and get on with life."

"What if I don't want to?"

"You have to sweetie. It will take time. But the pain will become less at some point. I promise."

Amanda held her again.

...........................

After Jade's tears slowed down a little, Amanda sent her to have a hot bath, before she caught a cold.

The hot tea had helped a little but she was still drenched.

She sank down on the sofa and put her head in her palms.

"Amanda?"

She looked up to see Stuart, standing near the door leading to the kitchen.

"She's gone to have a bath."

"I know." He walked up to the sofa and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm the biggest biggest jerk on this earth and I don't deserve to have you at all."

Amanda looked at Stuart to find tears in his eyes.

"No...."

"Yes, today I felt like killing Alec for what he did to our girl. But then I realised that it was not as bad as what I did to you. I don't deserve you."

Amanda hugged him and they sat like that with their arms around each other for a long time.

"I love you, that's all that matters." Said Amanda breaking the silence.

"I love you too. And I won't leave you ever again even if God himself asks me too. Never again."

.........................

Jade came down after the bath to find her parents hugging each other on the sofa.

And even though thoughts of Alec were still in her head. She smiled through the constant ache in her chest.

She didn't get her love, but her mom did. And she was happy for that.

.......................

AUTHOR'S NOTE:-

Happy reading! XX