Jasper Lucas (sinsoftheson) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-10-25 18:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | #january 2018, jasper, jasper x ruby, ruby |
Who: Ruby and Jasper
When: evening, Tuesday, Jan 2nd
Where: car, Joyland
Status: complete
After spending most of the first recovering in bed from a pretty wicked hangover, it had been good to get out with Amelia, get some fresh air and exercise. And he’d managed not to fall again, which was pretty good for how rusty he was at ice skating. Even with the rifle in the car and the heaviness that was Point Pleasant hanging over their heads, they’d had a nice time.
When he’d gotten home and settled, he’d started thinking about Ruby. He’d seen her on New Years Eve, with her new boytoy Clint, and while he’d really wanted to Talk-talk to her, he hadn’t wanted to do it while they were all drunk and partying. It had been good to see her smiling, though. After he’d eaten something and had a cigarette, Jasper went back to his room and flopped on the bed, picking up his phone. He thought he should’ve texted her the day before, but it was likely she’d had a hangover too, so maybe this was better. Jasper thumbed out a message and hit Send, hoping he wasn’t interrupting more time with her boyfriend or something.
hey. u doin ok?
Ruby had indeed been hungover most of New Year’s Day, but she didn’t regret it for a second. Clint was turning out to be a lot of fun and she’d managed to ring in the new year with him in the best possible way. There had been moments here and there where her mind drifted back to the fog and the events within, but she thought she’d mostly stayed in the moment. Or, she hoped that was the case. A part of her wished she could confide in Clint, but she knew that was impossible, that it would make him an accessory after the fact. If she had her law terms straight. And Ruby still wanted to be in the courtroom as a lawyer, not a defendant, so it needed to stay a secret, if that was even possible with four people knowing the truth.
When the text came in from Jasper, she picked up her phone and smiled softly. She’d wanted to talk to him on New Year’s Eve, but he’d been with Jules and she couldn’t find a way to approach them without Clint picking up a really weird vibe. So she’d given him a little wave and hoped they’d catch up later. Kinda. Better than before. It was weird to be so vague, but she was trying to keep in mind that anything they wrote could be used as evidence against them. To the casual observer, she could be referring to her prior day’s hangover, rather than the murder she’d committed last week.
‘Kinda’ probably meant ‘no’ in reality, and Jasper couldn’t really blame her. His own part of it made him feel uneasy, he had to imagine that Ruby felt like complete shit. On par with Jules, if not worse, since she was the one who swung the bat that Jasper had burned. He knew better than to go into detail on the phone, so he thought for a second, then decided to see if she wanted to get together. u free? want coco? my treat he sent, then followed up with, i’ll pick u up. If she hadn’t had dinner yet, he could take her somewhere else too, but going to Joyland for a comfort beverage and a chat sounded pretty nice to him.
Ruby considered it for a minute, then shot back a response. Sure. Coco sounds good. Ready in 10. After a day at the diner, she hadn’t had any plans except lounging around and watching a movie. It felt like a waste of her vacation, but she didn’t feel up to anything fun at the moment, so she might as well make some money. Knowing Jasper would be there soon, Ruby changed out of her sweats and into jeans, bundling up for the walk from her front door to Jasper’s car. It wasn’t that far, but damn it had been cold lately. Hot chocolate would be nice after just a few seconds outside and talking with Jasper might help calm her mind a bit. It certainly couldn’t make it worse.
Jasper didn’t waste any time getting up and getting on proper clothes. He wasn’t feeling restless so much as he was eager to see Ruby now and talk to her some. Maybe they could get their drinks to go so they could sit in the car and talk in private. He tossed some treats at the dogs on his way out and hurried through the cold to the car. It didn’t take long to drive over to Ruby’s, but at least the car was getting warm by the time he arrived. He picked up his phone again to send her a text to let her know that he was there. If they’d been dating, he would’ve gone up to the door, but they weren’t, so Ruby could come to him.
Ruby had just finished letting her dad know she was going out when Jasper arrived and she hurried out the door and towards the car, jumping in and out of the cold. “Hey,” she said, giving him a small smile as she buckled up. “Thanks for driving. I’m not sure the truck would even be warm by the time we got to where we’re going. Joyland?” Moxie’s had decent hot chocolate, but Ruby wasn’t as fond of dining there since she started working there. Joyland might be known for their coffee, but she was pretty sure everywhere had hot chocolate this time of year.
