Dust to Dust

17

The two had gone back to the cabin as if nothing happened, and Jasper clung to Jenny the whole night, not letting her out of his grasp. It was concerning, but better than being back in Asher's cabin. He had completely lost his mind back there, and Jenny didn't know if she could ever face him normally again. And she hadn't gotten many answers about Delilah's death, but what he said was solid evidence. It was most likely a suicide, but Asher totally knew something about it. He gave a bullshit answer, almost like he knew she wouldn't believe him. But if he was lying, he could've come up with something more convincing. It was too pathetic to be a lie, so was he really telling the truth? God this was all so confusing.

And what was with the sudden crazy turn? She only figured Asher was like that when she first arrived, but now it seemed so out of character. Charlotte did mention he came from a very troubled past, and maybe some of that stayed with him? He did mention something about the brain being exposed to a lot, which had a strong effect on people. He was probably explaining himself in a different form of words so it wouldn't be too obvious. She was smart, and he knew it. Whatever happened, this guy was seriously messed up. She would just assume it was a result of trauma and try to relax for once. But that was hard when those manic olive eyes were haunting her, keeping her from getting even a wink of sleep.

Jasper was curled up against her back, and she didn't know what time it was, nor did she care, it didn't matter. She was too afraid to even think about attending breakfast, she didn't want to see Asher's face. Almost like he could read her thoughts, Jasper adjusted his position a bit, snapping her out of her worry. He had been so good to her ever since they found the body, and he made her feel better whenever he was around. He would still be a jackass to Eren a lot of the time, but when it was just the two of them she felt safer than she ever had been. 

"You feeling okay?" his voice was raspy, but the concern was there. Jenny nodded, not sure what else to say. The way he was holding onto her felt so possessive, but she couldn't be uncomfortable with this after what happened. She would rather be in Jasper's arms than back in that cabin with Asher holding her in an unbreakable contact. "You wanna tell me what happened back there?"

She was afraid he would ask that. She swallowed the lump in her throat and slightly opened her mouth. "I went to go ask about Delilah. I wanted to know if he might have figured out how it happened." she whispered, and felt his boney fingers start playing with her hair. It was becoming harder to breathe, the air seemed so thick. He was speaking in such a monotone voice, like he would snap at any moment, just like Asher did. But she wasn't going to let go or say anything against it, he was just being protective, which was understandable since he walked in at the worst possible time. Jenny sighed quietly and her voice shook a bit.

"Gotcha. Then what was Asher doing when I walked in? You looked like you had just seen a ghost." it wasn't like she didn't expect him to ask but the way he acted like he walked in on nothing was puzzling.

"He... went crazy. Like... psycho almost. He thought it was ridiculous that I thought he knew something more about Delilah's death. So he got really close and started ranting about how he couldn't leave this place... because he said he only talked to Delilah about food shortage and I asked why he couldn't just find other sources. It was... really fucking weird... I don't know-" Jasper nestled his head on her shoulder and hummed.

"He didn't try anything did he?" his tone was so serious now. Like he was going to kill Asher if he got the wrong answer.

"Oh. No. It probably looked like it, though. No, he didn't." the way he was holding her face definitely was suspicious. But she wouldn't let something like that happen, not with Asher anyway.

"Good. Because if he does, I'll chop his dick off so he can't."

Jenny snorted and covered her mouth to keep her laugh quiet. Jasper did the same, which pleased her so much. The mood had been lightened, and Asher was none of her concern at this point. Jasper was still himself, and that's what mattered. He could see she was in distress, so even the little things help. Jenny turned around to look at him, and was met with a soft smile. Damn. He was cute.

"Thank you. But I don't think that'll be necessary," she giggled a little under her breath. Jasper reached out again and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"So pretty..." she pushed her hand over his mouth. "Shut your face. Don't get all weird on me. Since when were you a nice guy?"

Jasper stuck out his bottom lip dramatically "You're so mean, Jen." he pushed her hand away. "Yeah, and you're such a child."

"Still older than you."

"By a year."

"That's a lot!"

"Eh."

"Will both of you shut the fuck up? It's the middle of the damn night!" Eren shouted over from their bed, ready to throw something at them. Jenny tensed up, thinking they were the only two awake. Jasper sat up and raised an eyebrow at them. "Says the sex addict."

He was in for it now. Eren clenched a pillow in their fist and chucked it over at Jasper, which just ended up hitting Jenny instead. "Why do you always have to run your mouth?" Eren complained, lying back down. These kinds of arguments happened on the daily, just not this late, so she was worried that complaints from Corey were headed their way. She was always so quiet and never payed much attention to their stupid disagreements, probably because she knew Jasper started it, and would leave it alone, since most of the time, the conversations were stupid and would be over soon enough.

"Well... he's not wrong. We can all hear you and Christine. I hope you know that." Jenny added, knowing this would just make the issue worse, but something needed to be said. Eren looked shocked that she was the one talking instead of Jasper.

"Not you too, Jen. You've been hanging around Jasper too much, you're picking off of him. And not to mention, why are you two suddenly sleeping together? Don't tell me you're-"

"Ah! That's enough. No more. Sorry for bothering you," Jasper interrupted them, starting to turn away, completely avoiding the question.

"Oh my god you guys are at thing, aren't you?"Eren covered their mouth and tried not to make a scene, while Jasper was clearly pissed off. "Nobody ever said that."

Now that they brought it up, that was yet another thing she had to think about. They never really discussed being in a relationship, it really was the least of their problems. Frankly, she didn't care about labels, she just enjoyed having him around whenever it was possible. As a matter of fact, she didn't even want to call him anything. Just Jasper would work. And if anyone asked, she would call them close. That was the only word for it.

"But I'm not wrong am I? You two have gotten a little too close, acting like your standard high school couple, you just haven't said anything about it. Damn, you must be jealous of how much time she's spending with Asher. So all you two do is just... talk, huh Jen? Doubt it."

Jasper laughed it off, but it was painfully obvious he was uneasy after they said that. That might explain why he seemed so clingy a bit ago, he was worried that Asher was being gross and wanted to keep her safe from whatever twisted stuff he was thinking about. "C'mon. Not even Jen's standards are that low."

Jenny stuttered and elbowed him in the gut. "You go from complimenting me to calling my standards low in like two minutes! Make up your damn mind! And no, Eren. I wouldn't screw Asher if he paid me good money."

Eren smirked and looked at her, knowing they figured it out. Jenny didn't care if they thought they were a thing, it really didn't matter. Even if they were, Eren would keep quiet about it if they asked them too. "Good girl. Sticking with one guy. Loyalty's a good trait."

Before Jenny could say anything back, Eren was lying down again, turned away from them. "I'll give you one more shot to shut your fucking mouths or else I'll just go to Christine's. Now, be quiet."

She and Jasper exchanged glances and awkwardly went back to more comfortable positions. He put his arm back around her and sighed. "You regret it now?"

Jenny couldn't hold back a smile and shook her head. "No. Not really."