logan rees (_problematic_) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-08-31 16:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | #december 2017, #group scene, amelia, elodie, gavin, jasper, logan |
Who: Amelia, Gavin, Elodie, Jasper, Logan
When: Early morning, Friday, December 29
Where: The hospital
Status: Complete
Even after the electricity came back on, Amelia was not calm. Elodie was still breathing but she looked pale and cold, even under all the blankets Amelia had heaped on her when the house started getting cold. She had wanted to start a fire in her dad's barbeque but with no way to air it out, it hadn't been a good idea. Candles and blankets only went so far but they'd made it through the night and now the heating system was back on. It was a small relief, but no, Amelia was not calm. It was still dark out, though she could now see some of the lights along the street. There was no way she was going out there, the monster might still be lurking nearby.
She was waiting for dawn when she heard the door rattle. The dogs didn't bark but at this point she didn't trust that they weren't just exhausted or in shock. Could dogs go into shock? She wasn't taking any chances. She picked up the rifle, took the safety off and slowly crept toward the front door, aiming the gun and waiting.
It nearly gave Gavin a heart attack. He rushed inside and then near tripped over as he looked down the barrel of a gun. Fuck!. "It's me!" he yelled out, arms raised until his daughter warily lowered her rifle, then he closed the distance between them and scooped her up in his arms. She was shaking and he hated that he hadn't been home to protect her. She'd been through enough. "It's me," he repeated and relaxed a little when he felt one skinny arm circle him and squeeze.
For a moment he was afraid she wasn't ever going to speak again, that this ordeal had broken something in her beyond repair because she was quiet for too long, even as he pulled back to look at her. "It's me," he whispered, giving her a worried look before checking her over for injuries. "It's okay now. It's over."
Amelia was processing. It was probably taking too damn long but she felt entitled to it. She was tired and stressed and her brother was still out there. "There's a monster," she told him angrily and hit his shoulder. "You should have waited until it wasn't dark anymore." It was stupid. So stupid. He could have gotten eaten. She watched him open his mouth to make excuses or correct her or something, she didn't wait to find out. "Our neighbor is hurt. She might be dying. Or turning into a monster. I don't know what's going on." Now she just felt like crying because she'd been strong for a long time but now her dad was home and he could have gotten eaten and where was Jasper and where was Charlie okay and what about Ruby and... It was too much.
"The monster's gone," Gavin promised her, even if he wasn't sure. The dogs were crowding around them now, happy to see him, looking calm. At least Amelia had had the dogs with her. "The neighbor is here?" he asked, gently taking the rifle away from Amelia to put the safety back on. How this old thing was still working was beyond him but he would never suggest she give it up.
Amelia nodded sharply and grabbed his hand to pull him to the hallway where Elodie was still lying in a heap of blankets. Amelia had dragged her out of the bathroom when the power went out. They needed to stay close and away from windows to stay warm.
Gavin knelt in front of Elodie, frowning softly. He didn't know the girl but he'd seen her around and he thought she might be in some classes with Jasper. She looked bad, sickly and pale. "Hey, you awake?" he whispered. "We need to get you to the hospital."
It took a few moments for Elodie to be roused by Gavin's voice. She had slept fitfully, drugged out from the pills and rum. It helped with the pain but had made everything else fuzzy and disorienting. Cracking open her eyes, she saw him looking at her. Hot Grumpy Man next door. Jasper's dad. There was something about the hospital and Elodie tried to tell him that she couldn't go there, because her mom would be pissed. It cost too much. But all that she managed was a faint sound in her throat. Her lips were dry and her entire body felt a bit chilly from sweat. Finally she nodded and moved to push the blankets from her body to try and get to her feet. The hospital would be okay. They had pills there too.
It didn't take long for Gavin to see that Elodie was going to have a hard time walking to the car. He gave her a minute, steadying her with one hand as he helped with the blankets with his other but then he gave up and sighed. He just hoped this wouldn't be a problem. "I'm going to pick you up," he told her before carefully doing just that. She was a skinny girl, about the same size as Amelia so it was easy as long as he put most of the weight on his good arm. She smelled of alcohol and her bandages were patchy with blood. He recognized his sweatshirt on her as soon as the blankets were out of the way. All he could think was that this could have been Amelia and his stomach twisted with discomfort but also relief that this wasn't his little girl.
She didn’t mind Gavin picking her up. It was probably better that way because the room was a little dizzy and Elodie just wanted to close her eyes and go back to sleep. She hissed as the movement sent a fresh wave of discomfort through her chest. “She took care of me,” Elodie mumbled. “I drank the rum.” Was she going to vomit? Maybe? No. Okay, no. That was good because if she puked on him he might not drive her to the hospital. Maybe she would get some morphine. That would be awesome.
"That's good," Gavin muttered. The rum probably hadn't been a great idea since she was bleeding but maybe it had helped some with the pain. Gavin knew he wanted to get loaded when he was hurting - or always, really.
Amelia hurried ahead to help with the door, then rushed back to get her rifle and leashes for the dogs just in case. She was not leaving them behind. "Do you know where Jasper is?" she asked when she caught up with her dad out in the drive way. She had pictured her brother dead more times than she could count now and that went for nearly everyone else she knew. Seeing her dad here alive was almost weird.