“Yup, that’s the plan,” Jasper said, smiling back. He put the car into gear and backed out of her driveway. Once he’d gotten them on the road, he looked over at Ruby in a more lingering way. “So how are you really doing?” he asked. Jasper knew how much what had happened had fucked Jules up, and she hadn’t even been the one to swing the bat. He was also kind of curious to hear the story from Ruby’s perspective. Jules had been incredibly upset when she’d told him what happened, and he didn’t want to make her relive it all again for more details. But if talking about it all upset Ruby to the same level, he wasn’t going to ask.
Ruby smiled, but it faded away with the question, her gaze turning towards the window for a moment. She had to assume Jules had told him everything--asking if he knew everything was pointless without recounting it all and she wasn’t going to do that unless he asked. “I dunno,” she sighed, then glanced towards him. “Sometimes I’m okay, but then… other times I feel sick. Horrible. And scared. I’ve never been so fucking scared. Like…” She looked down and was sure her hands were shaking again, so she clasped them together. “Someone’s gonna find out, J. Four can’t keep a secret.”
Jasper’s expression was sympathetic as he looked through the windshield; he could understand why she was so afraid. He was scared to, but mostly for Ruby and Jules. It wasn’t that Jasper didn’t care if he went down for his part in things, it was just that he felt they were more important than he was. And more vulnerable. Jasper glanced over at the last part, his brow furrowing a bit. “Wait ... four? You, me, Jules, and ... ?” he trailed off, his tone full of concern. They could keep it a secret if they really put their minds to it, but he couldn’t think of who else might know, so he of course didn’t know if they could be trusted.
“Amelia,” Ruby said, though she trusted her not to breathe a word to anyone. No one even knew who she was. But that wasn’t the problem. “I needed an alibi. She was the only one I could think of. And I know she won’t talk, and no one at school knows her, but… I don’t know how lucid Elodie was.” Thinking of that made her feel like she was going to vomit. That bitch would toy with them if she realized what was up, even if she didn’t know exactly what had gone down. All she’d have to know was that Ruby had lied and she’d run with it, even if she didn’t know why.
The car swerved a tiny bit as Jasper registered that news. “Amelia?” he said, obviously shocked, risking a couple of glances over at her. “Like, my Amelia?” That was a stupid question though, of course, because how many other Amelias did they know? Jasper realized that his sister had the opportunity earlier in the day to tell him she knew, and she hadn’t. He couldn’t rightly fault her, because he hadn’t told her anything about what he knew either, but Jesus. “Wait, what? Elodie? How does she fit in?” That part was even more disturbing, because while Jasper trusted Amelia, he didn’t trust Elodie as far as he could throw her.
Jasper’s lack of knowledge about the situation threw Ruby for a loop and for a second she looked at him like he was crazy because what other Amelia could she possibly be talking about? He seemed to get past that, focusing on the root of the problem, but still missing some key bits of information, at least as Ruby knew them. “Amelia said she was at your house, that she was hurt. She could potentially say that I wasn’t there, but it’s not like she knows for sure and Amelia said she spent most of the time in the bathroom, but of all people why did it have to be fucking Elodie?” She knew she was whining now, but wasn’t it the truth? She couldn’t think of anyone that could possibly be a bigger liability.
When Ruby laid it all out like that, it made sense, and Jasper grunted, frowning a bit. Thinking about Elodie always made him frown though. He knew she’d been at his house with Amelia, but he hadn’t made the connection that she could fuck up the alibi for Ruby, since he’d just heard that was a thing too. “Fuck, I hate that bitch,” he muttered sourly, shaking his head a bit as he gazed through the windsheild. “I like, barely remember catching a glimpse of her at the hospital, she was really out of it. Like my dad had to carry her in. So hopefully she doesn’t remember shit about anything.” It was all so much to keep up with mentally, he couldn’t blame Ruby for being really scared. He was too, even more now. “So many people disappeared and got fucked up, I’m just hoping like, nobody ever starts asking, you know? He could’ve been just like any of those other poor fuckers.”
