Chapter 16
VINCENT SLEPT later than usual. Seven was still too early, but when the fiery nightmares occasionally woke him only a few hours after closing his eyes, he’d take what he could get.
Jasper was still out cold, so Vincent lazed a bit longer, mentally preparing himself for the day, or more likely days, to come.
If Jasper’s father was really in as bad shape as Amber said, they might not make it back to the cabin.
Or even if they did, they’d still have to cut their vacation short.
That would be disappointing, but he breathed through the irritation of having his plans interrupted.
Nothing he could do would change the situation. He’d done what he could to ensure Jasper was able to come back and hoped he got whatever answers or closure he needed. The only thing Vincent could do now was support Jasper, since it seemed his family was unable or unwilling to do that.
He’d suspected before that Jasper’s living arrangements weren’t ideal, merely the best he had available.
Vincent could easily fix that, had already resisted the urge to do so a few times.
But he worried a few months was far too soon to suggest living together.
Or to provide Jasper with living accommodations, even if that thought made him feel like a pimp.
He could give Jasper that if he needed it, though.
Minutes ticked into an hour, and then into two, and Vincent drifted back to sleep before Jasper stirred. He cracked an eye open when Jasper rolled over to octopus on to him.
“Do we have to get up?”
“Eventually.” Vincent slipped his hand under Jasper’s shirt and spread his fingers against his sleep-warm back. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really.”
“What can you stomach eating?”
“Spaghetti.”
Vincent snorted and lightly swatted Jasper’s ass. “Anything else?”
Jasper sighed as if he’d been told he had an essay due tomorrow. “I guess I could eat some toast.”
“Toast it is.” He would have gotten up then, but Jasper tightened his grip and refused to budge. “Changing your mind?” he asked after a long moment.
“No… I didn’t come all the way back for nothing.”
Vincent held his tongue against offering Jasper the choice to return to the cabin.
If Jasper’s guilt had brought him this far, it’d be better for it to play out.
He wasn’t willing to risk leaving in case that guilt got the better of him again.
Instead he rolled to his side and pulled Jasper flush against himself.
“Do you want to set a time to leave for today or wait and see after the visit?”
Jasper didn’t answer for long enough that Vincent suspected he’d fallen back asleep, but then he said, “Can you decide?”
“I can,” he replied slowly. He didn’t mind making whatever decisions Jasper needed, especially if he was overwhelmed. “In that case you go shower while I start breakfast.”
Jasper squeezed his arms even tighter and took a few deep breaths before letting go and crawling out of bed.
Vincent scrubbed a hand over his face, got ready for the day, and headed to the kitchen.
The last of the bread had molded in the short time they’d been gone, so he tossed it and checked the fridge.
There were a few eggs left that were still good, and the waffle mix would hopefully be an acceptable substitute for toast.
Jasper took longer than usual in the shower, and his hair was still dripping when he finally sat at the table. He poked at his food, but he dutifully took a few bites here and there.
They ate in silence, and Vincent waited for him to decide he didn’t actually want to go, but when no protest was forthcoming, he got them on the road. It was a short drive to the hospital, where Vincent led them up to the room number Amber had texted him.
He wasn’t quite prepared for the uncomfortable dread crawling along his nerves at being inside a hospital again, but he ignored it as best he could.
When they found the room, he knocked twice and cracked the door open, spotting Amber in a chair on the far side before stepping back to let Jasper in.
Jasper took two steps in and stopped, his body rigid. “I’m here. Happy now?” he muttered, looking anywhere but at the bed.
Vincent propped the door open and stood behind Jasper as he studied the sleeping, emaciated man lying on the bed. He had the same brown skin and blond hair as Jasper, but that was the only resemblance he could find.
“You should have been here yesterday,” Amber said, sitting up from the makeshift bed she’d put together against the windowsill.
Jasper flinched back half a step. “I didn’t want to come to begin with,” he hissed.
“Yes, you made that abundantly clear,” she replied with an annoyed glare. From the state of her hair and makeup, it was clear she’d been here a while.
Vincent didn’t quite understand the dynamics, since as far as he understood, they were cousins through Jasper’s mother, not his father. He pressed his hand against Jasper’s lower back in silent support. “How long have you been here?” he asked.
Amber’s frown deepened. “Since the day before yesterday.”
“Alone?”
She waved her hand and reached up to pull her ponytail free. “Terrance brings me food and stays in the evenings after work,” she said as she combed her hair with her fingers and put it back up. “Now that you’re here, I’m going home to shower.”
“Fuck that.” Jasper pressed harder into Vincent’s hand. “I’m not staying that long.”
“Stop being so selfish,” she snapped.
“That’s enough,” Vincent said, sliding his hand to Jasper’s hip and squeezing.
She cut a glare at him. “You can stay out of it. This doesn’t concern you.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow, tightening his grip on Jasper’s hip when he shifted as if he was going to lunge, and stared her down as he mentally counted to ten. “I’m going to assume that’s sleep deprivation and stress talking.”
Amber pressed her lips into a thin line, but when she didn’t say anything else, he sighed.
“We’ll stay an hour,” he said. Beside him Jasper tensed, but that was the least they could do after coming all this way.
Even an hour felt too short, though considering the rough start, he expected Jasper to try to leave after a few minutes.
When she started to protest, Vincent cut her off. “One hour. Go shower and rest. And maybe send someone to take our place.”