"He's at the hospital," Gavin told her. "I wanted to look for you before going there." He put Elodie up in the front seat once he realized Amelia was set on bringing the dogs with them, not wanting them to jostle the wounded girl. His arm ached where it had been pierced through all those years ago but he didn't have to lift her very high so he could do this. He just wished at least one of his brothers was there to help but they seemed to be all scattered around. He didn't bother with a seatbelt, it would only hurt Elodie more and he'd just have to drive real fucking safe. "You with me?" he asked once he had her settled, reaching up to cup her cheek. She felt cold to the touch and fuck he hoped she wasn't going to die in his car.
Elodie was vaguely aware of moving. It was cold outside, but it felt kind of good too, with how badly she had been sweating overnight. She heard talking too but ignored it until there was a hand at her cheek. Elodie tried to open her eyes to look and she managed for a few seconds before she they closed again. "M'here," she mumbled. "Is she here?" Lyra. Whatever her name was. Elodie was wondering if maybe she dreamed everything. Maybe she took too many pills and hallucinated the fog, and the monster and the girl with the gun. Maybe she overdosed and they were going to pump her stomach. That sounded more likely than everything that she thought actually happened. Except her chest was still in pain and she could still smell the dried blood in her nostrils.
"I'm here," Amelia said as she clambered into the back, ushering the dogs with her. She thought about saying something like 'the next time you wanna fuck with my brother, remember I saved your life' but Elodie looked really out of it and Jasper wasn't supposed to be her brother on papers so it was a good thing she clamped down on it. It was hard not to call Gavin dad in public too and she almost slipped up there as well. "We're taking you to the hospital," she said, managing to correct that error before she spoke.
Gavin shut the door and hurried around. He had asked Charlie to stay indoors, he would come to her when he'd found his kids, but now he sort of wished he had asked her to meet them at the hospital. He needed to see everyone, make sure they were okay. "You hang in there," he muttered, possibly needlessly. Elodie had been hanging in there for a long time by the looks of it, she just looked very tired and very sick, though some of that could possibly be attributed to the alcohol.
The ride to the hospital felt like it took too long and Amelia was trying hard not to bombard her dad with questions. She'd left her phone behind, the battery was dead and she was now thinking she should definitely own a travel charger because apparently shit just did not stop happening to her. Gavin looked tired and worried and Elodie looked like she was dying and Amelia looked between them a few times before forcing herself to sit back and pet the dogs instead. The car was warm at least, real warm and nice and it smelled like alcohol and cigarettes, two scents she heavily associated with her father.
Gavin drove as cautiously as he could without doing a snail pace. There were destroyed vehicles along the road but thankfully nothing blocking their path to the hospital. Until they got to the hospital at least. The parking lot looked full, the waiting room chaotic and the fact he could tell that without even going inside was worrying. Fuck it, he stopped the car right outside the door alongside another car. Let them tow it, he had bigger problems on his hands. They weren't about to get help from anyone inside so he bit the bullet and walked around to pick Elodie up again. Hopefully they would get priority treatment because the girl looked half dead.
Amelia led the way inside, Rude and Max following closely on their leashes. She wasn't allowed to bring dogs in there, she knew that much, but there was no way she was leaving them in the car. Her heart seized when she spotted Jasper in there, one of the way too many people waiting to be seen. He looked hurt and seeing as how she didn't really give a shit about Elodie, she hurried over to him and Logan, crouching down in front of her brother. "Jasper! Are you okay?" she asked and it was probably a dumb question because he really didn't look okay at all.
Jasper was still rather out of it, both from the Oxycontin he’d taken that morning before they’d left the pharmacy -- several bottles of which were now stashed in his car, along with some other pills he’d snagged -- and the lack of natural sleep and the insanity of the past couple of days. He’d been grateful that his car hadn’t been destroyed, and had enough gas in it to get them to the hospital. He’d let Logan drive them, naturally. He’d called his father and Jules as soon as he got some juice in his phone from the car charger, and it had been a dazed relief to briefly hear both of their voices. Gavin was going to find Amelia, and Jules was okay. The ER waiting room was already crowded with people. He’d gotten on a list with the desk and then just sat down with Logan, because there was nothing else to do. He wasn’t actively dying, so they had other people to take care of. He just had to wait.
Jasper heard the distinct jingling of dog tags before he noticed anything else, and his bleary eyes landed on Max and Rude before Amelia was suddenly in his field of vision. He felt kind of disconnected and dazed, sitting there with his torn jacket and the ridiculous bright red Grinch shirt from the store, but her face brought him back around a bit. “Hey,” he said, smiling slowly. “Oh man, it’s good to see you.” He leaned forward and hugged her with his good right arm, careful not to press his left shoulder into her. The scratch ran from the middle of his upper left chest across to the meat of his upper arm and it still burned like a bitch. Well, not so much now, with drugs, but still.
Logan was amused to see the dogs in the ER, and he had a feeling a nurse would be shrieking for Amelia to take them outside, but until then he leaned forward in his chair beside Jasper to give them some attention. "He's high as a kite right now," Logan explained with a giggle catching in his throat. Maybe he was sorta high too, but not so bad that he couldn't drive Jasper's car to the ER after the fog let up that morning. Shit. Did he drive? He couldn't really remember it. But they were sitting in the hospital now, so it all worked out, obviously. Logan looked at Amelia, who he thought was looking mighty fine, and then caught sight of Jasper's dad helping a couple nurses get a floppy, pale girl onto a rolling bed by the doors leading back into the ER. "Did you kill someone?" Logan asked Amelia with a grin.