“There’s no reason to question it,” Ruby agreed. “But, fuck… It was so bad. I can still hear…” She shut her eyes and swallowed back a knot in her throat. It made her sick to think about, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “And then he was just gone. I mean, it’s convenient, but… it’s all so fucked up.” She’d woken up last night thinking Edward was standing at the end of her bed, the bat in his hands, but then that had been the dream. She knew he was dead, Jules had been certain of it. Ruby too. She’d felt how stiff his body was, she’d seen his broken body on the floor, heard the crack of the bat against his skull, then each and every thud as he rolled down the stairs. But with the way he’d disappeared, she felt like they’d lost control. “Is Jules doing okay? I mean, I know she’s probably not, but… I haven’t talked to her since I left.”
Jasper wished he wasn’t driving so he could hug her, because she sounded like she really needed a hug. “It really is fucked up,” he agreed with a murmur, then heaved a little sigh. “She’s doing as well as she can, pretty much. She’s scared, she’s worried about her mom, but ... she’s just trying to put it all behind her as much as she can, you know?” Jasper glanced briefly over at Ruby. “I’m sorry, for what it’s worth. I hate that this happened to you both. I don’t blame you for what happened at all, it was like ... all self-defense, right?” Ruby probably knew that, but he knew it still had to be terrifying to be involved, especially since she was the one who swung the bat. That thought made him add a quiet, “I burned the bat, by the way.” Maybe that would reassure her a bit, at least that piece of the physical evidence was gone.
Ruby nodded, knowing how that was. They had to put it behind them and move on. There was nothing else they could do, but it didn’t make it easy. Not having a body left her unsettled, even if that meant nobody was going to be dusting it for fingerprints. “You know that makes you an accessory, don’t you?” she asked, but there was a hint of a smile there. There was no evidence left--no body, no weapon, no crime? Though if they were going down, they were going down together. What an awful thought. “What did she end up telling her mom?” Ruby thought it would have been easier to tell her nothing, that it would have helped for her mother to know that Edward had attacked Jules before he went missing. It gave cause to his disappearance, a reason to investigate, and that was the last thing they needed.
“Yeah I know,” Jasper told her. “I helped clean up the house too. Lots of bleach and scrubbing. I think if there’s any like, trace of him left, we fucked it up beyond being usable.” He was just spitballing about that, of course, he was no forensic expert. He hoped they had covered everything up, if the police did come sniffing around. It was all done now, they could only keep their fingers crossed for the best. “She just told her that he walked out during the fog and didn’t come back. She was totally alone and didn’t hear or see anything. So far her mom’s buying it, I’m pretty sure. She’s worried about the body turning back up, but if it was going to, I think we’d know by now.” There had been a lot of chaos, apparently, and it was working in their favor, as fucked up as that was.
“In the tv shows they always find something,” Ruby said, though she was glad Jasper had been there to help. She and Jules had done the best they could, but it had been dark and they weren’t really thinking clearly. They’d both started to drink after Edward disappeared, making it hard to figure out exactly what needed to be done. “That’s good,” she sighed, nodding her head. “I was worried she might tell her what he did, before I hit him. I’m sure she deserves to know, but at the same time… it doesn’t feel worth it. Not if he’s gone. Like, what if she didn’t believe Jules?” She was sure that Jules could handle her mom’s questions, but she didn’t want the police to have any reason to get involved. Right now he was just one missing person among many. “It’s such a nightmare.”
Having had a close encounter with Jules’s mom, Jasper was kind of inclined to believe that Ms. Cooper wouldn’t believe her, but he couldn’t know for sure. Jules couldn’t know either, though, that was the point. They had to be careful and keep it all to themselves. They were nearly to Joyland now, and he knew they couldn’t discuss it inside. He happened to think that Edward fucking deserved what he’d gotten, but it didn’t feel right to say that to Ruby, not yet. “It is, it’s a total clusterfuck,” he agreed with a heavy sigh. Jasper glanced over at her again before he pulled into the Joyland parking lot. “But I think we’re gonna be okay, Ruby. You’re gonna be okay.” There was no way to avoid Jules being involved, if investigations started happening, but they could both say that Ruby wasn’t there at all, and now she had a reliable alibi and everything. Jasper parked the car. “Do you wanna go in and sit, or get it to go?”
