Longing Beneath the Rain

The moment high school graduation ended, I sent Jasper a hundred-thousand-dollar invoice for ten years of living expenses and tuition.

It all started when a text message suddenly popped up on my old, long-forgotten flip phone.

If you can see this message, please do not choose the same university as Jasper.

I showed it to Jasper as a joke. He was furious, insisting on calling the number back to scream at whoever was playing such a sick prank.

But that night, another message and a handful of photos froze me right where I stood.

"I know you can see this. I am actually Jasper, ten years in the future."

Most of the photos were intimate, candid shots of him and my best friend, Tessa.

The last one was a family portrait of the two of them, holding a pair of toddlers.

"If you hadn't been in the way, Tessa and I would have been together a long time ago."

"I'm sick of living under your family's charity. Even without your money, I can get into Briarwood on my own."

A cold realization washed over me. I suddenly remembered the travel mug of warm herbal tea and the gourmet breakfasts that mysteriously appeared on Tessa's desk every morning, and the extra strength pain relievers Jasper always kept in the front pocket of his backpack.

I shut off the phone, opened my laptop, and quietly changed my college application.

Then, I had our family lawyer draft an itemized bill for every single cent we had spent on him over the past ten years.

If that was his dream future, he could have it. I was bowing out.

That night, I tossed and turned, my head pounding with questions I couldn't resolve. Unable to sleep, I powered up the old phone again.

I drafted and deleted the text several times before finally hitting send.

"When did you fall in love with Tessa? Why didn't you just tell me?"

I clutched the phone, my fingertips trembling, a sudden and heavy dread settling in my chest.

The reply came almost instantly, flat and agonizing.

"I thought I was obvious enough."

"At least Tessa treated me like a human being."

"Paige, I'm sick of playing the grateful charity case. My parents' death was a tragic accident, but I never needed your family's pity."

"You have no idea how exhausting it was to pretend to be happy in your house every single day."

He sent a few more photos, showing him and Tessa sharing a cozy dinner at a dim restaurant.

I didn't reply. My grip on the phone turned my knuckles white.

Through the crack in my bedroom door, I looked out into the hallway. The lights were still on. Jasper was sitting at the kitchen table, working late into the night to finish a handmade leather journal for my birthday.

If his parents hadn't volunteered to take a double shift at the chemical plant for my parents ten years ago, they wouldn't have been caught in the explosion. Neither of them survived.

On the day of the funeral, not a single one of Jasper's relatives volunteered to take him in.

It was my mother who knelt on his porch, and my father who bought groceries and packed his things. I had followed them, carrying a basket of fruit to welcome him.

That day, Jasper had wept, promising he would put his life back together and treat our home as his own.

He integrated into our family quickly. He used to tell me he would look after me for the rest of his life, that I was more important to him than anything else in the world.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to steady my shaking hands.

Before I could type another word, the "future Jasper" sent a barrage of explicit, intimate photos.

The timestamp on them read: Yesterday.

"You didn't know, did you? The very first day after graduation, Tessa and I checked into a hotel room."

My blood ran cold, and my face drained of color.

Yesterday, I had planned to visit our retired high school counselor with Tessa. She had bailed at the last minute, claiming she had severe cramps and needed to stay in bed.

She wasn't in bed. She was with Jasper.

My fingers hovered over the call button, desperate to confront him, but the phone chimed again.

"Don't bother calling to accuse me. It won't work."

"Paige, if you don't play along this time, ten years from now, you and your entire family will pay with your lives."

I bolted upright in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs.

What did that mean? Our family had fed him, clothed him, and loved him like a son for a decade. Now he was threatening our lives?

Anger and panic choked me. I could barely find my footing as I stood up.

Receiving no response, he sent one final photo.

I zoomed in. Hanging around Tessa's neck was a silver St. Christopher medal.

That was the medal my mother and I had traveled miles to secure from a historic cathedral, kneeling at every altar to pray for his protection. He had promised me he would never take it off.

I swallowed my tears and typed back.

"If I don't go to the same university as you, will all of this stop? Will my family be safe?"

"I'll step aside. I'll let you and Tessa be together."

There was a long pause before the text bubble popped up, the words laced with mocking amusement.

"Of course."

"And I don't need your permission. Tessa and I have been soulmates for three years. We've been official behind your back this whole time."

"Oh, and tomorrow is your birthday, right? That's the day our first child was conceived in the future."

I looked up through the door crack. Jasper was walking toward my room, holding the hand-stitched leather journal. He tapped on the door and handed it to me, along with a smaller, more delicate matching coin purse.