Amelia had always liked Logan, even if her parents weren't fans. He was funny and he made Jasper happy. Today she liked him even more because obviously he had taken care of her brother. She wasn't sure how much he knew about her so she quelled that urge to cheerfully greet him, grinning a little anyway when he said Jasper was high. That was probably a good thing, if he was in anywhere near the same amount of pain as Elodie was, drugs were very good. She glanced back toward her dad when Logan spoke again, smirking faintly. "No, I wanted to but someone beat me to it," she said. "Or something." She turned her focus back to Jasper and her smile faded. It was hard to tell where he was hurt except for the way he had hugged her. "How bad is it?" she asked quietly, finding his hand to give it a little squeeze as she ignored the dirty looks she was getting from a couple of people around them for having the dogs in there. Max rested his head on Jasper's thigh, squeezing between them to do so. Rude was behaving well too so she saw no reason to bring them outside.
Jasper wanted to protest that he wasn’t that high, but the words took too long to get to his lips, so he missed the moment. Probably because he was super high. It was better than being totally miserable with pain. He didn’t even see his father yet, his focus on Amelia and the dogs. It was a silly place for dogs to be, but that didn’t stop Jasper from rubbing lovingly at Max’s head. He squeezed Amelia’s hand back, smiling at her some more. She was so pretty, and so brave and awesome, smiling and everything after all of this bullshit. Jasper bet she’d been fine through it all. Or at least not terrified and helpless like he’d been. “It got me here,” he said, gesturing to his upper chest and shoulder on the right. The jacket there was sliced open, making it comically flappy, but the t-shirt hid the bandages they’d put on it. “I dunno though ... it hurt like a bitch, it bled a lot ... how are you? Are you okay?” Jasper’s tone was mild, like he was just asking after they hadn’t seen each other after a busy week or something.
Amelia almost teased him that she was obviously not feeling as good as he was but she decided against it and nodded and patted his hand instead. "I'm okay now," she said, even if she still felt like she'd had ten cups of coffee in one go, all jittery and ready to run, or punch, or whatever she needed to do to to burn that energy. "Now that I know you're okay." Now that she knew the world was still there and she was still in it. One thing was for sure, she never wanted to be home alone again. If there was a repeat of this bullshit - and there probably would be - she wanted to be with her family. She turned to look around to take better stock of what they were dealing with and most of the people there didn't look as hurt as Elodie or her brother. That was probably why Gavin was long gone, they'd probably ushered him into the ER as soon as he carried Elodie in here. Once she'd satisfied her curiosity about the state of the room she glanced at Logan, unsure for a moment if he thought she was just some cousin from out of town or if Jasper had told him everything. "Do you know who I am?" she asked, knowing this would be a weird way to introduce herself if she was in fact just Lyra.
Logan had slouched deeper into his chair, grinning even though none of this was really funny. But the pills made this all more bearable. "He's fine... well, not fine. But we made it to the pharmacy. Which is why he feels fine now. And he got a kick ass Grinch t-shirt to take home with him as a reward for not dying." Amelia's question drew his attention and he squinted at her before nodding. "Yeah, I know." Jasper told him everything. "But you've got another name. Just can't remember what it is now." Something. His brain was a fuzzy mass of good feeling, so no one could really expect him to remember anything. "He needs to get looked at though." Logan thumbed toward Jasper. "It got pretty nasty and I couldn't clean it out without it hurting him.”
“It’s an ugly-ass t-shirt,” Jasper muttered, still scratching behind Max’s ears. He was looking at Amelia though -- she was so beautiful. He’d known she would be, of course, but you didn’t expect your little sister to completely grow up in a matter of a week or two, especially when you weren’t doing the same growing. Belatedly, the big brother side of him flailed a bit at the fact that she was talking to Logan, of all people, who was bad news for any pretty girl. But the feeling was muted, like everything else. “Where’s dad?” he asked suddenly, ignoring everything his best friend said. “He came too, right?” Or had he just dropped Amelia off to see her brother while he went to do ... something else? Something more important than Jasper, which wouldn’t have surprised him all that much.
"Lyra," Amelia told Logan with a little smile before focusing on Jasper again. He really was out of it and clearly hadn't seen Gavin come in with Elodie in his arms so that was going to be fun to explain. Or maybe he wouldn't care, he was pretty high. "He had to go back there, our bitchy neighbor got hurt and she was too out of it to walk so he had to carry her." She glanced behind her to see if Gavin was anywhere to be seen but he wasn't out yet so she turned her attention to the boys again. "He'll be back soon," she told Jasper. He might not feel the same but she would want her dad there if she'd gotten hurt.
Lyra. That was it. Though Logan had the vague thought that she should have been Stephanie or Michelle, just to not stand out so much with a unique name. But it didn't bug him any, because to Logan, she was just Amelia. He would just have to remember not to call her that in front of people. "Your shirt is kick ass, not ugly ass," Logan told Jasper, leaning lazily into him before relaxing back against his chair again. "Don't be such a Grinch," he added, a giggle deep in his throat.
