Saving Jasper | ✓ [COMPLETE]

Chapter 32 - Receiving Bad News

We all stood silently, looking at one another in shock. Jasper came up behind me, and reached over my dad's shoulder, taking the letter from his hands. From what I could see, the piece of parchment only contained three, quick short paragraphs. But those paragraphs had been put together by someone at the hospital Jasper was born in, eighteen years ago. Dad had been emailing back and forth, with one of the nurses' daughters, who was currently working in the infant ward. They had managed to track down Jasper's file, even though he hadn't been to that hospital apart from when he was born there.

Jasper held the paper in his hands, and read each paragraph two times before he slowly handed the paper back to Dad. Dad took it into his hands and stared down at it for a long while, not particularly reading it, just staring at it. I took this as one step closer to finding his parents. If we could contact his twin--wherever or whoever she was--surely she would be able to direct us to their parents. If that happened, what would happen next? Would they confront me about the close bond their son and myself shared? Or, would they question my father about what happened over the last five months?

I could only imagine countless scenarios in my head, those of which all seemed to...normal. It was beginning to feel like one of those TV shows. I half-expected cameramen to jump out, ambush the scene and thrust a mic beneath my chin as the cameras flickered to life. Then, Jasper would turn to me, give me his real name and congratulate me for being such a good participant. Then I would turn and face the cameras, and tell everyone tuning in, that it was just a show and, surprise! I breathed out slowly.

That was an obvious sign that, indeed, I was slowly and surely losing my mind. I shook my head as I followed my parents and Jasper inside. I kicked the door shut gently with my foot, and paused to let my eyes adjust to the change in lighting. Jasper hung back while my parents prattled off somewhere. When I lifted my eyes from the ground, I found him looking at me intensely. His gaze softened when he noticed me watching him, and he smiled a little.

His smile faded, though, when I smiled in return. He pointed towards the kitchen, tilting his head in the same direction.

"Can we talk?" he asked in a calm, low voice. Nodding, I walked into the kitchen and heaved the back door open. I swept my arm out, and when he stepped outside, I turned.

"Do you want some soda?" I asked him. He nodded again so I quickly cracked the door shut and crossed the kitchen. The sound of glass shattering echoed in my mind, and I slowed to a stop, halfway to the fridge. My gaze slowly dropped to the floor, where I assumed Jasper was standing when he smashed the cup in his hand. I shook the thought away and opened the fridge before my mind could dwell on it any longer.

I eyed the fridge's contents, tapping my index finger against my lower lip. I decided to give him Root Beer this time, since every other time it had always been Coke. I pulled out two cans of it and cracked each open before going back outside. Before sitting down, I handed him one of the cans and kept one for myself.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked him in a timid voice, though I was sure that I already knew the answer.

He looked down at the silver can in his palm and said, "I don't mean to sound like a tyrant, Charlie, but you know how I feel about you. I'm sure you do, by now." His face fell as he spoke, his shoulders crumpling inwards to accentuate his mood. My mouth opened and closed a few times, the way a fish mouth would, as I pondered quickly for words.