“There is no one else,” she replied tightly as she grabbed her purse. “Jas and Noah are his only family.” She leveled an expectant look on Jasper. “Call Noah and—”
“Shut up,” Jasper said, hands clenched at his sides. “He has even less reason to be here than me. He’s not coming, and we’re not staying.” He leaned into Vincent’s side, where the faint tremors going through him ricocheted through both of them. “One hour.”
Before she could respond, coughing interrupted them.
When Vincent turned to the bed, Jasper’s father was awake and didn’t seem particularly happy to see them. “Did you bring beer?” he rasped, hunching on his side as another coughing fit wracked him.
“Of course they didn’t bring beer,” Amber huffed.
The man collapsed back to the bed with labored breathing. “Worthless as usual,” he muttered.
Jasper wrapped his arms over his stomach and leaned into Vincent hard enough he’d likely fall over if Vincent moved an inch. Vincent bristled and pulled him even closer. Before he could find an acceptable response, Amber stepped closer to the bed, her fists curled into fists.
“Are you shitting me? You’re not even supposed to be drinking!
” Vincent had to force his jaw to unclench when that turned out to be her only issue.
“Whatever,” she snapped. “Do what you want. I need to go home and shower and eat something that isn’t half grease.
Jasper will be here if you need anything. ”
“Don’t bother,” the man sneered. “I told you I don’t need anyone here.”
“Sure. We’ll just leave you to the American healthcare system then, shall we?” Amber replied dryly. “I’m sure they won’t screw up your meds while there’s no witness.”
He muttered under his breath, low enough Vincent couldn’t catch anything but the scathing tone. Part of him had hoped this would at least be a civil visit, but now he wasn’t sure he was willing to stay even a few more minutes, much less an hour.
“If you don’t need us here, we’ll go ahead and leave, then,” Jasper said.
“Don’t you dare,” Amber hissed.
“Why not? You’re the only one who gives a shit.”
Vincent slid his hand up to Jasper’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze, but Jasper twisted away from the touch.
“He doesn’t even care that he’s dying, why the fuck should I? Why do you? You never cared enough to come around after Mom died.”
“That’s not—”
“Why are you even here? It’s not like you’re related by blood.”
Amber’s wince was so slight Vincent might have missed it if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. “Mom’s still listed as his emergency contact.”
“Then where is she?”
“Busy.”
Jasper scoffed. “I was busy.”
Vincent glanced at the bed to find Jasper’s father watching him through narrowed eyes. Once he saw he had Vincent’s attention, he demanded, “Who are you?”
“Vincent.”
“Lawyer or something?”
Jasper spun to face the bed and lifted his chin. “My boyfriend.”
The man’s expression twisted with disgust. “Bad enough you don’t bring me beer, now you’re flaunting your faggotry? Good that your mother’s dead or she’d kill herself from shame.”
Vincent snarled as Jasper flinched like he’d been physically assaulted and stepped on Vincent’s foot as he caught his balance.
“Fuck. You,” he said before Vincent could make the bad decision to punch the bedridden asshole in the face.
Jasper grabbed Vincent’s hand and hauled him out of the room as fast as he could without outright running.
Vincent squeezed tight and kept up, following Jasper’s lead and ignoring Amber calling for them as they headed directly for the elevators.
One opened for them immediately, but unfortunately she caught up to them before the doors closed, despite Vincent jabbing the button as soon as they stepped on.
She stood facing them with her arms crossed as the elevator began its descent.
When neither of them spoke, Vincent decided to pry for some of his own answers.
“Why would your mother be his emergency contact?”
Amber cast a furtive glance at Jasper before finding the corner of the elevator interesting enough to stare at. “They were having an affair at one point.”
Jasper made a high noise of offense. “Excuse me?”
“As far as I know, they broke it off after the funeral.”
“Did Mom know?”
Amber scoffed though quickly tried to disguise it as a cough. “Please. Your mother was no saint either. She had her own affair going with Dad.”
“What?”
Vincent winced at the volume of Jasper’s incredulous shout, but he couldn’t exactly blame him for that reaction. Their family dynamics were even more fucked-up than his own.
“How long have you known?” Jasper asked.
“I don’t know. Years.”
“And you never said anything?” Jasper demanded.
“You were a kid. Why would I say anything?”
“You could have told me when I moved in! You’ve been lying to me this entire time.”
Amber eyed him with so much condescension that Vincent took an instinctive step forward even as he fought against the urge to lash out. He hadn’t been any help against Jasper’s father, but he could at least keep Amber from doing any further damage.
“Unless you have anything of value to say, we’re done here,” Vincent said.
Amber shot him a dirty look, but the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened before she could say anything.
Jasper didn’t wait for a response. As soon as he could slip through, he was gone, his bruising grip pulling Vincent behind.
He didn’t slow until they were out of the hospital and near the car, and then he rocked to a halt beside it.
“She knew,” he muttered, bracing his free hand above the window.
“All this time, and she never said anything. Does she know about Noah?”
“Do you want to ask her?”
Jasper shook his head. “Not right now. I wanna go home.”
Vincent knew better than to read anything into it, but he was pleased if wary at Jasper calling his place home. He unlocked the car and waited for Jasper to let go and get in before moving to the driver’s side.
As he drove he wondered how long it would take Jasper to start asking if he and Noah were half brothers to Amber, rather than only cousins.