Chapter 3: Westend/Blue York
The loud blaring of an alarm shattered the silence of the dark room, pulling Jamal Jonas from the depths of sleep.
"I'm done with college, for fuck's sake; why is the damned alarm still ringing?" Twenty-two-year-old Jamal groaned as he buried his face in the pillow and fumbled for his phone on the nightstand.
His hand smacked against the screen, silencing the sound.
With a low curse under his breath, Jamal picked up the phone and squinted at the glowing display to see what the alarm was meant for.
His brows furrowed as he stared at the reminder on the screen. [Dawn's 18th Birthday.]
His heart skipped a beat as the last traces of sleep vanished from his eyes. He sat upright in bed, the blankets pooling around his waist.
He ran a hand through his tousled blonde hair, his chest tightening.
Eighteen. She was eighteen today.
He couldn't believe it had been fifteen years since he last saw her.
Jamal's gaze shifted to the small white and pink stuffed panda resting beside his pillow. Its button eyes stared back at him, unblinking and unchanged after all these years.
He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. "I think it's time to go back to your owner," he muttered, his voice low and rough in the quiet room. "I hope I'll finally get to meet her now. And I hope she remembers us."