SOMETHING IS WRONG
1085 Words
Chapter 2
Jasmine barely slept that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she heard the stranger’s voice again.
Stay away from Jason.
The words stayed in her head longer than they should have. She didn’t even know the man, yet the warning felt serious enough to make her uneasy.
She turned over in bed and checked her phone again.
No unknown messages.
Just Jason.
Jason: You’ve been acting strange.
Jason: Talk to me.
Jason: Don’t ignore me, Jasmine.
She sighed and dropped the phone beside her pillow.
Jason noticed everything. Even the smallest changes in her mood never escaped him. Sometimes she liked that about him. Other times, it felt exhausting.
By the time morning came, she had barely slept.
The dark circles under her eyes were impossible to miss.
“Girl, you look terrible,” Tessa said the moment she saw her on campus the next morning.
Jasmine rolled her eyes tiredly. “Good morning to you too.”
“I’m serious. What happened to you?”
“I just didn’t sleep well.”
Tessa studied her face for a second before asking quietly, “Jason again?”
Jasmine hesitated.
That was enough of an answer.
Tessa sighed and adjusted the strap of her bag. “You know he’s getting worse, right?”
“He’s not getting worse,” Jasmine said softly. “He’s just protective.”
Tessa stopped walking completely.
“Protective is asking if you got home safely,” she said. “Jason acts like he’s monitoring your existence.”
Jasmine looked away.
“He cares about me.”
“I’m sure he does. But caring about someone and controlling them are two different things.”
Before Jasmine could respond, Tessa’s expression shifted slightly.
“Oh,” she muttered. “Speak of the devil.”
Jasmine looked ahead and immediately spotted Jason near the campus exit.
He leaned against his black car with his arms crossed, calm and composed as he watched her approach.
The moment their eyes met, Jasmine slowed down without meaning to.
Jason pushed himself off the car and walked toward her.
His eyes moved over her face first, then briefly to her phone, then around the area like he was checking who had been near her.
“Why didn’t you reply last night?” he asked calmly.
“I fell asleep.”
“You could’ve said that first.”
His voice stayed calm, but Jasmine still felt nervous.
“I was tired, Jason.”
He looked at her quietly for a moment.
That silence always made her uncomfortable.
Then he reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear gently.
“You met someone yesterday.”
Jasmine froze.
“What?”
“I don’t like surprises,” he said quietly.
Her stomach tightened immediately.
“I didn’t meet anyone.”
Jason watched her carefully, like he was deciding whether she was lying.
Then he leaned closer.
“I saw a black car near your route yesterday.”
Her breath caught.
“How do you even know that?”
“I know where you are most of the time.”
The answer came too easily.
Jasmine forced a laugh. “That sounds a little scary.”
“It shouldn’t.”
But somehow it did.
Before the conversation could continue, Tessa stepped beside Jasmine again.
“Okay, this is getting intense for eight in the morning,” she said lightly.
Jason barely reacted to the joke.
“You’ve been distracted lately,” he told Jasmine.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
“I said I’m okay.”
Jason reached for her hand before she could pull away. His grip wasn’t painful, but it was firm enough to remind her he was there.
“Meet me after your shift,” he said.
“I might be tired after work.”
“I’ll still come.”
Before Jasmine could respond, Tessa slipped her arm through Jasmine’s free arm.
“Sorry, overprotective boyfriend time is over. We’re late.”
Jason’s jaw tightened slightly.
Tessa noticed and smiled anyway. “Relax. I’m borrowing her, not stealing her.”
Jason looked at Jasmine for a long second before finally letting go of her hand.
“Don’t be late,” he said quietly.
Then he walked back toward his car.
Tessa waited until he drove off before speaking again.
“That man stresses me out and I’m not even dating him.”
“He’s not that bad.”
Tessa gave her a look. “You say that every time you look uncomfortable.”
Jasmine stayed quiet.
Because lately, Jason had been making her uncomfortable.
The constant checking.
The way he always needed updates.
The way his mood shifted whenever something happened outside his control.
As they continued walking, Jasmine’s thoughts drifted back to the stranger from yesterday.
William.
Even thinking about him made her uneasy.
His eyes.
His voice.
The warning.
Stay away from Jason.
A chill ran through her.
Miles away from campus, inside a quiet high-rise office, William sat behind a large desk with a phone pressed against his ear.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city, but he wasn’t paying attention to the view.
His focus stayed on the screens in front of him.
Several camera feeds filled the monitors.
Campus entrances.
Parking lots.
Hallways.
And Jasmine.
Walking beside Tessa.
A close-up camera showed Jason holding her hand earlier that morning.
William’s expression darkened slightly.
“Sir?” the voice on the phone asked carefully.
William’s gaze stayed fixed on the screen.
“Increase surveillance around her,” he said calmly.
A pause followed.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly as Jason appeared on another screen.
“And tell Jason,” William continued quietly, “to stop touching what doesn’t belong to him.”
The person on the other end went silent for a second before answering quickly.
“Yes, sir.”
William ended the call without another word.
His attention returned to Jasmine’s face on the monitor.
She was laughing at something Tessa said now.
William watched silently for a few more seconds before leaning back in his chair.
Back on campus, Jasmine suddenly slowed as a black car passed slowly across the street.
Her stomach tightened instantly.
The windows were tinted dark enough to hide whoever sat inside.
But somehow she knew.
Tessa noticed her staring. “What?”
“Nothing.”
But Jasmine kept watching the car until it disappeared down the road.
And somewhere deep down, she could feel it.
William was still watching her.
- Writer
