Two Weeks Later

“You know, you should really come see your girlfriend more often.” Courtney made a pouty face through the thick glass.

Jason smirked as he held the phone up to his ear. He’d visited a few times in the past two weeks and was starting to grow accustomed to her flirtatious comments.

“Uh huh.” Jason leaned back in his chair. “The guards were going to bring her in after we were done talking.”

“So you’re not opposed to the idea of dating a convict?” Courtney’s mouth twisted up into an eager grin. “That’s good to know.”

“I never said she was a convict.” Jason pointed out. “She could be a normal citizen and waiting for me in the lobby.”

Courtney’s eyes narrowed. “Well, you know how relationships are. The wrong ones never work out.”

A month ago this kind of remark would have sent Jason running for the hills, but he’d learned a lot since then. The deal maker’s words turned out to be true. While Courtney’s feelings and actions may have been dramatically stretched and inflated, the roots of those emotions were real. After she had been arrested and charged with numerous crimes, Courtney had gone out of her way to reach out to Jason any way she could. It wasn’t the same desperate need for his existence, rather it seemed like she honestly enjoyed his company. The Tigg’s crime syndicate fell to pieces two weeks ago and a few members of the city council and police department had made a big show of pinning blame on anyone involved. Jason suspected that those city council members and senior police members were probably involved and trying to cover their tracks. Jason wouldn’t have cared as much if Courtney hadn’t been the target of a lot of the blame being thrown around.

“Oh lighten up would you?” Courtney tapped on the speaker to get Jason’s attention.

“Sorry.” Jason tried to smother his slight embarrassment with a small smile once he realized he had been lost in thought.

“It’s your fault you know,” Courtney smirked.

Jason frowned. “What?”

“I really would have let it happen.” Courtney’s playful tone turned somber. “I would have let myself stay in that burning car if you didn’t save me.”

Her eyes dropped to the table in front of her.

“I felt so empty. So lost. I really didn’t think I had anything left to live for.”

Her Amber eyes lifted up to Jason’s own and brightened considerably.

“Thank you, Jason.” She placed her free hand against the glass between them. “Thank you for saving me.”

Jason felt a light blush enter his own cheeks at the earnest gratitude.

“I’m just glad I could help you in the end.” Jason scratched his cheek and avoided eye contact. “You didn’t deserve anything I put you through.”

“Maybe not, but I’m actually grateful.” Courtney grew contemplative.

“Not for all the bad stuff mind you.” She rushed to explain. “But I honestly don’t know what I would have done or what I would have become in life if you hadn’t come around. It just feels nice to finally see more than just a gray world around me, you know?”

Jason nodded. He would never wish for anything like it to happen again, but he did grow as a person from the experience. There was value in that. He owed it to those who weren’t alive today to learn and become a better person because of it. It made Jason happy to hear that Courtney had a similar understanding.

“Completely.” Jason responded with a wide smile. “Any idea how much longer you’ll be in here? How are the trials going?”

Courtney rolled her eyes and shook her head. “It’s going to be a while. There’s not a lot of evidence to tie me directly to my father’s work, but I did run through a shopping mall with a knife. So that’s going to take my lawyer a lot of time to explain away.”

Jason grimaced. “Yeah. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“You know,” Courtney’s playful smile returned, “I’ll probably need a place to stay when I get out of here.”

“Oh.” Jason blinked. “Um…”

“Though, I won’t have many clothes to wear. I might have to borrow some from my extremely generous and very handsome roommate.” Courtney winked and tugged at the color of her orange jumpsuit.

Jason swallowed hard. One thing that certainly hadn’t changed was how much Courtney enjoyed teasing him. His reaction caused her quite the fit of laughter.

“In the event you honestly have nowhere else to go, my door is always open.” Jason said with red cheeks.

Courtney’s smile turned a bit bashful.

“That’s nice. Thank you.”

Jason glanced at the clock on the wall behind Courtney. Visiting hours were nearly over.

“I’d better be off.”

“Oh.” Courtney deflated slightly.

“Keep me posted about your trials.” Jason stood up from his chair but kept the phone to his ear.

“Wait, Jason.” Courtney pushed herself up and waved for him to remain in place.

“Yeah?” Jason paused.

Her playful expression was completely gone and she locked her eyes with Jason.

“I really like you Jason.” Courtney stated seriously. “When I eventually get out of here we are going to go on a date.”

Jason’s heart had been pulled in so many different directions it was hard for him to honestly know how he felt towards any one in particular. Courtney was directly involved with some of the scariest and toughest days in his life. He had already decided that everyone, himself included, deserved a chance to start things anew. Why would the topic of love be any different?

Courtney’s normal confidence and smugness were nowhere to be found. She waited nervously for Jason to respond to her confession. Jason looked at her for a few seconds before nodding.

