"Hum, are you two finished in there?"
The voice that echoed through the storage room made both Elena and I freeze in absolute horror. We hadn’t even heard the door open, too absorbed in our private mont to notice that soone had entered here.
Of all people, it was Jasmine standing in the doorway.
Elena and I imdiately sprang apart with movents so quick and panicked that we nearly knocked over another stack of supplies in our haste to create distance between us. The guilt and embarrassnt that crashed over was almost overwhelming—being caught in such a compromising position by soone who had recently confessed her feelings for felt like the cruelest possible irony.
Jasmine looked between us with an expression that was difficult to interpret—surprise, understanding, and sothing that might have been resignation all mixed together. Her gaze lingered on Elena’s disheveled appearance and my obvious discomfort before she spoke again.
"Rachel is looking for you both," she said simply.
"R...Right," I stamred, wishing desperately that the floor would open up and swallow whole. "We were just... organizing supplies and..."
Elena, however, had already rushed past Jasmine and out of the storage room without saying a single word, leaving alone to face the woman whose romantic confession I still hadn’t properly addressed.
Don’t leave alone now, Elena!
The silence that followed Elena’s hasty exit was suffocating.
"Are you planning to stay here all evening?" Jasmine asked .
"No... no, I should go," I replied, moving toward the door with jerky, uncomfortable movents.
She must think I’m absolutely terrible, I thought miserably. First she sees acting suspiciously close to Rachel and Sydney, now Elena has been added to that list, and she hasn’t even witnessed my relationship with Cindy yet. From her perspective, I probably looked like the worst kind of person—soone who collected romantic attachnts without regard for anyone’s feelings.
We walked through the Municipal Office corridors in heavy silence, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what to say. Jasmine had confessed her feelings to , and I still owed her a proper response, but after what she’d just witnessed, she was probably reconsidering those feelings entirely.
"Ryan," Jasmine said suddenly, her voice breaking the uncomfortable silence between us.
I turned to look at her, expecting to see hurt or anger in her expression. Instead, I found sothing I hadn’t anticipated—genuine concern mixed with what looked like determination.
"Would you consider staying here tonight?" She asked, completely catching off guard with the unexpected request.
"Stay here?" I repeated, certain I’d misheard her. "Why would you want to stay?"
Jasmine’s expression grew more serious, and I could see worry lines forming around her eyes. "It’s about Jason," she said. "He’s been acting very strangely lately, and I’m genuinely concerned about his wellbeing."
"Strange how?" I asked, my attention now fully focused on what she was telling rather than our previous awkward encounter.
"He’s barely speaking to anyone anymore," Jasmine explained, her voice carrying genuine distress. "He goes through his daily routines chanically, like he’s not really present. But the most concerning thing is his nightti behavior."
"What kind of nightti behavior?"
"Almost every night for the past week, he’s been leaving the Municipal Office building," Jasmine continued. "He walks out into the darkness and disappears for an hour or more before returning. When I’ve tried to ask him about where he goes or what he’s doing, he either doesn’t answer or acts like he doesn’t rember leaving at all."
The concern in her voice was clear, and I found myself impressed by her genuine care for Jason despite the complicated history between them. She was worried about soone who had confessed feelings for her, soone she’d had to reject, yet she hadn’t let that awkwardness prevent her from continuing to care about his welfare.
"That does sound concerning," I agreed, thinking about the various threats that could be affecting Jason’s behavior. "Have you noticed any other changes in his personality or habits?"
"He seems distant, disconnected from everything around him," Jasmine said. "Sotis I catch him staring off in a particular direction for long periods, like he’s seeing or hearing sothing the rest of us can’t perceive."
A chill ran down my spine hearing that.
No it couldn’t be that right?
I shook my head.
I was really too negative, Sydney was right.
"You really care about him, don’t you?" I said, smiling a little then. "Even after everything that happened between you two, you’re still looking out for his wellbeing. That’s nice of you."
Jasmine smiled wryly, though her expression remained tinged with worry. "Jason is my friend," she said simply. "The fact that he developed romantic feelings I couldn’t return doesn’t change the fact that I care about him as a person. I can’t just stop worrying about soone I’ve known for a while just because things got awkward between us."
She was really a good woman...
"I think staying tonight might be a good idea," I said, making the decision as I spoke. "If Jason is in so kind of trouble or danger, having additional people around who care about him could make a difference."
"Thank you," Jasmine said, relieved. "I was hoping you’d be willing to help. I know things are complicated between us because of... well, because of what I told you before. But right now, I’m more concerned about Jason’s safety than anything else."
The fact that she was putting aside her own emotional situation to focus on helping soone else only reinforced my impression of her character.
"You truly are amazing, aren’t you?" I said, smiling at her with genuine admiration for her character and compassion.
Jasmine looked at for a mont before turning her gaze away, her expression troubled. "That’s not fair of you to say..."
"What do you an?" I asked, confused by her reaction to what I’d intended as a complint.
Jasmine remained silent, studying her feet as we continued walking down the corridor.
"Ryan, can you answer genuinely and honestly about sothing?" She asked, her tone suddenly serious.
"Y...yeah, about what?" I stuttered, surprised by the intensity in her voice.