“Your mom’s a fuckin’ Grinch,” he muttered absently. Jasper’s free hand came up automatically to touch Logan face during the brief snuggle, but most of his focus was on Amelia. His eyes narrowed. “That Elodie bitch?” he asked, even if he knew the answer. They only had one bitchy neighbor. And she’d gotten hurt, apparently. Well ... good, she deserved that and worse. It sucked that she was stealing his dad’s attention though. “Fuck her.” Jasper patted the seat next to his as invitation to Amelia. She was just crouching in the aisle, after all, it didn’t look comfortable, and they were going to be there for a while. He was completely oblivious to all of the dirty looks the dogs were getting. “So you were at home?” he asked her. If someone had told him that already, he’d forgotten it.
Fuck her indeed. Elodie was getting help and she'd probably be okay now so it was easy to hate her again and Amelia grinned at her brother as she moved to sit down. "Yeah, Elodie was stupid and went outside. Something attacked her in the garden." She leaned in against Jasper a little and it occurred to her it was safe to cry now but she really didn't want to in front of him and Logan. Hyper and ready to throw punches felt better. "I thought the world was ending," she said with a wry smile. "Again." Well aware that the dogs were not welcome, she was almost waiting for someone to say something, primed for an argument, a way to let all that energy out. She shot the lady who was giving her the most glares a glare of her own, silently daring her to say something - anything - but then Gavin was there, rushing toward them and she just felt kind of small again.
"Jasper," Gavin muttered worriedly, leaning down and looking him over. He couldn't see the wounds but the jacket was torn and bloody and Jasper looked pale as a sheet. "Why the fuck haven't they admitted you already?" he whispered, more to himself than to his son.
Logan was so damn tired. And still flying a little high. But mostly tired now. He head nearly lulled back against the wall behind them but then Gavin was there and he straightened a touch in his chair. "The bleeding stopped," he explained, "so he's like... low priority. Maybe. I don't know." Logan felt like once he started talking he might not be able to stop so he shut his mouth and brought his hand up to mess up Jasper's hair. Not that it needed it, but that was his way of saying everything would be okay.
Jasper had wanted to give Amelia some comfort somehow about the world possibly ending as he leaned into her in return, but everything that drifted through his mind sounded trite and dumb. She was strong as hell, and she seemed fine at the moment. The world obviously hadn’t ended, it had just gotten more difficult and more strange, like it seemed to keep doing. His father’s arrival interrupted those useless thoughts, and Jasper was surprised at how strongly he wanted Gavin to hug him. Difficult with the way he was surrounded by human and dog love, but it was the strongest feeling in the middle of his Oxy-haze. “I’m on the list,” he offered, batting belatedly at Logan’s hand in his hair. “I dunno how far down though ...” He glanced doubtfully around at the crowded waiting room. “Everybody okay on your end?” Jasper’s tone was still dreamy, but he did want to know.
"Low priority," Gavin huffed indignantly because no, his son was not low priority. It was probably hypocritical coming from him but guilt just made that anger even worse. "Everybody's fine," he told Jasper, giving his arm a little squeeze before straightening up and looking. "Your granddad's hurt," he added as an afterthought. "Knowing him he'll pull right on through." Joseph wasn't out here in the waiting room so that meant he'd been admitted already, lucky bastard. Maybe one of the hospital staff had given up and discreetly killed the man once they actually had to deal with him. "Be right back," Gavin muttered before stalking off again, pushing past someone at the window to tell the admission nurse just how stupid it was to have a kid who'd been attacked still waiting out there with people with lesser injuries. They didn't know what kind of damage those things did or there was some poison shit already festering in his blood. Jasper was behaving like he was fine because he was obviously doped up but that didn't mean he was.
Amelia watched her father argue and felt like she should have done that too. Fight for Jasper, get him inside. She was just too caught up in this bullshit of not drawing too much attention to herself - which as it turned out she wasn't because now the nurse was bitching at Gavin about the dogs and Gavin was getting angry. She could see it in the way his shoulders hunched and tensed, even if she couldn't see his face from where she was sitting. It had been a long time since she saw Gavin like that and she barely remembered it but it still brought up some anxiety, welling up inside her and she curled her arm around Jasper's, hoping the stupid nurse wisened up and just let them in.
Logan watched Gavin too, realizing he had no idea where his own dad was, or if he was okay. Not that he really cared. His mom was okay and that was the important thing. Logan wrinkled up his nose in concentration before leaning forward a bit to look at Amelia. "Should we be doing something? Like... yelling? Throwing chairs around? They'd probably take him then, right?" Maybe the cops would show up and Logan would have a ride home. But then, Gavin looked like he had things taken care of. The guy had a scary aura about him. Or maybe that was just Logan's perspective at the moment. He wasn't sure he had taken a really great care of Jasper, but he had done what he could in the situation they had been in.
The news that his grandfather had also been hurt mostly sailed right over Jasper’s head. That old bastard would never die, he loved to torture them all too much. He watched Gavin go confront the admitting nurse, kind of amused by it. It gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, if he was being completely honest. Most other people would’ve been shouting, but Gavin Lucas never needed to raise his voice. That wasn’t his style. Jasper could well picture the steel-melting look he was giving her right then. He absently patted Amelia’s arm as she clung to him, watching the nurse’s face get more and more red. Then, finally, someone came out of the doors and headed their way.