“Okay.”

Courtney nearly hit the ceiling. “Really?!”

“I’m not promising anything, but I’m open to going on a date and seeing how things go.” Jason explained.

“I know that already.” Courtney waved his words away. “But honestly with my charms that’s all I need.”

It was Jason’s turn to roll his eyes.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Oh, you will.” Courtney chuckled. “Bye Jason.”

“Bye Courtney.”

With a small wave, Jason hung up the phone and walked out of the visiting room.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bus ride from the detention center was a long one. Jason had headphones in and was dozing in the center of the bus when his phone buzzed in his hand. Groggily, Jason glanced down at the text message.

“Hey Jason.”

His eyes went wide and the dizziness immediately vanished from his mind.

“Hey Kirsten.” Jason typed back. “I’m glad to hear from you. How is your recovery coming along?’

Out of the surviving members of Jason’s curse, Kirsten had been the worst off. Not only had she been stabbed and suffered from serious blood loss, she had been stolen from her hospital room, denied her pain medication, and chained up in Ashlyn’s home. It was a miracle she was even still alive. Jason had tried to visit her a few times but Kirsten’s father had made it very clear he didn’t want Jason anywhere near his daughter. This was the first time Jason had been able to communicate with her since.

“I’m having a bit of trouble walking, but the doctors are confident that I’ll manage to make a full recovery.”

Jason sighed. “That’s good to hear.”

It took a full minute before she responded.

“Yeah… My dad is going to move us.”

“Oh.” Jason‘s fingers typed out his reaction. “Where too?”

“I’m not sure. He just wants to get away from here. Start fresh.”

Jason felt his face fall. He was sad to hear the news but it wasn’t like he could argue against her father’s reaction. Kirsten typed another message out before Jason could respond.

“I think what happened really scared him. He just wants us to remain a family and he doesn’t feel like we can do that here.”

Jason felt a jolt of pain in his heart. He remembered how crushed Kirsten had been when she had admitted to stealing her father’s gun and threatening him with it.

“I see. Well I’m glad he didn’t disown you or anything.”

Jason cringed at his response as he sent it. It wasn’t great, but he was at a loss at what else he could say.

“I don’t think I’m going to fight him about it.” Kirsten texted back. “To be honest, I felt like he and I were growing distant over time. It was like we weren’t really family. Like we just lived in the same home. I think I want things to change too.”

Jason smiled. “Then maybe this will be good for both of you. It sounds like you’re both making an effort to reach the other.”

“Yeah… I hope so.”

Jason stared at her response as he racked his brain for something else to say. Once again she beat him to the punch.

“Do… Do you hate me for what happened?”

“No.” Jason typed with complete confidence. “A lot of terrible things happened, but I don’t blame you for any of it. Even though it was hard for you, you tried to help me. I’m very grateful for that.”

“I’m glad.” Kirsten included a smiley face with the latest message.

Jason smiled back at the small emoji on his screen.

“Do you like online games?” Kirsten asked randomly.

“Yeah. Why?” Jason responded, a bit confused.

“Even if I end up moving far away… would it be okay if we played games together?”

Jason could almost see the shy girl blushing through the black lettering. He smiled.

“Yeah. That sounds fun.” 

“Every day?” Kisten asked.

Jason chuckled. “I mean I’ll have to spend at least some time studying, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Okay!” 

Their conversation continued for the rest of Jason’s bus ride.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Good to see you man.” Jason said quietly as he set a small cluster of flowers on a headstone.

The ground was still freshly churned from the funeral service that had been held a few days ago. Hayden was placed between his sister and his parents. A large collection of photos, unlit candles, and letters congregated  beneath each one.

“Seems kind of weird, getting you flowers and everything.” Jason wiped the end of his nose. “But I really didn’t know what else to bring.”

Jason chuckled and blinked away a growing amount of moisture in his eyes.

“The service was really nice.” Jason cleared his throat. “Even though you’re still pretty new to the school, most of the student body showed up. Most of the girls were crying. So, you know, you got that going for you.”

Jason squinted at the dirt beneath his feet.

“I just wanted to stop by today and say…” Jason choked on his words but forced them out anyway. “To say that I’m sorry.”

There was no way to stop the tears from flowing now.

“I really let you down.”

Jason shook and he had to place his hand to his chest to keep it from falling off his body.

“I shouldn’t have let you get involved.”

He ached. The pain he had been trying to keep down finally revealed how deeply it had rooted itself into his soul.

“You know what the worst part is?” Jason wiped his eyes in a pointless attempt at clearing his vision. “The worst part is knowing that despite your family being at risk, you still tried to help me.”

Jason knew the other headstones were to his left and right but he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at them.