"Give this smaller one to Tessa next time you see her, so she won't try to steal yours."

I used to think he was just thoughtful and attentive.

I had no idea he was constantly thinking of Tessa, keeping her in his plans right under my nose.

I pushed his hand away, my voice hollow.

"Give it to her yourself. I'm not celebrating my birthday this year."

Jasper's smile faltered, but he didn't press for a reason. Instead, he left the house early the next morning.

My mother tried to wake me with a bright smile.

"Jasper must be setting up a surprise for you. He's such a good boy, Paige. I'll be at peace knowing you'll marry him someday."

At peace? I gripped the edge of my blanket, my fingers ice-cold.

By noon, Jasper and Tessa arrived together.

They each handed me a gift bag. Inside were two hand-thrown clay mugs, clearly designed as a matching couple's set.

I didn't reach for them. My mother leaned in to examine them, murmuring, "These look like a set for a couple. You and Tessa usually don't agree on anything, but your tastes are remarkably similar."

My father let out a quiet cough, signaling her to drop the subject.

I sat on the sofa, keeping my face completely blank. When Jasper called my name, I acted as if he were invisible.

His eyes darkened, while Tessa tried in vain to break the ice.

When the conversation shifted to college registration, she looked down, smoothing her skirt.

"Have you guys decided on a school? Your grades are practically identical, so you'll definitely end up at Briarwood together. My scores are a bit lower, so I'm still figuring out my options."

"Of course we are," Jasper answered smoothly. "Even if Tessa can't get into the main campus, we'll find a way to stay in the same city."

He always spoke in half-truths. If he was that confident, he had already mapped out a plan to be with her.

Listening to his easy lies, I shook my head and spoke clearly.

"No. I'm not applying to Briarwood."

Jasper bolted upright, staring at me in disbelief.

My parents looked over, their faces filled with worry.

He hadn't expected this. After all, my biggest birthday wish since childhood had always been to go to college with him.

Jasper spent the rest of the day in a tense, brooding silence. By evening, he finally cornered me in the hallway.

"Paige, did I do something wrong? If I did, just tell me. I can change."

"Going to the same college has been our dream for years. How can you just throw it away?"

"Is there something you aren't telling me?"

He let out a defeated sigh, his shoulders slumping.

"Please just talk to me. This silent treatment is exhausting."

My chest ached with a dull, throbbing pain. I opened my mouth to speak, but before a word could form, Tessa stood up near the front door, preparing to leave. She cast a fleeting, helpless glance in his direction.

Jasper froze, then quickly moved to put on his shoes, sighing in my direction.

"I know Tessa is terrified of walking home in the dark. I'm going to escort her. You don't mind, do you?"

My face turned pale as I watched them walk out together.

The last time I had told him I was afraid of the dark, he had laughed, telling me to stop acting like a child. But the moment Tessa gave him a look, he rushed to her side, using me as his convenient excuse.

My chest rose and fell with silent fury. I retreated to my room and locked the door.

Within half an hour, a classmate who worked part-time at a local boutique hotel sent me a photo.

It showed Jasper and Tessa standing at the front desk, registering for a room. The future was matching the present, piece by piece.

"Paige, you and your best friend are so close, do you share boyfriends now? Want me to send you the room number?"

I replied quietly.

"No, thank you. What they do has nothing to do with me anymore."

I sat on the floor, resting my forehead against my knees for a long time. Finally, I picked up the old phone and typed out a message.

"Did you always hate us? Did you always think your life would be perfect if my parents had never taken you in?"

There was no text reply. Instead, he sent an image of a family portrait of my parents and me.

I thought he was reminiscing.

But the next image was a digital copy of three death certificates, bearing my name and my parents' names.

My hands shook violently, tears finally spilling over.

"How did we die? Tell me the truth."

"I won't interfere with your life. Just tell me why we had to die."

The status bubble flickered on and off for a long time before his reply came through.

"It's simple."

"Your parents found out about me and Tessa, and they forced her to miscarry when I wasn't around."

"Tessa forgave them, but they wouldn't let it go. They eventually got trapped in a warehouse fire of their own making."

"And you, consumed by grief, fell into the river and drowned."

My breath hitched, a sharp pain piercing my chest.

I typed back with every ounce of strength left in my fingers, my whole body trembling.

"My parents would never do that!"

"You know them better than anyone. Tessa is lying to you!"

The response was cold and detached.

"Tessa had no reason to lie. No mother would fabricate the loss of her own child."

I slid down against the wall, collapsing onto the floor.

So even if he knew Tessa was lying, he chose to close his eyes and believe her anyway.