Sometimes Ruby could distract herself to the point that she thought yes, she was totally going to be okay. And then the moment would pass and she’d be back to worrying again. She’d never been a big worrier, but she’d never had anything like this hanging over her. “If this gets out, I’ll go down for it,” she whispered. “It won’t matter that it was self defense. It’ll be a race thing and a class thing and I’ll end up behind bars.” The rest of them would get a lighter sentence, but she was the one who swung the bat. Ruby looked at Joyland, at the people sitting inside having casual conversation. It was highly unlikely that any of them were discussing the murder they’d committed over the holidays. They couldn’t keep talking about this if they stayed inside and she wasn’t sure she wanted to, but the car at least gave them the privacy to talk about whatever they wanted. “Let’s get it and sit in the car,” she said. “If that’s okay with you.”
That was probably the most comfortable option, Jasper wanted some privacy too. But first, he reached over and gave Ruby’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “It won’t get out,” he told her, though he knew that he could only reassure her up to a certain point. Jasper was worried too. “The bat’s gone, we’ve got a good cover story, considering all the bullshit that was going on, you’ve got an alibi ... it’ll be okay.” It was tragic and awful, but people disappeared all the time in Point Pleasant, and Jasper had had it drilled into his head from an early age to cover his tracks and lie to cops. He doubted the authorities would start pushing against Jules’s story, but if it happened, they at least had a plan. Jasper patted her again, then opened his door to get out so they could go get something hot and tasty for themselves.
Ruby gave Jasper a weak smile, but she nodded. He was right. She knew he was right. It was just so hard to accept. People who’d put a lot more work into covering up a crime were caught every day. If it weren’t for the fog and those monsters, they’d be up shit creek for sure. But if it weren’t for the fog, she wouldn’t have been there at all and who knew what would’ve happened. “Okay,” she said, then opened her door as well, needing to tuck this all away while they went in and got themselves something warm to drink. “I have a question for you when we get back in the car, but let’s put it on hold for a minute. Tell me what you were doing out in the fog, you idiot,” she said, giving him a little smile.
Jasper knew she was scared, and so was Jules, but he was going to do his damndest to protect the both of them. They had bright futures, and he didn’t. He cared about both of them, so if it came down to someone falling under the bus, Jasper wanted to be the one to do it. Not that he was going to tell either of them that. “Me and Logan were just driving to Moxie’s when it rolled in,” he told her as they walked toward Joyland’s door. “We stayed in my car as long as we could, then had to make a run for it. One of those fuckers got me on the way to the drugstore.” He knew she was teasing, but he hadn’t felt like they’d been too stupid about it. Until they had access to narcotics and all, anyway. But by then he’d needed the pain relief. He held the door for Ruby and followed her in. Jasper wanted to ask how she’d made it to Jules’s place, but didn’t want to bring it up again yet.
“God, I can’t even imagine being stuck in my car in that,” Ruby said, shaking her head to herself as she looked over at him. “I’m so glad Logan was with you. And that you made it to a drugstore. That’s, like, the best place to be stuck, if you have to be stuck somewhere out in public.” They would’ve had food, water, and drugs. Maybe not the most comfortable place to sleep, but they had a bathroom, which made it ten times better than staying in the car in her opinion. Once inside, she stepped up to the counter and ordered herself a hot chocolate. She thought briefly about getting one of those fancy coffee drinks, but she’d been having a hard time sleeping and the caffeine would only make that worse.
Jasper nodded his agreement -- it had been hellish, being in the car. He wished he hadn’t gotten hurt of course, but he didn’t think they’d been stupid for trying to get to better shelter. And he was ridiculously glad he’d had Logan with him too. Jasper wasn’t sure he would’ve made it otherwise. He let the subject drop as they made their orders, getting a large hot chocolate for himself with extra marshmallows. Luckily their drinks didn’t take too long, and soon enough they were back out in the cold with warm cups in their hands, headed back to Jasper’s car. He turned the engine back on once they were inside to let the heat run, humming a bit as he took the first sip from his hot chocolate. The rich creamy sugar tasted damn good and felt even better sliding down his throat. If there was ever a time for comfort food, this was it. “So,” he murmured, looking over at Ruby again. “What’d you wanna ask me?”