“I’m going to make it up to you.” Jason sucked in a deep breath and forced himself to stand up straight. “I don’t know how, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to make this right.”

Jason placed his hand on Hayden’s headstone and held it there for a few minutes in silence. Maybe he couldn’t do it, but Jason was determined for his words to be more than just a coping mechanism. Maybe he would start a charity in Hayden’s name. Maybe he would devote his time to charity. Jason didn’t know what would satisfy his promise to his best friend, but he was determined to see it through.

Jason stayed a bit longer to pay his respects to Kylee's grave as well. Despite her investigation around the time of her death, the police force had gone all out to give one of their own the best sendoff they could. Small flags and pinwheels decorated the detective's grave. Jason left his second bouquet of flowers there.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The afternoon sun crept slowly lower towards the horizon as Jason approached his home. Aunt Shannon had left everything she owned to Jason in her will. Seeing as Jason had already turned eighteen, it meant that the house was completely his. A contractor had been out the previous week to help patch up all of the bullet holes, broken windows, and busted doors in his house. Jason was so busy looking at the exterior of his house, he almost missed the girl sitting on the doorstep.

“Oh.” Jason did a double take. “Hey Jessica. Sorry, I didn’t know you were coming over.”

The silver haired beauty stood up and dusted off her skirt.

“You don’t have to be sorry. It was a spur of the moment thing.”

Jessica gave him a hesitant smile as they stood in front of each other awkwardly. Jason hadn’t seen much of Jessica over the past two weeks. Even the few times they had crossed paths, their interactions had been fairly brief. Jason couldn’t exactly blame her for wanting time alone, but he did miss seeing her face every day. At the end of it all, Jessica had been the one to help Jason finally rid himself of the curse. That kind of bond made an impact on Jason and he really didn’t want to see his friend grow distant.

“Your eyes are all red.” Jessica noted. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” Jason rubbed his eyes a bit like that would help. “I was just, you know, visiting Hayden.”

Instant understanding flashed in Jessica’s gaze and her body language eased to be far less stiff.

“I see.” She nodded. “It’s good to let things out of your system.”

Jason shuffled in place, a bit embarrassed to admit he had been full on crying.

“What brings you out to my place?” He asked.

Jessica shifted her weight from one food to the other. “I wanted to ask you something.”

Jason nodded and waited for her to go on. Clenching her hands at her sides, Jessica took a deep breath.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

Jason blinked. “I’m not sure. I originally planned on visiting Courtney tomorrow but I ended up doing that today so-”

“So you’re free?” Jessica asked, suddenly much more aggressively than she had been before.

Jason took an involuntary step back. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Jessica smiled eagerly. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“Yeah. I would actually.” Jason titled his head slightly. “This seems rather sudden though.”

“Oh. Well, yes I guess it is.” Jessica looked a bit sheepish. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, thinking about you, and I was trying to keep a bit of distance between us so I was sure of things and it sort of came to me today that…”

Jessica took another steadying breath and fixed Jason with a laser-like stare.

“Remi was right. I like you Jason. I’ve liked you long before your curse started messing with my head. I realized that if I didn’t make my move now I would regret it for the rest of my life. Would you go on a date with me?”

Jason thought over her words carefully and came to a similar conclusion that he had earlier.

“Yes. I will go on a date with you.” Jason answered firmly. “Though I have to be honest, Courtney also asked me out on one once she’s out. I can’t really promise anyone that things are going to work out, but I’m willing to give it an honest try.”

Jessica’s violet eyes beamed with blinding happiness.

“That’s fine. I already know we’re a perfect match for each other.” Jessica embraced Jason tightly. “Besides, now I’ve got a head start on that prison bimbo.”

Jason couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jessica left well after the sun had gone down. Jason was tired but feeling very accomplished with the day’s events. Although he wanted nothing more than to fall onto his bed and sleep, Jason walked over to his computer and turned it on. It took a few moments for the machine to finish its startup routine but pretty soon Jason was in and browsing through his father’s research. The endless files and documents contained a lot of information, most of which didn’t pertain to what Jason was hunting for.

Everyone deserves a fresh chance. Jason thought to himself as he immersed himself in demonic history.

There was one person he owed the most to. One person he couldn’t visit today that he wanted to speak to. Even if it was just once more. Ironic that he would feel the strongest attachment to the least human among everyone around him.

“I’ll find a way, Remi.” Jason said to himself as he printed off a promising page and pinned it to his growing wall of research.

“Somehow. I’ll find a way.”

The End.

JTNestman

Despite the definitive signal that this is the end of the story, there are two more posts that I am going to make. The next will be an alternative ending, which will hopefully be out tomorrow or the day after, and the final will be a small farewell and a sneak peak at my next two written works.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read through Fatal Attraction. I hope to see you again.