AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Now all you need is a new place,” I tease him and he laughs.
“I know. That hotel is not ideal, but there aren’t a ton of rental properties in the area either. I’m not sure that I want to buy a place here. Not just yet anyway,”
His words have me feeling disappointed, but I guess I shouldn’t be. So much of his life is up in the air right now, and buying a house is a big deal. Maybe he’s just waiting to hear about his surgery and finish with his father’s place.
“Do you like Rosewood?” I ask.
I get the feeling that he’s not the biggest fan or why wouldn’t he have come back in the ten years since he was gone.
“Yes and no. When I was younger, it was unbearable.”
“Why?” I blurt.
“My father, he wasn’t… he was an asshole. He was an alcoholic and then a drug addict, heroin I believe. My mother left when we were young because he used to get wasted and smack her around. When she left, he started taking it out on Gray and me.”
“Jasper, I had no idea,” I say, blinking back tears.
“I don’t know that anyone did. If they did know, then they didn’t care because nothing was ever done,” he says bitterly, and I can understand why he never came back.
“So all of those bruises, they weren’t from fights?” I ask.
“Not in the way that everyone thought. I wasn’t out starting trouble. I was taking the hits so that he didn’t hurt Gray.”
“Oh my gosh,” I say, choking back a sob.
“It’s okay, I’m okay. Gray is okay. When I was eighteen and left, my dad was pretty much gone. I joined the military so that I could send back enough money for Gray to eat and keep the lights on in the house.”
“That wasn’t your job though. You should have called CPS or the police or someone,” I argue, trying to figure out a solution.
“They would have taken him away, he only had a year and a half left in high school. His girl, Nora, was here and he never would have left her.”
I look away, my brain racing as I take in all of this new information.
“Nora had her brother Niall here too. He looked out for them while I was away.”
Jasper stops walking, turning me in his arms and wiping the tears away.
“Shh, I’m alright. Gray and I are fine,” he whispers to me and I nod, trying to get my emotions under control.
So much of what I remember from when we were young suddenly makes sense.
The bruises, how quiet Gray was, how protective Jasper has always been of him.
“I wish that you would have told me. Everyone treated you like you were a menace or a troublemaker. If you told them––”
“If I would have told them, they still would have looked down on me. I would have been that ‘asshole Rodney’s kid’ or that ‘poor kid.’ Trust me, Evangeline. I’ve been over this a million times in my head and it sucked, but it worked out. Everyone is healthy and happy now.”
I frown, not wanting to let it go, but if he’s come to terms with his decisions and is alright with them, then I guess I have to be too. It’s not like I can go back in time and change anything anyway.
We reach his Jeep and he helps me into the passenger seat.
“Are you alright?” he asks me, cupping my chin in his hand and tilting my head up until my eyes meet mine.
“I just wish things had been different when you were younger,” I admit.
“I know, me too, but they weren’t and I can’t change that now.”
I nod, wiping away a few more stray tears. Jasper leans in, kissing away where the tears were, and I give him a watery smile.
