Chapter 37 #2
It surprised no one—well, except maybe me—when my mom and dad declared they were going to sell their house and move to Silverpine.
I tried to tell them no, but they insisted.
I didn’t want them to uproot their entire lives, but they pretty much shut that shit down by informing me that I was their entire life.
And also their grandchicks. Apparently, Mom’s a big fan.
In the meantime, they’ve made plans to visit once a week.
The door dings, and Jasper comes strolling in.
I wave at him, but it’s like he doesn’t even see me. He and Arlo seem to be locked in some weird sort of silent standoff, not breaking eye contact for a second.
“Theo,” Arlo says, voice clipped and sharp. “Your table.”
He tears out of the dining room and into the kitchen, and when I glance at Jasper, he’s standing there, shell-shocked.
For a few seconds, he stands in place, but then he slowly makes his way to his booth. As soon as he slides into it, he picks up a sugar packet and starts tearing at the packaging.
I walk over to the table, but he doesn’t even acknowledge me.
“Hey,” I say after a second, and his head shoots up, eyes landing on me. “What can I get you to drink?”
For a few seconds, all he does is stare at me, then he looks past me. “Can you get Arlo back in here, please? I need to talk to him.”
Hesitating, I sigh. “I can try.”
When I get to the kitchen, Arlo isn’t in there. “Where’s Arlo?”
Luca glances up from his phone. “He went outside. Who came in?”
“Jasper.”
Luca’s eyebrows shoot up, and the two of us exchange a glance before stepping outside through the kitchen door.
Arlo is crouching on the ground, his back pressed against the brick of the building beside the dumpsters. He’s got his elbows braced on his knees, and his fingers buried in his hair.
“Arlo?” I ask.
Luca kneels in front of him. “What’s going on?”
He doesn’t speak or look at either of us. Aside from his shoulders rising and falling harshly with each of his ragged breaths, he doesn’t even move.
“Arlo?” I try again. “What happened? Did he hurt you?” I can’t quite keep the anger out of my voice.
“He wouldn’t,” Luca says with nothing but confidence.
I don’t think so either, really, but you never know. People can surprise you, and Luca should know that better than most.
Arlo raises his head, glancing between us. “No. He didn’t hurt me.” His face twists in agony. “I can’t see him right now.”
Luca and I exchange another glance. “Why not?” Luca asks carefully.
Arlo drops his head back into his hands.
“I’ll go tell him that if he wants to eat, he’ll have to talk to me,” I say, giving Luca a look that says he should try to get more out of Arlo.
“Thank you,” Arlo whispers.
I head back into the diner, then out to Jasper’s table. He’s got three sugar packets torn to shreds. “What did you do to him?”
His head shoots up. “Nothing. I don’t know.” To my surprise, his eyes go glassy. “It’s all fucked up.” He swallows hard, his gaze darting around.
“You can tell me,” I say softly. It’s clear he’s torn up about something. “I won’t tell anyone your business.”
Jasper nods. “We got into an argument. But it wasn’t really an argument. I said something I shouldn’t have. I know that. But… I didn’t think it would turn out like this. I didn’t think he’d just stop talking to me entirely. That he wouldn’t even want to see me.”
What the fuck does that even mean? Any argument I got into with Damien ended in pain. If not physically, emotionally. “You said something you shouldn’t have? So you did hurt him.”
Jasper shakes his head, eyes going glassy again. “I’d never hurt him, Theo. He’s my baby bo—” He stops quickly, and my eyebrows shoot up at what he nearly said. “No. I’d never hurt him.”
Pushing to his feet, he wrings his hands. “Please tell him my door is always open if he wants me.”
I nod dumbly, confused and honestly a little hurt for the man. “Okay, I will.”
He rushes out of the diner, the door dinging quietly behind him.
I watch him climb into his truck and leave. What in the fuck is going on?
Making my way back outside, I find Luca and Arlo in much the same position they were before.
“He left,” I say.
Arlo’s eyes fly to mine. “He did?”
“He did. He said to let you know his door is always open if you want him.”
Pain flashes in Arlo’s eyes.
“You can take the rest of the day off if you need to,” Luca says softly.
Arlo shakes his head with what almost looks like panic flashing in his eyes. “No. I’m scheduled to close. I want to close.”
“It’s no big deal,” I interject. “I don’t mind staying later to close for you.”
He shakes his head again, harder this time. “No. I want to stay.”
“Okay,” Luca says softly. “I should head back in. There’s no one in there.”
When he’s inside, I hold a hand out, then help Arlo to his feet.
“Hey,” I say when he starts to walk past me into the building. He stops, then turns to look at me. “I understand not wanting to talk to Luca. Especially since he and Jasper are close.” He nods along with my words like I’ve hit the nail on the head. “I’m not close to Jasper, though.”
I let the words hang between us, ready to clarify, when understanding lights up Arlo’s face.
“Thanks, Theo. If I need to talk, I’ll let you know.”
Without another word, he turns on his heel and goes back into the diner.