After Marcel and Ray left reluctantly, Ivy and Nick were left alone in her grandma’s house. That familiar feeling of home resurfaces in Ivy. She beamed watching the renovations and noticed the new sets of furniture laying around in the once empty leaky hall.
She walked further inside and was glad to be greeted by the old parts of the house. She crossed the hallway filled with pictures of her younger self and paused to touch her grandma’s face in one of the pictures. They used to be stuck with magnet on the old refrigerator. She smiled and was glad that now there was a corner for all these memories by this previously lonely hallway.
Her fingers quickly worked their way to the aurora picture as they lingered not at the portrait of her family of three but on the frozen lake behind them. It reminded her of how surreal it felt in the chilly temperature, standing by its side and nearly falling into it before Jason’s sturdy arms held her but she still couldn’t figure out if in real life it was really him.
Nick’s sturdy arms were then felt on her shoulder. “That must be your mother?” He asked.
Ivy smiled as her eyes darted to the woman standing by Peter. She shook her head. “My stepmother. The boys’ mother, Auntie Lenny.” She wondered at the same time if Nick would have any idea if Jason had really been here before.
“Just wondering, did Jason…” She caught herself pausing a moment at his name trying to control the abrupt sadness rising in her as Nick raised both eyebrows in anticipation of her question as she blinked.
“... told you before about his trip to someplace with Aurora or rather here?” She pointed to the picture as Nick squinted his eyes to recall.
Moments later, he shook his head as he watched Ivy’s eyes look away in disappointment. “Why?” He asked out of curiosity as she walked to the kitchen contemplating to tell and decided to when she spotted the vast window which looked into the area behind the house where she once stood with Jason, completing her woodwork.
“Cause I tend to see him saving my younger self from falling into the frozen lake while I twirled under the aurora skies in excitement away from my parents during that trip.” She explained while staring out the vast window imagining he was still standing there with open arms, waiting for her to run to him like she always do in her paracosm.
And that’s where he once stood during his first visit to this house. Oh, how I wish you were still here, Jason. Ivy thought to herself.
Nick was a little surprised at her dream explanation to take any notice of the change in her expression.
“Oh… Perhaps you could check with his mother…” He said absentmindedly, forgetting that it was also a challenge for Ivy to face her.
“Daisy…” She mumbled her name as she recalled about her. “How is she?” Ivy asked as her gaze met with Nick who sighed.
He led her back to the main entrance given the sun rays were shining into the house as it gets more humid.
“She has been well taken care of by Mr. Rahi but I suppose the duo are on a fallout with Jeremy…” Nick explained as they stepped outside of the house. Ivy pondered on how deep was the issue with Jeremy’s involvement.
It was bad enough with his grandma’s accident and his illegal business. Now with another suspicion of his involvement in Jason and Nancy’s accident, how much worse could it be?
Ivy was twitching her nose when she realise she was standing by the glass house when Nick was holding a pot of dandelion near her face, close enough to tickle her nose with a petal as she sneezed. The dandelion bloom floated away as Nick laughed while she giggled.
“Oops, looks like you just blew away your surprise…” He teased as Ivy chuckled.
“Who asked you to hold them so close to my face? It was itching my nose!” She scolded playfully while rubbing her nose as he laughed even more.
Ivy then took her phone out and check the meaning of dandelion. She was surprised it was right on cue. Growth, hope, and healing. That was exactly what they both are heading towards.
She smiled at Nick who was busy attending to the other plants. “Looks like the glass house is now your therapy place?” She asked as he nodded while plucking away some dried leaves of the succulent.
He plucked one which was only yellowing and wanted to throw them but Ivy stopped him. “Wait, wait… this one can still be saved,” Ivy said while taking the yellow petal away from him and putting it aside before setting a small pot of soil and leaving it on top of the soil with a little water.
“I didn’t know that’s how you save them…” Nick said in awe as he watched Ivy’s hands move dandily with the succulent petal.
“Don’t tell me you threw a lot away?” Ivy questioned as she threw him a snarl.
“Well, err, given that no one tended to this place for a while, I had no choice but to throw quite… a lot…” Nick was half mumbling that at the end of his sentence, his words were inaudible.
Ivy chuckled as she understood what he meant even if he didn’t say anything. “These are the strong ones who survived the drought. Thanks to your little sunshine hands.” Ivy complimented as Nick relaxed a little knowing she was just joking earlier.
“I’m sorry if it upsets you about throwing so many away. I will look into how to save more of them instead of throwing them away…” He apologised guiltily as she giggled.
“That’s alright… No one knew you see.” She said with a hinge of sadness in her tone. She quickly tried to lift the mood up.
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“Speaking of which, how did you meet Jason?” She asked as they sat in the glass house admiring the beauty of his work and enjoying the mellow wind coming from the fan working its best at high speed but somewhat still wasn’t enough to prevent them both from sweating.
He told her about the band formation in college and how Jason was already attached to Nancy. “You could tell just how much adoration she had for him and how well he took care of her… They were superglued together. Wherever you see him, you see her too…”
Ivy giggled as she said. “Not surprising. He vowed to her grandma to take good care of her…”
“But not the way he once used to look at you, Ivy.” Nick pointed out while staring into her gaze as Ivy bit her lips and looked away.
“They both may be close but he was merely taking care of her like she was his sister or someone he held responsibility for. Back then I couldn’t comprehend not till the day I saw him holding you at the ally of the hotel lobby. His twinkling eyes. Filled with happiness and gratefulness. His adoration for you was boundless. As though he was holding onto the most expensive gem in the world. Counting his blessing to be able to have you.” It was the first time Nick ever spoke out loud of that faithful day of the accident to anyone and it was also Ivy’s first time listening to others about how Jason truly thought of her.
