Laid 2 Rest Two Halves of a Whole by Melanie Rose Read Free Book Online Page A

suddenly realized. Everything else was blank. I have no clue what’s been going on in his life for the past nineteen years since I brought him back from the dead.
    Are you freakin’ kidding me … you mean I could have been married to a pro-ball player all of this time? It was beginning to feel like I was trapped in a nightmare again.
    “You play professional basketball?” I choked, as water tried to shoot out from my mouth.
    “Why are you acting so surprised? Are you alright? You look a little pale.” His big orbs were filled with worry and concern as he reached over and held my hand, stroking his thumb softly against the back of it.
    Okay, time out Jay … physical contact was so not my thing these days.
    Just be cool, I told myself. This is no big deal. So what if I don’t like being touched anymore... well at least I thought I didn’t like being touched. Jay must be some kind of exception since my body didn’t instantly recoil from him like it does whenever Diego tries to touch me. In fact, a part of me wanted him to hold on and never let go. I should be able to handle this without pulling away and hurting his feelings. He was still the same person he has always been, right?
    How would I bloody know, people? Stop thinking like that and snap out of it already. He was just concerned about you. Gees hold it together, woman.
    I straightened my back with new determination. I can do this. Yes, I can do this. I think I can, I think I can…. This was a good thing, no a great thing. He was alive, well, and living out his dreams. I am so proud of him for making it this far.
    “I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me though.” I assured him, squeezing his hand before releasing it to return to the stack of photos for more clues.
    The next picture was a close up of him and a precious little girl who looked around five in age with super curly jet-black hair and beautiful chestnut colored eyes…. CRAP! Any color that still remained in my face drain out instantly. I tried to play it off as best I could. “This is a cute picture. Where are you guys?” I said, gulping hard.
    “That was Jazz’s sixth birthday party. We had a blast… you should have been there. It was very girly . My daughter is a big girl now according to her, you know. She hopes that you’ll make it out to see her soon.”
    Daughter??? Jay has a daughter. A beautiful six-year-old daughter.
    My eyes teared up as my mind spun out of control from processing too much information at once. I was in danger of extreme emotional overload.
    WAIT! What the hell did he just say again?
    “ Jazz … did you just say Jazz?” I was confused. That’s my name. Man, I need a drink… a tall, strong one!
    “Yeah, Jazz! You do remember my daughter Jasmine Rain, don’t you? You’re scaring me, love. Now I know something is definitely wrong with you. Tell me what it is!” He demanded, practically shaking me.
    Being so out of it, I hadn’t even notice that he wasn’t on the couch beside me anymore. Instead, he was kneeling in front of me with his big hands gripping both of my arms.Hard!
    In that moment, I lost it completely; my mask of calm, shattered as fat tears started spilling from my eyes as I spoke in barely a whisper. “You named your daughter after me? ”
    I don’t know how he even heard me since I had said it so softly. With one long finger under my chin, Jay brought my face up so I had to look him square in the eyes before he brushed my tears off to the side. I absolutely hated to let anyone to see me cry, but today my eyes betrayed me as they took on a life of their own.
    Just great! I didn’t understand what was happening, I was so confused… and had so many mixed emotions swelling up inside of me that I couldn’t rein them all in.
    Leaning heavily into him, I buried my face into his jacket, becoming vulnerable for the first time in countless years. His long, strong arms cocooned around me, pulling me closer to him. He just held me tightly without