It was a younger nurse, and she glared openly at the dogs before her eyes honed in on Jasper. “Jasper Lucas,” she said shortly. “Come with me. And get those damn dogs out of here, this is a hospital for Christ’s sake.” That last part was aimed at Amelia. Jasper kissed her temple and untangled their arms so he could get up and follow. He already hoped this wouldn’t take too long.
Amelia was about to give the nurse a piece of her mind Lucas style about how she wasn't leaving her dogs outside to get eaten by a monster but then Gavin was there, cupping her face and leaning in to speak quietly. "Take the dogs out to the car, you have a gun there if something happens. I'm going with Jasper but I'll come back out as soon as I can." He straightened up again and hurried after Jasper, putting his arm around him to make it clear to the nursing staff that he was going with him.
Amelia nodded mutely, then glared at the nurse for a beat before standing up as well. Bitch was lucky her dad told her what to do because she was ready to throw down. "Come keep me company," she told Logan before clicking her tongue at Rude and Max to make them follow her outside.
Logan watched Jasper and Gavin walk off with the nurse before acknowledging what Amelia said. Company. Right. He stood with a grunt and then stretched before following Amelia and the dogs - there were dogs in an emergency waiting room - outside. It was still foggy, but not as bad as the last two days. And it was fucking cold. He zipped up again, thinking the weather would probably sober him up pretty quick. "He'll be okay," he said needlessly, once they were out of the way of the doors. Logan shoved his hands into his pockets. "He was really worried about you guys though."
Stepping outside into the cold made Amelia's temper flare again because that stupid, evil nurse had wanted her to leave the dogs out in this. Logan speaking again distracted her though she didn't really say anything until they reached the car. It was just too cold and she was very focused on getting to the truck. The dogs jumped into the back but Amelia got behind the wheel this time, in case they needed to move the car or anything. "Thanks for taking care of him," she said once they were settled, starting the engine to warm them up. "Are you okay?" Taking care of someone else had meant not having to think about her own status and she still wasn't sure how she felt or how she would feel moving forward. She suspected Logan felt similar.
It was nice to be out of the cold again, and not sitting in a hospital waiting room. He knew it was cliche, but hospitals tended to freak him out from time to time. Hopefully Jasper would be okay. Logan knew how long ER trips could take. Sinking back against the seat, Logan sighed and then looked over at Amelia. "Yeah, I'm fine. That shit was scary though. Jasper bled a lot. He was already freaked out about the black eyed kids, and with what happened to you. He probably ought to be on like, anxiety meds. But hell, everyone here should, I bet." Logan's gaze shifted to the windshield. It was so nice to be able to see things again and not just a blanket of white. "I... have no idea what those things were."
"Did you see them?" Amelia asked quietly. She hadn't seen a thing and all she knew was what Elodie had told her and what she could imagine from looking at her wounds. Something had been out there, it stood to reason to think there were more than one but she much preferred thinking there had just been a single monster and that now it was gone. It would come back, there was no doubt about that and she was starting to think she was going to need a stronger weapon than what she already had. Something large, something that could kill rhinos and elephants. Would that even be enough?
"Yeah. I mean, sort of. We were running and then it... these claws or whatever sort of came out of nowhere. The fog seemed to mask most of it. But we were able to get into the pharmacy. I didn't see anything else after that, but we could hear things after the power went out." Admittedly they were both groggy and out of it thanks to the pain meds they'd swiped, but the noises outside had been unmistakable. They hadn't been human. "Did you see anything?" he asked, feeling sleepy and comfortable now that the truck was warming up. He wondered if Gavin would want him driving Jasper's car back home. Logan would, but he hoped they could come back for it. He wasn't sure he could drive it without fucking it up somehow.
"Just the aftermath," Amelia replied. "And a shadow but... I wonder if anyone saw what it actually looked like." A lot of the people in the waiting room had seemed hurt from something other than scratches. Probably crashing their cars or hypothermia. Amelia wondered how many people had actually been attacked and how many of them had died. To think Jasper could have been one of them... She couldn't go there. He was alive and her worrying was over for now. "You look like you're about to pass out," she pointed out with a faint little smile. "You sure you're okay?" Maybe he was just tired, but if he had some injury he was hiding, she needed to know.
Everything had happened so fast between the car and the pharmacy. And honestly, the longer Logan thought about it, the more he might start to wonder if his mind was exaggerating things now. "I'm fine," Logan said with a faint smile. "Tired as fuck, though. We were in Jasper's car for most of the first day and night, and then in the pharmacy. And he was hurt, so I didn't want to sleep if something happened, right? So... yeah, I think I just need my bed. You think your dad'll take me home when they're done?"
Amelia had always liked Logan but she liked him even now after he'd stayed awake, watching over her brother. It made her want to hug him or something but she made do with a warm smile. "I can drive you home now if you want, if your phone works so you can let dad and Jasper know." She didn't have her license yet but she honestly didn't think anyone would give a shit with the state of the town. She knew how to drive and she just needed to pass a written test now which she totally would have done if not for Christmas and this damn fog getting in the way.
Logan hesitated because Jasper was still inside and what if something happened? He didn't want Jasper to think he'd ditched him either. Still, Logan knew he wouldn't be of any help at the moment. His body was starting to resist even staying awake. "You think he'll be okay?" he asked Amelia, wanting the reassurance before leaving. "I mean, you and your dad... you'll take care of him right?" Logan grinned, because he knew they would, but what kind of friend would he be if he didn't make sure first?