Ivy knew clearly when the occasion was that he meant as her tears flow freely on their own from her eyes dripping down her hand. “He was about to claim his prize with that kiss, Ivy… I just want you to know how much he cherished you.” Nick said solemnly while looking at the floor, regretting what he did to Jason.
Ivy wiped her tears away after letting out a little sigh and sniffed. “So, in penance, would you tell me how you steal the so call the love of his life back then away?” She smiled when Nick peeped at her to check if she was really alright when he lifted his head.
Nick chuckled a little with a deep breath. “She was charming. Captivating especially when she sings. I couldn’t help myself. I had to get to know her. In the band, everyone knew she was not to be touched. She belongs to Jason but I went against my will…” Nick paused to look at Ivy who was eager to hear him out.
“Go on, it’s your penance.” She urged as he couldn’t help but smile at her tease.
“When she was down, I cheer her up. When she was happy, I was happy too. Slowly, she knew I was another someone she could rely on, and if only I knew better to not took that advantage of her which then resulted in her hating me I suppose. Cause all that had happened after that, happen at the wrong time. That was when the entire band disbanded. Jason left and pursue his career cause he was rebelling against his father and Mr. Rahi had to cut out his finances and contacts. Basically, indirectly disowned him but fortunately, his grandma was the savior of them being legally not related. So, he somewhat neglected Nancy and eventually, when he found out about Nancy and me from the band members, I was very surprised that he took it lightly and even told me more about her needs and behavior. He didn’t resent me a lot but he kept his distance. As time passed, I guess it took a toll on Nancy that she had made a huge mistake but it was too late. That’s when she sometimes drowns in her own depression and where it’s also the only chance she could see Jason…” Nick explained as Ivy had her face cupped in both her hands listening in to him.
Nick smiled at that sight. “Sometimes, I wonder if Nancy truly did love me. Then you came…” He touched her nose gently as she twitched them. “The rest became history… And I am still wondering about that.” He said in a sad tone as he watched her smile slowly disappeared.
“So, how did you meet him?” His turn to ask as he mimic her actions which made her giggle. He was relieved to get her smiles revived again.
“That’s also something I wonder myself. I don’t know if I met him at the aurora trip or not but if not, then I guess it was by chance.” She smiled as she laid her hands on the table.
She went on to explain the welcoming emcee in her college event was him to the heated argument they had about their bracelet entangling to each other and how she thought she would never meet him again after that night. She also explained how he praised her for being so smart to know his business was in failure and maybe it was destiny to see him again in his college doing a survey and ended up collaborating with him under the order of the dean.
“He probably already saw your potential…” Nick praised her as she continued on with his actual motive of helping her father to find her. She explained in detail how the misunderstanding came by and she was glad that destiny brought them together before he figured out who she was. Otherwise, she would have been very disappointed to lead another friendship betrayal.
“How did you end up on his emcee job?” Nick asked curiously as she chuckled before explaining that he left her with no choice but with a tempting amount of money. However, he was only having the intention to help her unwind since it was over the weekend but she was so slow to realise it.
“And your sleep paralysis… how did he handle them?” Nick asked as Ivy gave him a sad smile. “I wasn’t very open like this about this…” She wiped a slip of tears away as he patted her head gently.
“It’s alright. There’s no one here. Just us.” Nick comforted her as she met his gaze. Somehow his gaze let her explain to him comfortably about how her disorders started since young and that she couldn’t sleep in the dark without waking from nightmares. So, she slept with her grandma most of the time but when she passed on, she wondered how strong she was thinking that she could endure it all alone.
“I’m glad Jason came along… right on time to your rescue,” Nick said as Ivy nodded and continued to explain how he coaxed her from the nightmares and paralysis to meet Phyllis and how she told her about putting her imaginary world into a healthier path and use it as her refuge.
“Looks like we won’t need her anymore now…” Nick joked as Ivy giggled.
“Are you sure you don’t want to see her at least once? She has been anticipating you.” Ivy urged.
“Alright, alright… I will still keep my promise to see her at least once.” Nick gave in as Ivy clapped her hands delightfully.
Nick held those hands for a moment. “From now on, I want to continue to pay for my penance by being your rescue in return.” He said as Ivy smiled sweetly at him. She nodded.
“Promise me you will not give up in life too.” He nodded as they both smiled.
“What would you do next?” Nick asked as she shrugged. “Get my father’s company back in order definitely. Jeremy is another issue. My mother is also another issue…” She let her words trail off as Nick was puzzled.
“Your mother?” He asked skeptically whether he heard her correctly.
“Yes, my biological mother. My dad just told me the truth recently about her. Apparently, she was also part of this sleep disorder reason. She threw me off here I suppose when I was still a baby due to her post-natal aggression. Trying to kill me but I was lucky to be saved in a nick of time by my dad while being thrown off…” Ivy dared herself to look at the spot where it could possibly happen as she winced and let a tear slip.
Nick stood and walked over to hug her as she welcomed his warm embrace and buried her face into his belly to calm down for a moment.
“I can accompany you when you want to see her.” Nick offered as she break away from him while shaking her head.
“I will do this with my dad. I should be. Thank you. I will let you know when I need you. And you should too. For now, I think I should meet with Daisy.” Her gaze met with Nick’s as she thought she would have a hard time but with the grip felt from Nick’s hands on hers, she smiled confidently as though she could make it.
“Whenever you’re ready. I will accompany you.” He said. She nodded as she stood and took a feather duster to tease him for disturbing her earlier with the dandelion. They both ended up full of laughter as they spend the entire day attending to the garden in the glass house and planting some herbs for Ray to use in his cooking as he would be staying over most of the time.