Jasmine looked at directly, her cheeks flushing with embarrassnt as she gathered the courage for whatever question she was preparing to ask. "Am I not pretty enough?"
"What?" I blinked in confusion, certain I’d misheard her.
"Just answer honestly," she pressed, her voice gaining strength despite her obvious discomfort. "I know I’m not as amazing as Sydney, or as striking as Rachel, and certainly not as beautiful as Elena, but... I am pretty, aren’t I?"
"Jasmine, what are you saying? Why would you even ask sothing like that?"
"Just answer !" She retorted with sudden force, her frustration breaking through her usual composed deanor.
"Of course you’re pretty," I said, heat flooding my face as embarrassnt made the complint feel awkward despite being completely genuine. "What kind of question is that?"
"Then you don’t like ?" She asked, her voice smaller now, more vulnerable.
I stopped walking entirely. "Jasmine..."
"Are you dating Elena?" She asked directly, cutting through any attempt I might make to deflect or avoid the topic.
"No, I’m not," I replied honestly, though I knew the answer was technically misleading given what had happened between Elena and just hours earlier.
"Then why aren’t you ever as close with as you are with her?" Jasmine continued, her hurt becoming more apparent with each question. "Am I just weird or inappropriate sohow? Why don’t you ever act comfortable and intimate with the way you do with them?"
Seeing the genuine pain in her expression made guilt twist in my chest like a knife. I wanted desperately to explain the complex web of relationships I’d found myself entangled in, but this wasn’t the right ti or place for such revelations.
"Jasmine, you are honestly very charming and attractive to ," I said carefully, trying to find words that were both honest and kind. "When you approach with your feelings, I’m genuinely happy about it. But as you’ve observed, I am close to other won as well—closer than with you because I’ve been living with them and sharing experiences with them for months now. I’m currently trying to sort out my relationships with all of them, and I want to tell you sothing important as well, but not right now. I promise I’m taking your feelings seriously, but I can’t pursue anything until I resolve so other complications..."
I was rambling, trying to explain without revealing my polygamous situation, but the words felt inadequate and confusing even to .
"Alright," Jasmine said with a smile that seed sowhat satisfied by my fumbling explanation. "You’ll tell everything eventually then?"
"I promise," I nodded emphatically.
Jasmine grinned with renewed brightness and walked ahead, and I followed, grateful that she seed willing to accept my incomplete explanation for now.
I remained at the Municipal Office through the evening as darkness began settling over the compound. When it ca ti for the others to depart, Sydney was the first to comnt on my decision to stay.
"You’re staying here tonight?" Sydney asked as they prepared to take our vehicle back ho.
"Yeah, just for tonight," I confird.
"I bet Jasmine convinced you," Sydney blurted out with her characteristic lack of filter, completely ignoring the potential consequences of such a direct observation.
Jasmine, standing beside , blushed furiously and looked away in embarrassnt.
"I was right then," Sydney grinned with obvious satisfaction at having guessed correctly.
Elena glared at for reasons I couldn’t quite fathom, while Rachel chuckled softly at the entire exchange. Cindy, anwhile, looked between and Jasmine with obvious suspicion.
The male mbers of the Municipal Office community all glared at with undisguised hostility. They were already resentful that I was living with a group of beautiful won and maintaining close relationships with them, and my apparent closeness to Jasmine—one of their own community mbers—was clearly not helping my popularity among the local n.
The only males who seed to appreciate my presence were the older n: Wanda’s grandfather Joel, Martin, and Mark. All the n around my age seed to actively dislike , and I suspected Jason was firmly in that hostile camp given how he’d been avoiding .
"Don’t worry too much, Sydney," Christopher grinned as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders in a gesture of friendly support. "I’ll take good care of him while he’s here."
"That sounds kind of gay, Chris," Sydney retorted with typical bluntness.
"Shut up, Sydney," Christopher replied, earning laughs from Elena and Cindy.
In the end, it was decided. The others departed without while I remained behind for the night.
Christopher had arranged for us to share a converted office room on the second floor that served as temporary sleeping quarters for visitors. The space was cramped but adequate, with two narrow beds and just enough room to move around without bumping into each other constantly.
"Just like old tis," Christopher said with nostalgia as we settled in for the night.
"Yeah," I laughed.
It was definitely nice to have him around.
Deep into the night, however, sleep proved elusive. Christopher’s snoring filled the small room with a rhythmic sound that was simultaneously annoying and oddly comforting. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling and listening to the familiar noise that had been absent from our household since he’d moved to the Municipal Office.
I almost missed this, I thought with wry amusent. Christopher’s snoring had been a constant background sound during our early days of survival.
I shook my head with a quiet grumble, trying to dismiss such sentintal thoughts and focus on getting so rest.
There was no way I was missing Chris’s snorings...it was just annoying.
That’s when I heard the soft creak of the door opening.
A figure appeared in the doorway, silhouetted against the dim light from the corridor. It was Jasmine, and even in the darkness, I could see the panic in her posture.
"Ryan," she whispered urgently, her voice tight with worry. "Jason left again. He just walked out of the building, and he’s heading toward the sa direction as before. I think sothing is seriously wrong."
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