Amelia didn't think it was a stupid question, if anything it was sweet and she gave Logan a grateful little smile for giving a shit. "We'll take good care of him," she promised. "What about you? Do you have anyone at home waiting for you?" She didn't really like taking Logan somewhere and leaving him all alone, nobody should be alone today - maybe not even ever, but especially not today - with all the scary things that had happened. If he was all alone she could at least come inside with him and make sure there was nothing dangerous in there. She still had her rifle and two very protective dogs with her.
"My mom should be home," Logan said. "Probably waitin' for me too." Maybe. He figured she would at least be happy to see that he was all right. And if he wanted a shower and then a really long nap, she wouldn't bother him either. "But I'll give you my number... you got a phone, right? So you can text or something if Jasper... well, I mean, you guys need help or he needs something. His shoulder had looked pretty bad, and I don't know what that thing was. I mean, rabid dogs can give you rabies if they bite, right? So..." Logan exhaled and rubbed his brow. "Just wanna make sure he's okay."
The last thing Amelia needed was for her brother to get rabies and the thought alone made her feel cold inside. Didn't rabies kill people? Was that something she was supposed to know? "I don't have my phone but I can write down your number," she said. "And use dad's phone to call if anything happens." It was more for Logan's peace of mind, if there was a problem they'd probably handle it on their own and Jasper was going to be fine so he could call Logan when he sobered up a little. "I'm sure Jasper will text you when we get back home too," she added as she rummaged around in the container box between the seats. Pen and paper was kinda old school but so was her dad and he had some in the car. Jackpot!
"Yeah, make sure he does," Logan said, smirking a little at the pen and paper. Did he know his phone number? Yeah. Something, something, five, something... four? His phone was dead but he took the pen and paper, chewing on his lower lip for a moment before scribbling his number on the scrap of paper. "I'm ninety nine percent sure that's right. But yeah. Jasper has my number too. I don't know what his phone is like, but mine's dead at the moment. "Thanks, Amelia." Logan offered her the pen and paper back. "Glad you're okay too. Looks like the end of the world out here."
"Not really," Amelia said as she looked around at the mess out there in the parking lot. "There's still a lot of people." It did look like there had been a catastrophe though, he was right about that but even as they sat there an ambulance came by and people were entering and leaving the emergency room. There was a lot of life and it was soothing Amelia to a point where she was no longer as anxious as she had been just an hour earlier. "I'm glad Jasper told you about me," she said and took the paper and pen back. It was a little off topic but it had been nice to hear her real name again. "I hate lying to people about it. Not a lot of people know though so... try and keep it a secret?"
"Yeah, I will," he promised. "Not that I have a ton of people I'd tell, but even if I did, I wouldn't say anything." Logan just had to remember all of this when he was wasted and around other people. Not that he had any reason to bring up Amelia out of context or anything. But he knew how important this was to Jasper and his family, so he could keep his mouth shut. "I have to say though, it's really fucking weird to see you so old. Older, I mean. You and Jasper seem more like twins now than... uh, cousins." He grinned. "You know what I mean."
Amelia actually laughed a little at that because it was true and it was crazy. "I thought he'd be like married with kids when I got home," she admitted, still smiling as she kept her eyes on the road. "I kept trying to picture it, you know? Jasper... All grown up family man. I think I'm actually older than he is now but I'm not sure." She didn't even know if Jasper would have gotten married and had kids but it just seemed like a thing that could happen. It was one of the best case scenarios at least, one of the few she really clung to because some of the possibilities were too dark and she didn't want to torture herself with what ifs and maybes. This town coold have killed him while she was gone, ten years was a long time and the way the streets looked right now it was a wonder they were all still alive.
Logan squinted thoughtfully, trying to imagine Jasper married with kids. "That's... hard for me to picture," he admitted finally, with a laugh. "I mean, I guess I could see him with a kid? But like, the whole domestic thing, it's weird. Maybe someday though. I don't even want to think about being ten years older. You, you're at a good age though." He almost wanted to ask her about where she had been, and what she had been doing that whole time, but his brain felt foggy, like he wouldn't really be able to retain anything she said anyway.
Amelia had to admit that yeah, picturing Jasper with a kid and wife was a little weird but that was what she believed people did when they grew up. Got married, had kids. Even Jasper. Now she wasn't so sure but Jasper seemed to be in love so maybe it wasn't that far fetched. "I just realized I have no idea if I'm going the right way," she said with a little grin. "Do you still live where you used to? Down the street from our old house?"
"You're fine. But yeah, Cedar Lane," Logan said, motioning ahead at the next light. He wanted to shower and sleep so bad. And then maybe eat all the food in the house. Knowing his mom, she was probably already making him breakfast. "I don't think my mom is ever going to move from that house. My dad's in Seaview, but... I try to avoid that whole place if I can." Logan shrugged. He had gone over there once since getting back to town and that was more than enough. "You think you guys will move anytime soon? Your house seems kinda small for all three of you."
"Dad keeps talking about it but I don't think he's found anything," Amelia said and Cedar Lane was one of the few streets she did remember by name from her childhood. Going back there was giving her a heavy sense of nostalgia, not all of it good. "I'm not sure he's been looking around much with everything that's been going on." Maybe Jasper had told Logan about Aaron's ordeal, maybe he hadn't. Either way, Logan probably knew Aaron's girlfriend had gone missing for a while, it was becoming like a family curse at this point - or a town wide one more like it. "I don't think he cares enough because he's the one who's sleeping in the living room so, I should probably push him."
