Chapter 2 Flashbacks Of Rejection.

Audrey suddenly sat up from bed. Panting profusely. She looked around her, trying to figure out where she was, as the dream she had just had frightened her out of her mind. She thought that she was dead. A lot happened in the near past, that had her mind all over the place. The sight of seeing her father fall from the story building, the sight of Leopold in jail, and then her nightmare. They were vivid for her to see in her mind's eye. Her mind eventually became stable, and she remembered the past as a result of the aura she currently carried. She liked Jerry Dank. She remembered how she had confessed her likeness to him. He was sitting in class and was having a conversation with Elizabeth Coker when Audrey showed up. She would have made a private confession, but for some reason, she was feeling lucky, so she imitated scenes from a popular TV drama series, and was approaching Jerry with a basketball, just because it was cool. Audrey watched as Jerry accepted a gift from Elizabeth Coker. She, Audrey had bought him a lot of gifts before, but he rejected all of them, and Audrey had spent a lot on those gifts. Yet, here he was, accepting a gift from Elizabeth. And it was a priceless one at that. ''Urgh,'' Audrey said and tossed the ball in her hands at Jerry and Elizabeth. She was upset. The ball was aimed at Jerry actually, but it ended up hitting Elizabeth on the cheek while she was trying to run away, and so Jerry got mad at Audrey. ''Have you gone crazy? What the hell was that for?'' He asked Audrey. ''I don't want you close to her, Jerry. What the hell are you doing?'' Audrey asked him back. ''I am free to hang around anyone I like, Elizabeth. Beat it,'' Jerry snapped back. ''For crying out loud, Audrey. Have you not had enough for the last month? You have been trying too hard,'' Jerry continued. Audrey was stunned. For the past month, she had been nice to Jerry exceptionally. Trying to make him understand that she was available for him, and all that he could say was that she was trying too hard. How heartbreaking. ''Don't you understand Jerry, I like you,'' Audrey told him. ''Okay. I have heard you and I am flattered, but I don't like you,'' Jerry replied sternly. After saying this, he leaned into Elizabeth and asked to take her to the health center, and so Audrey watched both of them walk out of the class, while the entire class looked at Audrey in silence. Audrey lost her mind. She ran after the duo and attempted to pull Jerry back, but he turned around and threw her away mercilessly. Audrey's back slammed against the wall, and her body dropped to the floor. Jerry glared at her, and then walked away, running after Elizabeth, while the class watched Audrey grit her teeth in pain. Since Audrey was born, she had never suffered humiliation in her life. Old and young alike, respected and held her in high esteem, but Jerry had tossed her away like used tissue. A devastated Audrey reported to her father. ''Daddy, Jerry Dank bullied me at school today. I feel so ashamed to go to school now,'' she said. That day, she went back home before school was over. She spent her afternoon and early hours of the evening crying and being asleep, and then she had a dream. In the dream, her ill-tempered dad had mercilessly started to deal with Jerry, to the extent that the boy had to leave the city. It was absurd. When Jasmine woke up, she intended to visit her dad at work and tell him not to do anything out-of-pocket, but, he was already back home. In the dining, he was discussing with her elder brother, Charles Turnah. Peter Turnah, Audrey's dad was in his fifties, while Charles was in his early twenties. Both Elegant and top-notch classy men. Both of them turned their heads in the direction of Audrey's footsteps while she walked in. ''Hey Audrey, come and sit here with me,'' the ever so gentle and soft-spoken Peter Turnah motioned his daughter to sit by him as he tapped on the space beside him. ''Go and get your sister some fruit. She loves to eat the fruit in the cold,'' Peter told his son, Charles, who quickly ran into the kitchen, and returned with a plate of fruits for his sister. ''I bought you these because you requested them yesterday,'' Peter told Audrey. ''Here Audrey,'' Charles smiled lovingly at his sister and urged her to have some fruit. ''Thank you, Charles,'' Audrey said and accepted the fruit. 'Why are you guys back home already?'' Audrey asked. Usually, her dad would spend his time at the office, way into the night, while Charles didn't even live in the family house anymore. ''I heard that my daughter was bullied. Why should I not be back home quickly?'' Peter asked his daughter. Audrey blushed. ''I heard that my silly daughter confessed her love to a certain young man and got rejected,'' Peter said with a faint smile on his face. ''Dad. Why did you dig into my business like that?'' Audrey asked disapprovingly. ''I was worried after you called me to report that you were bullied by someone from the Dank family,'' Why did he do that?'' Peter wanted to know, so he found out. Peter's wife, Audrey's mother was dead, and since then, he had loved and pampered Audrey, using her presence in his life to fill the vacuum that his wife had created. He also knew that this was Audrey's, first love. So he was distressed. Audrey had turned down the offer to study abroad, just because she wanted to be close to Jerry Dank. She was schooled in an institution that was below her family's standard. At first, her dad did not agree, but Audrey forced him to. Now this same young man was rejecting and bullying his daughter? Of course, Peter Turnah could not take it.