Page 1 of Tempted

Chapter One

Two and a half months into the New Year and it already sucked.

Having gone through a full day of interviews with no promising prospects, she felt like curling up into a ball and giving up. That however, wasn’t an option. She had every reason not to. Besides, the last thing Jasmine wanted was to go home to the roach-infested hell hole she currently lived in. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out her Metro card. Her balance was getting low but a tripthe National Mall in front of the Washington monument wouldn’t be too much. She didn’t know what it was about the place, but Jasmine was at peace when she was there.

The day had been cloudy when she got up that morning, but just as she stepped out of the train station the sun was coming out. Maybe this day wouldn’t be a total wash after all. The Cherry Blossoms were just starting to bloom and it was pretty warm for a mid-march day.

Jasmine purchased a hot dog from one of the street vendors and found a park bench. Here, she could forget about her worries, albeit temporarily. In her special place she could briefly forget about the unfortunate set of circumstances that had left her broke, unemployed and with a criminal record. This brief respite saved her from focusing on how desperate her situation had become; how if she didn’t turn things around soon, she’d never regain custody of her daughter.

Jasmine wished Star was with her now. When Jasmine was a little girl, her mother would bring her here and they’d sit on a bench eating ice cream and people watch. There was something cathartic about the experience. A smile touched her lips as she imagined Star sitting next to her.

If only.

A piercing scream broke Jasmine out of her silent musings. She looked up just in time to see a little girl on a skate boardbarreling her way, arms flailing wildly. The child had obviously lost control and looked like she’d topple over any second.

Setting her food aside, Jasmine rushed over to the girl and caught her, just before she met the pavement face first. “Are you okay?” she asked checking the child over.

Large green eyes looked at her imploringly. She was a pretty child with long black hair pulled into a somewhat messy ponytail. With a tilt-tipped nose and round pinkish cheeks, she had a cherubic look. The kid couldn’t be more than seven or eight. “Tyler pushed me,” she sniffed.

Jasmine frowned. “Tyler?”

“My brother. He said he’d teach me how to skateboard but he was being bossy and I told him to stop. That’s when he pushed me. I think he hates me!” the little girl burst into tears.

Jasminewould have minded her own business and walked away in normal circumstances but this child wasn’t much older than Star. On impulse she gave the child a hug. “It’s okay honey, everything will be alright now. And I’m sure Tyler doesn’t hate you. Siblings fight all the time.”

The little girl perked up. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” She tweaked the child’s nose

It seemed to be the right answer because itgot the kid to smile. “My name is Chelsea, what’s yours?”

Jasmine smiled her first genuine smile of the day. “Jasmine. You’re okay now?”

“We’re not supposed to talk to strangers, dummy.”

Jasmine jumped away from the girl, startled by the voice of a newcomer. She turned around to see who was speaking. A young boy not much older than the girl shot Jasmine a suspicious look. He had the same dark coloring as Chelsea which told Jasmine this was the infamous Tyler.

“Daddy said you couldn’t call me dummy anymore!” the girl shouted back.

The boy shrugged. “Well, Dad isn’t here. He only said that in front of Nana. He doesn’t care.”

The girl scowled. “Daddy does so care. You are a big meanie, and I hate you!”

Tyler shrugged. “So what? You’re just a big dummy. You can’t even read good.”

“She can’t read well,” Jasmine found herself correcting him automatically.

Tyler looked her up and down with an arrogance of a man three times his age. “Who the hell are you, lady?”

Jasmine’s mouth fell open. Was this kid for real? “Do your parents know you talk like this?”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed. “What’s it to you?”

Jasmine shrugged. “Nothing really. But you are being rather rude. Chelsea could have been seriously injured. The right thing to do would be to apologize.”

Tyler poked out his lip mutinously. “You’re not the boss of me.”

Jasmine raised a brow. “No, I’m not, but I would certainly like to have a talk with the person who is.”

---