While Jasper’s getting attacked scared Ruby, the fear failed to keep hold because he was there now, looking just fine. Knowing he could have died felt surreal, just like the creatures that had attacked him. She’d seen one herself and been lucky, so damn lucky. Considering how bad things had been, they could have been so much worse. With both hands around her cup of hot chocolate, she followed him back to the car, settling in before answering. “I know you probably didn’t spend a lot of time around Jules’s step dad, but… Did you ever get the sense that he was dangerous?” It was something that had been bothering her since it all went down, but it felt like too sensitive a subject to ask Jules. If she’d have confided in anyone, it would have been Jasper.
Jasper blew a breath out from between his lips and let his head thump back against the seat. “I never even met the guy,” he told her. “Jules kept me a secret for a long-ass time. And she told me a couple times that he weirded her out a little, but like ... that was it. She never said she was scared of him or thought he would do ... that, you know?” Jules hadn’t been specific about what exactly Edward had done to her, and he was tempted to ask Ruby at the moment, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. The guy was dead, it would likely just make Jasper want to kill him all over again. “Did you?” he asked instead, his voice a bit softer. “I mean, was he around much when you two were like, better friends?”
That was pretty much what Ruby expected, but she had to ask. She didn’t know if it made her feel better or not, that he’d been weird before, though she supposed it was better than hearing he’d been a picture-perfect step father. “No, neither of them were to be honest. I saw Jules’s mom a little here in there, when she’d pick us up to drive us places, but I don’t really remember seeing him,” Ruby said. “I just wonder what makes someone snap like that, you know? I know last time the fog made people crazy, but we were inside.” She hadn’t had a lot of time to question it till later. It wouldn’t change anything, but it was so incredibly weird.
That sounded about right to Jasper. Even if he hadn’t been avoiding Jules’s mom like the plague, he doubted he would see her that much. Which was totally fine by him. He hated the bitch. He didn’t even have much sympathy that her husband was dead now, because he’d been a piece of shit and so was Jules’s mom. “I dunno man,” he muttered before taking another long swallow of the hot chocolate. “Maybe it was building a long time, and being stuck just set it off. Maybe something was like ... affecting him. It’s hard to say. Fucked up though, the whole thing.” Jasper shot her a sympathetic sort of look, since she’d seen and been involved in most of it.
“It makes me glad I was there,” Ruby said softly. It was such a weird thought to have considering all the trouble and trauma it had caused, but if Jules had been alone in the house with Edward, then Ruby wasn’t all that sure she’d be alive today. Or maybe she would be. Jules was tougher than Ruby had given her credit for. She’d kept a level head in a crisis. And so far she was holding it together. “You too,” she said, looking at him. “Thanks for… for everything.” For cleaning up their mess as best he could. There weren’t a lot of friends, or even boyfriends, that would help you cover up what they’d done.
“I hate that any of it happened, but I’m glad you were there too,” Jasper told her, with all the mixed emotions the situation warranted. If Ruby hadn’t been there to help, who knew what would’ve happened to Jules? The thought made Jasper feel a little sick to his stomach. He nodded a bit at her thanks, though he didn’t feel much like he deserved it. Jasper wished he could’ve done more, honestly. “I’ll do anything to help protect you both,” he muttered. “But I think we’re gonna be okay.” It felt a little awkward to continually try to be the optimist, something that didn’t come naturally to Jasper Lucas, but he would keep trying to do it for them.
Ruby wouldn’t normally need Jasper to sugar coat it for her, but in this case she appreciated the optimism. Imagining the various ways that things could turn sour would make her crazy. “I hope so,” she said with a deep sigh. “Is it weird that I’m ready for school to start back up? I feel like I need the distraction.” Between school and work, she thought she could keep busy enough that time would pass faster and, hopefully, this would feel a little less suffocating. So far it felt like she was putting on a show, smiling because she should be happy with very little actual happiness. Even things she enjoyed, like hanging out with Clint, felt overshadowed by the events of the fog.
Jasper chuckled faintly. “I had that same thought like, this morning,” he admitted. Which was even weirder for him, since he hated school and definitely wasn’t as good at it as Ruby was. “I think we could all use a little normalcy again.” Or at least the semblance of it. Jasper knew that going back to school wouldn’t really fix anything, they would still have this hanging over all their heads. They probably had a long, fucked up road ahead of them, especially Jules and Ruby. Jasper wished there was more he could do for them. He could just try to cover their asses and stay positive. He glanced over at her as something else occurred to him, smirking a tiny bit. “Speaking of distraction ... how’s things going with Nolan?”