"Can't imagine that gives him much privacy," Logan said, looking out the window as they neared his house. So many houses still had Christmas lights up. It was weird to see something festive in the midst of all the bullshit. But also, kind of weirdly comforting. "But you know... if Jasper and I get a place together, maybe that'll ease up on space for you guys." Logan glanced back at Amelia. "We've been talking about it, but it depends on if we can get our asses employed soon."
Amelia looked over at him almost sharply before focusing back on the road. Her initial reaction was to tell him no, they couldn't get their own place. Jasper had to live with her and Gavin, she wasn't letting him leave. It wasn't fair and she bit down on the urge to argue but the feeling was there and just like that her anxiety returned in full force. "When?" she asked and while she'd held back somewhat, her demeanor was no cold and almost angry. Maybe if Jasper never got a job he'd stay and she couldn't deny that she had an urge to sabotage every job interview he ever went on from now.
"When what?" Logan asked, cocking a brow at the sudden shift in Amelia's tone. She didn't sound happy about it. Had Jasper not mentioned maybe moving out? Was it something he should have kept to himself? Logan's brain was so fuzzy he couldn't recall that particular conversation with his best friend, if they had ever even had one. "There's no real timetable for it, Amelia. It's just something we want to do. I can't live with my mom forever, and Jasper has a girl... he'd like privacy, you know?"
"Mmhm," Amelia hummed, a non committal answer. It was too much to think about right now but of course Jasper would move out one day. One day she was supposed to move out too. Life marched on and she didn't fit into it, had no idea how she could ever fit into it again. It was scary and too big and it almost made her wish the world had just ended when she thought it was about to. Almost. "We're here," she added as she turned into his street. "Are you going to be okay?" She could be nice, even if she felt like she was about to have a panic attack. Okay, maybe not nice - her voice still came out a little clipped, but she could be... caring? Polite? Normal? Something.
Well, it was clear that Jasper hadn't mentioned potentially moving out to his sister yet, and Logan felt like he had stuck his foot in his mouth or something. But there wasn't much he could do about it now but text Jasper that she knew. This town was small enough that he didn't think Jasper moving into his own place would be a big deal. But it wasn't his problem to deal with right now. "I'll be fine, thanks. And thanks for the ride," Logan told her as Amelia pulled up to the house he motioned toward. "Be safe heading back to the hospital, okay?"
"Jasper or I will text you later today," Amelia promised and there was a small part of her that didn't want to let Logan leave by himself, like there might be a chance she'd leave him there and something horrible would happen to him and then she would never forgive herself and Jasper probably wouldn't either. It was exhausting, being scared all the time, but it was also familiar and somewhat easy to ignore. "Thanks for keeping my brother safe," she mumbled as Logan got out then watched as he headed to his house, not driving away until the door closed behind him.
Back at the hospital Gavin had walked inside with Jasper and sat close as the nurse attended to his wounds. It was worse than he'd imagined and his heart felt heavy as he tried to keep a brave face for Jasper's benefit. This thing could have killed his boy while his father survived and Gavin was pretty sure if that had happened, he would have shot Joseph in the head just to make it feel a little more fair.
"There you go," the nurse told Jasper tiredly once she'd finished placing the bandages. "I need to give you a shot so hang tight." She left them alone for now and Gavin scooted in closer, studying Jasper's face. He looked so out of it, but that was probably a good thing because even drugged, attending the wounds had looked like it really hurt.
Getting the wound cleaned had hurt like hell, even through the Oxy that was still lingering in his system. The stitches had been easier somehow, like his system was already overloaded with pain, so it went kind of numb. He didn’t try to talk to the nurse much, or his dad, though he was glad that the latter was there, more than he could really say. Once the nurse was gone, he sat up with a low groan and picked up the red t-shirt he’d left lying across his shins. Jasper looked over at Gavin as he tried to find the willpower to actually put it on. “You hear from anybody else yet?” he murmured.
Gavin nodded, watching Jasper for a moment and fighting the urge to help him with that shirt. He wasn't a toddler, he'd just get irritated if Gavin coddled him. "Everyone's okay," he told him since that was what he knew Jasper was really asking. "Your granddad got hurt too but you know the old bastard will be fine." He thought about it and huffed softly. "Well, Caden might kill him. He broke Roxy's nose when she tried to help him." That had been a clusterfuck if he'd ever seen one and he couldn't imagine Caden not doing something about it unless Roxy outright lied to him about how it had happened.
The idea that his grandfather had been attacked by the same damn thing gave Jasper pause already, but then his brows shot up at the second bit of news. “He broke Roxy’s nose? No shit,” Jasper muttered. “That’s low, even for him.” Even though Jasper had had some genuinely fun times with his grandfather when he’d been a kid, he wasn’t under any impression that Joseph Lucas was a good person. It was easy to entertain a nine year old boy, especially when you let him curse and have a sip of your beer when his parents weren’t around. All the same, Jasper hoped he hadn’t gotten too hurt. He shot his dad a sideways glance. “Ms. Harris okay too?”
