A Boy Named Jasper {Wattpad Featured Novel}

<Callie> A Girl Who Knows God Will Carry Them Through

Chapter 30

<Callie Stevens>

"Lord God, thank you for this day and for this meal and for the hands that have prepared it. Please bless this food to our bodies and help us to serve you today and always. Amen." My dad prays and then we all open our eyes.

I take a bite of my mom's homemade lasagna and stare across the table at my parents. I'm so lucky to have been blessed with parents like them. It's been almost a month since Jasper's dad died and I still can't get over his eulogy. He found it in himself to forgive that monster, to let go of everything his dad had done to him. He could've spent his eulogy condemning his father, and I think if God hadn't been working inside of him, that's exactly how the eulogy would've gone, but God changed Jasper and gave him the strength to forgive, even when it would've been easier to let his anger consume him.

Jasper was supposed to leave for L.A. a few weeks ago, but he got his plane ticket changed, so that he could stay and take care of his mom; he didn't want to leave her completely alone, and, for some reason, I don't think he wanted to be alone either. After the funeral, his mom moved in with Mrs. Arthurs; Jasper told me that she couldn't stand to be in a house that reminded her of everything she'd lost. Anyway, he thought it was better for her to start over somewhere new. Jasper, on the other hand, stayed in the farm house; I wanted to ask him why, but that question seemed too personal, even for me to ask.

"You're quiet, Callie, everything okay?" My mom asks with a gentle smile as she feeds Henry some lasagna.

"Just thinking," I reply quietly and take another bite of the food in front of me.

"What about?" My dad tilts his head with interest.

"How lucky I am to have you guys." I say as the phone rings.

I excuse myself and go to hang it up. My hand pauses when I see Jasper's number on the caller I.D. I bite my lip and pick it up, waiting for his familiar voice to come through the phone.

"Hey, baby, are you free right now?" He asks in a calm voice, but I can sense the nerves when he speaks.

"I'm in the middle of dinner right now, is everything okay?" I say and twirl my finger around a strand of my hair.

"Yeah, could you come over after? I really hate being in this house alone."

"Jasper, why didn't you just move in with Mrs. Arthurs?" I ask in a soft voice.

"I'll tell you when you come over here."

With that, he hangs up and I'm left to finish my dinner.

~~~~~

The sun is sinking behind the clouds as I drive towards Jasper's house. The stars are barely visible and the only part of the road I can see is the part illuminated by the headlights on my parents' SUV. I turn onto the gravel path that leads up to Jasper's house. All the windows and shades are open, despite it being nighttime and Jasper seems to have all of the lights on. He really is afraid of something. I take the keys out of the ignition and am barely up the front steps when Jasper opens the door. He pulls me into a hug, holding me close and burying his face in my neck.

"Thank you for coming." He whispers. "I can't stand this house."

"Then why don't you move out?" I whisper soothingly, running my fingers through his hair.

"I can't stand to leave it either." He replies and pulls me inside, closing the door gently behind us.

The house looks much the same as it had the first time I came. The wallpaper is peeling and the carpet is ragged and torn. There's a faint smell of alcohol and smoke, the kind that lingers and can't be easily erased, even with hard scrubbing. The walls, though, are no longer filled with framed family pictures of Jasper and his brother; instead, there's squares where the wallpaper around the frame had been discolored, but the paper underneath had remained a pristine shade of white.