My parents had spent ten years carrying the guilt of his parents' death, giving him more love and attention than they gave me. I used to joke that I was the adopted one.

And this was how he repaid them.

I typed out a furious stream of accusations, but his final reply remained infuriatingly light.

"Tessa and I handled your family's funerals ourselves. If she were truly evil, why would she bother giving you a proper burial?"

I let out a bitter, hollow laugh. It was amazing how easily guilt could be romanticized.

I turned on my laptop, verified that my university application had been successfully resubmitted to a school halfway across the country, and finally let out a long breath.

The next morning, I sat down with my parents.

"Mom, Dad, I'm not going to Briarwood with Jasper. And the moment I move to campus, I want you two to pack up and move with me."

"Also, I've had our lawyer draft an invoice for Jasper's tuition and living expenses. We are collecting every single cent."

My parents stared at me in confusion, but my eyes were red as I continued.

"You don't know the real Jasper. If we stay near him, he will destroy this family."

"I don't want to see him ever again. Looking at him makes me sick."

The front door clicked open.

Jasper stood in the entryway, holding a fresh strawberry cake. It slipped from his hands, splattering onto the floorboards.

He froze, but as he stepped closer, I could smell the distinct flowery scent of Tessa's perfume on his jacket.

"Paige, what are you talking about?"

I shook my head, my jaw clenched as I fought back the urge to scream.

Jasper reached out, trying to soothe me the way he did when we were kids, his hand reaching for my hair.

For a second, his eyes held a trace of genuine worry, but his words instantly turned to ice.

"Did Tessa say something to you? She promised she wouldn't mention anything to you."

Tessa. It was always Tessa.

I lost all control. I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"Jasper, we're over! Pack your bags and get out of our house!"

I screamed with every bit of air in my lungs, looking like a madwoman.

Jasper stood perfectly still, his expression smooth and devoid of any emotion.

"Stop playing around, Paige. I don't agree to a breakup."

He wiped a smear of blood from his lip, his eyes narrowing slightly.

My parents rushed to my side, holding my hands.

"Paige, what's going on? Why are you doing this to Jasper?"

I looked up, letting out a cold laugh.

"Because if I stay with him, we will all end up dead."

The room fell into a suffocating silence.

"I'm joking," I added quietly, looking away. "I just don't love him anymore. And I think Jasper has already found his match anyway, right?"

I let the excuse hang in the air. Jasper stiffened, his eyes instinctively drifting to the framed photo of Tessa on our living room shelf.

"It's my fault," I muttered, leaning back into the sofa. "I wish you two nothing but the best."

My words broke the tension. The tight frown on Jasper's face slowly relaxed.

That night, despite my parents' attempts to convince him to stay, Jasper packed his bags and moved out.

I didn't say a single word to him. He stood outside my bedroom door for an hour, but I didn't open it until he was ready to walk out the front door.

I handed him a box containing every gift, card, and trinket he had ever given me.

"I mean it, Jasper. I hope you and Tessa are happy."

He opened his mouth to explain, but I shut the door in his face.

Over the next few weeks, Tessa sent me endless messages, pretending to act as a concerned friend, reporting Jasper's movements to me. When I ignored them, she eventually stopped.

Soon after, Jasper changed his relationship status online, making his relationship with Tessa official.

Seeing that I didn't react, my parents offered them their quiet blessings.

A week before college started, Jasper brought Tessa to our house for a formal visit.

Seeing that my face was calm, without a single trace of tears, he couldn't help but ask.

"I'm with someone else now. Aren't you even a little sad?"

I didn't answer. Instead, my gaze locked onto the silver St. Christopher medal hanging around Tessa's neck. I reached out, grabbed the chain, and ripped it off.

"Give this back. If you want one, pray for it yourself."

Tessa let out a soft sob, covering her face.

Jasper clenched his fists, his face dark with silent rage as he took her hand and stormed out of the house.

On the morning of my departure, I retrieved the old flip phone one last time and dialed his number.

"Jasper, I didn't apply to Briarwood. I won't be in your way anymore."

"For the next ten years, I'm letting you go. Please do the same for me."

Without waiting for his response, I tossed the phone into a trash can at the terminal and walked toward my gate.

Jasper had assumed I was bluffing about the application and the invoice.

He arrived at the Briarwood University registry desk, ready to sign his enrollment papers.

The registrar looked at the screen and frowned.

"Mr. Harrington, your tuition payment was declined. The outstanding balance is ten thousand dollars."

"That's impossible..."

Jasper pulled out his phone.

But the moment he opened the PDF invoice of a hundred thousand dollars sent by our family lawyer, all the color drained from his face.