Gavin gave him a little smile and nodded. He knew Jasper felt weird about 'that whole thing' with him dating his teacher so any little sign of his approval was important to him. "Here," he murmured as he got up from where he'd sat down to get closer. "Let me help you with that." He tried not to make a big deal out of it but Jasper hadn't gotten further with his t-shirt than to stick his arms where they belonged and now it just sat there on his lap. It wasn't cold in the ER but it wasn't very warm either and the nurse was done with the bandages. Gavin pulled the t-shirt up and slipped it over Jasper's head, something he hadn't really done often for him, even when he was little.
Jasper had made some progress on the shirt, but actually pulling it over his head had seemed like a lot of effort that he had to build up to. He grumbled some weak protest to Gavin’s help, but took it anyway, wincing a little at the way it stung to move his arm like that. The layer of cotton between his skin and the chilly air in the room was worth it, though. “Thanks,” he murmured as he settled it on his shoulders. He didn’t have much else to say -- Jasper really wished the nurse would hurry and come back so they could get out of there and actually go home.
Gavin always expected protests from Jasper and he knew it was just the drugs that kept them from being stronger today. He was careful as he tugged the shirt down over his torso, frowning the whole time in both concentration and nervousness. He couldn't say why he was always so afraid of his boy's reaction to things, there was just a long history of dislike and distrust there, he still felt like he was walking on eggshells around him, like he could never fix the past no matter how hard he tried. "Now if you kids could stop scaring the shit out of me that'd be good," he said quietly and ran his hand over Jasper's hair. "I don't know what I'd do if I'd lost you."
Jasper was definitely on board with not scaring the shit out of his dad anymore, for the sole reason that meant scary shit would stop happening to them. He could handle a lot of stuff, he thought, but this ... this was a lot. And Amelia didn’t deserve any more bad things happening to her, like, ever. The small gesture of affection made Jasper’s throat feel tight with emotion all of the sudden. There was a part of him that still thought he was the one who should’ve gone missing, that it would’ve been easier for Gavin to handle than his little girl. Jasper was too tired to keep his walls all the way up, and he leaned until his forehead was resting against the middle of Gavin’s chest while he swallowed thickly and tried not to really cry.
Gavin wrapped his arms around him almost instinctively now that Jasper had sort of given him a green light. "You're okay," he muttered quietly. "When you heal up we'll get you those tattoos and see if we can keep all this darkness at bay." It was truly starting to feel like a family curse, all the bullshit Gavin had seen and dealt with growing up and now his kids were facing similar things. Worse things. It wasn't fair and he felt helpless against these waves of terror that kept crashing against them.
His dad was warm and solid, still made of the thick muscle that Jasper used to admire as a kid. If nothing else, Gavin had always seemed so strong to him, able to pick Jasper up with one hand and build things and protect all of them. Even after his accident, it was a different sort of strength. He felt like he needed both at the moment, feeling small and vulnerable and not liking either one. His dad even had a solid plan for them to do, something that would help. Hopefully, anyway. He stayed there and breathed and tried to soak in the feel of Gavin’s arms for a little while, then let out a little huff. “I wanna get fucked up on New Years Eve,” he muttered. “Think we deserve it.”
Gavin let out a little laugh at that, then sighed and nodded. "You're plenty fucked up right now," he pointed out and rubbed Jasper's back a little. "God, it's almost New Years Eve." He had no plans, he'd barely thought about it because things had been so hectic and weird lately. Right now all he wanted was the family together and to him, right now, that mostly meant his kids and Charlie. It didn't always mix that well, Jasper would probably go off with his girlfriend somewhere and Gavin would spend the night worrying about him. It weirdly made him want to throw a decent party, so that everyone he gave a shit about would be under the same roof. It was saying a lot because Gavin fucking hated throwing parties.
Jasper was pretty fucked up, but it wasn’t even in the fun way. It felt like a pain in the ass at the moment, like he was sluggish and just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. The desire was there to see Jules, too, but he knew she was alive and okay and that felt like enough at the moment. It was hard to believe the year was about to turn and then he would be expected to go back to school soon, and all of that just seemed bizarre in light of the past couple of days. Jasper was about to mumble something else, but then the nurse returned. Jasper stiffened as the door opened and pulled away from Gavin, not wanting to get caught hugging his father, of all things. She gave him the shot of antibiotics in his good arm, offered some papers in Gavin’s direction, and told them not to bother stopping by the desk, Jasper was discharged. She was scooting back out the door to tend to someone else before Jasper was even on his feet.
Luckily for Jasper, Gavin wasn't one for public displays of affection either so he backed off when the door opened as well then stood by while she finished her job. He took the papers, knowing already this was going to be expensive because their healthcare was shit but that was definitely a problem for a later time. "You okay to walk?" he asked and the damn place was too busy for anyone to give a shit about walking now. Gavin wasn't even sure he could find a wheelchair to use if he actually needed one. He could carry Jasper if it came down to that but his son would probably rather die than get a piggy-back ride at his age.
“It’s my arm, Dad, not my legs,” Jasper muttered, though there wasn’t any real bite to it. He was slow to get his jacket back on, but he managed it and felt steady enough on his feet. He would be more than fine getting to the car. After that, he just wanted to sleep, maybe for a few weeks. “M’fine,” he added, patting Gavin’s arm before they headed out. He wasn’t exactly fine -- his head was still swimmy and disconnected from the drugs and the scratch still burned and throbbed dully -- but Jasper was safe and warm now, and soon he would be home and on the mend and this would be just some other bullshit he survived.