Chapter One
––––––––
JASPER WASN’T HUMAN.
That didn’t bother him as much as he’d thought it would.He’d been shocked when he’d found out, but it had been three weeks, and he was slowly wrapping his head around it.He still felt like he had before, which was probably why finding out that he wasn’t what he’d thought he was hadn’t changed much for him.He still had the same friends.He still lived in the same apartment.He still drank his coffee only if it had more sugar than coffee.He was still the same person.
Or maybe he wasn’t.
His heart raced as he opened his eyes.The room was dark around him, the blankets feeling suffocating.He pushed them away and sucked in a breath, trying to shake off the nightmare, but it still felt like Kester was there, hovering over him, ready to hurt him.Jasper could almost feel the monster’s breath on his skin, his hands on his arms.He wanted to scream, but he didn’t want to wake up Archie, so he pressed his lips together instead.
Kester was gone.He’d left town, and hopefully, he’d never return.He’d lost interest in his son, which was why he’d been here in the first place.There hadn’t been any more deaths, and things would stay that way.They had to because Jasper wasn’t up to dealing with Kester again.
Once again, he wished the monster had kept what he knew to himself.Jasper couldn’t say he’d been happy before, although considering he’d met Archie in part thanks to Kester, he couldn’t entirely regret having to deal with the monster.He wished he didn’t know what he knew now, though.He might not care that he wasn’t human, but hedidcare about what it meant for his present and his past.
Who was Jasper?Was he evenJasper?He still hadn’t talked to his parents about all of this, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to.He knew they’d lie to him.They never would’ve told him who he was if they’d been able to get away with it, and he was angry.At the same time, he wanted to know how he’d ended up with them.What about his biological family?What had happened to them?They’d never looked for him, so they were probably dead, but he wished he knew for sure.
He wished a lot of things were different.
Archie made a sound and rolled toward Jasper.Jasper sucked in a breath, hoping he hadn’t woken up his boyfriend, but when an arm wrapped around his waist and Archie kissed his cheek, he knew he had.
He sighed.“Sorry about that.”
Archie groaned sleepily.“What are you sorry about?”
“I woke you up.”
“You didn’t do it on purpose.”
Jasper snorted.“Maybe not, but I still did it.”
Archie snuggled closer, the sensation of his warm breath on Jasper’s skin replacing the ghostly sensation of Kester’s.“It’s fine.”
“Is it?”
“You want me to turn on the light?”
“No, it’s only going to make things worse.”
Archie hummed and pulled Jasper closer against him.Jasper liked having his space when he slept because he moved around a lot, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to fall asleep again, and he loved snuggling with Archie, so he went easily.He settled into Archie’s arms and sighed.His body relaxed, as if it knew that he was safe.
And he was.Archie wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt him.Jasper knew how to defend himself, but it was nice to know that if something happened, he wouldn’t be the only one doing that.
“Was it a nightmare?”Archie asked.
Jasper closed his eyes.“Yeah.”
“Kester again?”
“Always.”
“I wish I’d killed the dickhead.”
“I just wish I never had to think about him ever again.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Tell that to my subconscious.”