Things had to be bad when even Jasper wanted to go back to school. Mention of Clint brought a smile to Ruby’s face, a drastic change from their prior conversation. “They’re good,” she said. “We went to the marina for New Year’s, went ice skating. He’s sweet. I can’t tell him anything though, which is hard, but we’re not serious and even if we were…” The number of people she’d have trusted with what went down was tiny. Jules wouldn’t have made the list, except she was there. “Victoria got stuck at his house during the fog,” she snickered. “I think he spent the whole time trying not to get shot.”
“The fewer people know, the better,” Jasper agreed, but he didn’t want to dwell there. The smile on Ruby’s face once he mentioned Clint Nolan told him how much she liked him. It was still a little weird, since he was a jocky dude-bro type of guy, but Jasper couldn’t really judge. He and Jules were an odd couple too, and as long as Clint wasn’t being a dickhead to Ruby, Jasper wouldn’t have to kick his ass. His brows raised at the last bit of news and he let out a short laugh. “Victoria with a gun? That’s a fuckin’ nightmare all by itself,” he snickered. “Glad your boy survived. You let me know if he steps outta line, yeah? You’re like my sister, so ... I’ll stomp his ass for you if you need it.”
“Yeah, I think he was a little bit of an idiot for giving it to her, but he gave her the rifle instead of the shotgun, so he’s not completely lacking common sense,” Ruby snickered. It probably wasn’t nice to pick on her boyfriend, especially when he wasn’t there to defend himself, but she was just teasing. Mostly. She was still getting a feel for how much of Clint was really dumb-jock and how much was just for show. “He’s… he’s a good boyfriend so far,” she said with a soft smile. “I’ll let you know if he steps out of line, but I’ll probably kick his ass first myself.”
Jasper was pretty sure Clint Nolan was an idiot for multiple reasons, but he was going to keep that to himself. Appearances could be deceiving, he was sure a bunch of people thought he was stupid too, and it wasn’t like he knew the guy. Plus, as long as Ruby was happy with him, nobody else’s opinion mattered. Jasper chuckled and muttered a “good,” then finished off what was in his paper cup and let it plunk down into one of the holders. She probably could kick Clint’s ass, but if she didn’t want to, Jasper didn’t mind stepping up. It had been a while since he’d been in a good fight. He let the subject go and looked over at Ruby for a couple of heartbeats. “I’m here for you, you know,” he told her. “I know I don’t say it a lot, but ... if you need me, call me, okay? For anything.”
“I know,” Ruby said, giving him a warm smile as she reached out to give his hand a squeeze. She didn’t like to talk about her feelings and suspected Jasper liked to even less, but she’d always felt like he was there for her, even when Jules had made things difficult between them. She didn’t think that would be a problem anymore. Now she was tied to Jules in a way she’d never imagined. “I just want things to be normal again,” she said, letting her hand fall away. “I want to stop worrying so much. And I don’t know how to do that. I think it’ll just take time.” Which sucked because she wanted it now. “It’s nice to talk to someone who knows what’s going on.”
Jasper squeezed Ruby’s hand back while it was there. He was terrible at talking about feelings, he’d never been taught how to do it, and a lot of the time it made him profoundly uncomfortable. But he would suck it up if Ruby needed to talk. Or he would be happy to get her stoned and distract her. He just wanted her to know she wasn’t alone in this, and he knew her and Jules’s relationship could be a bit volatile. “Yeah, normal feels like a fuckin’ dream these days,” Jasper agreed with a sigh. “But you’re right, it’ll just be time. It’ll get better.” He couldn’t promise, but he could try to be optimistic for her. He put his car into gear to back out of the spot to take Ruby back home. “I’m glad you can like, talk to me though. I got your back,” he murmured, glancing over again with a faint smile.
“Thanks,” Ruby said, her smile genuine despite the circumstances. No matter what people said about Jasper, he was a good friend, one of the most reliable she had, and she’d stick by him to the end, just as she knew he would do for her. She just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. The calm after the storm was unsettling and she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, all while hoping it wouldn’t. At least Jasper was right there with her, making her feel a little less alone, as well as Amelia. And Jules. Never in a million years would she have imagined things turning sideways as they did, but at least she was in good company.