He was bored? Right. Fine. If he can pretend it didn’t just happen, then so can I.
Even if it stings a little.
“Stopped by? It’s called breaking and entering.” My voice is filled with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
“Nah, you told me where to find the key, so if you didn’t want me to use it, you wouldn’t have shown me what rock to look under.”
“That was for emergencies!”
“Well, maybe it’s an emergency.”
My eyes go wide. Fuck, what if this is an emergency? He fainted a few weeks ago at Ink Me, the tattoo shop where he works.
“What’s wrong? Is everything ok? Do you feel okay?” I go to feel his forehead, but he bats my hand away.
“No, I’m fine. Geesh, lay off, will you? I got enough of it when you forced me to let you stay with me. Thank you very much.”
I scoff, steam practically billowing from my ears. This is the part of Jasper I will never understand. He acts as if I annoy the fuck out of him, but he’s the one always inserting himself into my life. It’s not that I mind, really. But then he just kisses me?
“You had a concussion!” Someone had to watch after him. He doesn’t have any family, or at least none that he talks about. What else was I supposed todo?
“You know what, Jasper? Fine!” I say, my voice filled with so much frustration I could burst. “I’ll just magically figure out how to stop caring. Okay? And another thing, maybe don’t insinuate something is an emergency if you don’t want people to show they care.”
“Yeah, well, I never asked you to.”
“Arghhh! When will you see you have no choice?” We’re all worried about him, and he has no say in that.
Jasper has a heart of gold but a destructive path a mile long.
“I have to go. I’m meeting up with friends,” Jasper says, turning for the door.
I want to huff a laugh, but I don’t. These so-called friends we’ve never met, who seemingly haven’t noticed that something has been off with Jasper for the last couple of months.
“Jasper! You know it’s going to be okay, right?” I soften my tone. “You’re going to be okay.”
He turns, looking at me over his shoulder, giving me a sad smile and a small nod before walking out the door, closing it softly behind him.
I tilt my head back and blow out a breath. I don’t know what it is with Jasper and me. We have this weird friendship. It’s not as if he gave me a choice in the matter, which sounds all-too-familiar with this group of friends, but it’s new and we’re like oil and water, complete and utter opposites.
Friends have never been my forte, but Spencer was sweet enough to bring me into the group. Okay,again, I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. These people will bear hug you and never let you go.
When I was first introduced to Jasper, I thought he was hotter than a motherfucker, as well as crazy and reckless.
His visits to The Diner became more frequent, and once the weekly family dinners started, Jasper was always there, always in the background. I could feel his eyes on me. Then he started joining the conversations. Well, at first he just stood there. It was borderline creepy. Now he’s a bundle of constant questions.
Surprised should have been my response to finding Jasper standing in my house, but I wasn’t. Startled, yes, but surprised, no.
He’s always welcome here, but walking into my house when I’m not expecting to see a person standing in my living room in the dark could give anyone a heart attack.
Ever since Jasper fainted, hitting his head, I’ve been worried. He acts as if it’s no big deal, but it is.
Don’t even get me started on trying to get him to make a doctor’s appointment. That was a fight. Eventually, he reluctantly agreed. He wouldn’t tell me when it was, but since he has been extra reckless and moody the last few days, I’m assuming something is going on.
No matter how much we bicker or disagree, I could never turn my back on him. I don’t do that to people I consider my friends.
Underneath the façade, Jasper has a heart of gold. He is kind and caring. He is the kind of person who will always be there when you need him, day or night.
Jasper is a wandering soul lost in the world, searching for something unknown, even to him. He is an old-soul hippie… but with leather rock-star pants.
