The Bodyguard

12.

Two weeks passed since that day the news broke. Per request of his mom, Jasper had been staying out of the public eye as much as he could.

Karla still hadn't released an official statement regarding the rumors, so as of now, nothing had been confirmed or denied. That didn't stop people from drawing their own conclusions.

Nothing lasts forever, and tonight would be an example of that. There wasn't anything that anyone could say to Jasper's face that would upset him, but still, he wasn't completely thrilled with the idea of having to mingle at another pointless mandatory event, only now, everyone would have knowledge of his past.

As Jasper stared at himself in the mirror, he saw a reflection of everything he hated. Everything he'd tried so desperately to hide, the parts of himself he tried to shield, were now coming to light, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Despite the lack of control he felt over the situation, he presented himself nicely. Even if he was spiraling, he would never show it. Jasper wore a simple black and white suit, that hugged his body nicely. He liked the contrast between his hair and eyes, the fullness of his lips, but he knew if he stared at his reflection any longer, he'd start to pick apart his appearance, which is not something he needed tonight on top of everything else.

Luckily, a knock on his door saved him from his thoughts and the prospect of spiraling into an endless abyss of self doubt. God, he really would need a drink if he were going to survive the night in one piece.

"What do you want?" Jasper opens the door to his slightly taller brother, who was dressed in a similar attire to his.

He hadn't spoken to Lucas since the news broke, and he didn't necessarily intend to, not until he could make sure Bria wasn't the one to blame for the leak to the media.

"I wanted to make sure you're okay," Lucas breathes, stepping into the room after Jasper hesitantly, who'd turned away from him. "It's been a couple of weeks."

"What do you think I am going to do?" Jasper crosses his arms. "Do you think I'm going to relapse that quickly? Because of a couple of rumors about me in the news?"

"Jesus, no," Lucas sighed. "That's not what I meant, Jasper. You've been ignoring all of us, and I know its in character for you, but I still had to make sure you didn't fall off the face of the earth."

"Why?" Jasper tilted his head. "Your girlfriend is the reason everyone knows."

"It wasn't her," Lucas clenched his jaw. "I would never tell her something like that."

"I don't believe you," Jasper says plainly with a shrug. "Bryce is the one person who would benefit from this information getting out. You mean to tell me his daughter, who's intimately involved with you, had nothing to do with it?"

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying," Lucas exasperated, but his brother still wasn't convinced.

Not that Jasper could be convinced easily to begin with. Once he had his mind set on something, nothing could change it. "She's not like Bryce."

"You believe that about her. Yes, I've gathered that."

Lucas shot him a glare.

"I didn't come here to talk about her anyway," he sighs. "Mom wanted to to tell you to be on your best behavior. Not that it's your fault, but you are on thin ice right now."

"She couldn't come tell me that herself?" Jasper scoffed. "She can't even look at me, can she?"

Lucas eyes softened momentarily, and Jasper noticed it. He quickly regained his posture, making it known that their mom's feelings toward him didn't matter.