Stutter | A Jaspar Fanfic

12. Aftermath (2)

"As many of you may know, something terrible has happened a couple of days ago, so I am required to speak to you all about this situation."

Zoe fiddled with a strap on her brace, breathing in deeply as she looked at everyone looking up at their principal. She caught eyes with Marcus, who was sitting next to Naomi and holding her hand. He gave her a weak smile, which she returned before looking back up at her Mrs. Richards. All of Zoe's grade was seated in the auditorium, Mrs. Richards standing on the podium with two school security guards in front of her. There was a fake smile on her face, and all Zoe wanted to do was punch it off of her. She just found out her brother who rarely wakes up was sexually abused, and now her principal is going to make a speech about her close friend getting shot. Fuck her.

"There has been some very violent crimes under the name of our school," The principal said. This dumb stuff wasn't even coming from the heart, it was written down on paper, probably scripted. "Starting with Travis McCoy. As most of you may know, he was in a fight with somebody from another school who will not be named over him bullying his boyfriend."

Zoe winced, toying around with her wrist brace and sighing. At least get the facts straight...

"Travis pulled out a gun and shot that boy in the leg. Luckily, somebody called the police fast enough so the boy was able to not get in as much trouble with pain as he could have. They took the bullet out, and while it was messy, he luckily did not loose much blood, he just may have leg problems for the rest of his life. Another boy was hurt, one you may have heard of. For privacy reasons, I won't mention their name. He was tackled by his sister for protection and got a very nasty head injury from a sharp rock laying in the wrong place. There are also a couple of other students who have been affected by this incident, so I'm taking it upon myself to speak out about it..."

Oh piss off, Zoe thought, grinding her teeth together and crossing her arms. I just want to go visit my brother and Caspar to see how they're doing.

$$$

Zoe was getting way too familiar with the hospital. She didn't seem to gag at the old people and gross medicine smell, and she was starting to notice some nurses that she's see daily. She looked down at the small box of pepperoni pizza from Pizza Palace, hoping this would cheer Caspar up when she talked to him about Joe. She wasn't going to mention the sexual abuse thing because they haven't yet heard the story from Joe, and if her brother wanted to tell Caspar, he could tell him all on his own.

She knocked on his door softly before walking in, glancing at all of the flowers and get well cards sitting near the small bedside table they had put out for him. The South African looked up from his T.V and at Zoe, giving her a weak smile.

"Hey buddy," She said, putting her purse down on the chair and handing him the box she had in her hand. "I got some pizza to make you feel better."

Caspar chuckled lightly, sounding as if he were forcing himself to as he took the food and set it on his lap, dragging his thumb over the man eating pizza on the cover. "I think I'm going to be fine. How's Joe? I can't believe I was the one to get shot and he got it worse than me."

"Don't be silly, Caspar. You got shot in the leg!" Zoe scolded, sitting down on the chair beside Caspar and throwing her leg over its twin and crossing her arms. "You're going to be in therapy for months, maybe even years. It may have been a miracle it didn't shatter bone or damage any tissue, but that doesn't mean the recover won't be horribly slow."

Caspar leaned his head back on his pillow, looking down at his leg which was wrapped in a gaze and resting in the swing the set up for him. "I still think it was worth it. Is that bad?"

"Yes, Caspar! What was going through your mind when you decided to fight somebody like that?"

The South African shifted his foot around, not feeling a thing. He was so laced up with painkillers he could barely even feel his brain. "I was thinking that this asshole was getting what he deserved."

"And now he's behind bars and when the hospital allows you, you may be too."

Caspar shut his eyes. "I don't care, as long as Joe is safe."

Zoe took in a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair, feeling her heart beat faster. "I know you like my brother a lot. I really do. And I'm sure he appreciates what you did, but as his older, really protective sister, I have to say you're going a little bit fast."

"I know," Caspar responded, voice heavy. "That's what's so terrible. I meet him a couple of weeks ago and now I'm getting shot in the leg for him."

Zoe stayed silent, biting her lip and tilting her head to the side as her friend continued to speak.

"When I first saw him, it felt like being ran over by a train. He looked so good, even in children pajamas. Then I started to know him, and I started to feel my heart shatter at just the meer thought of him. He made me so happy, happier than anybody ever has. He made me forget how much of a bad person I was, and when I first really hung out with him at the lake...he was so fucking handsome. I can't believe there is literally over a million words in the human language, and I can't find one to figure out how I feel. He deserves love so much. He deserves to have his hand held, to get kisses on his forehead. Joe is so perfect, Zoe," Caspar's voice cracked, making his voice hoarse. "My eyes linger on him for too long, and all I hear in my dreams is his laugh. Joe means so much to me it's literally suffocating me every single day...as long as he's safe, I'd take a bullet any day."

Zoe watched as Caspar's face relaxed, seeing the stress wrinkles fade as he fell asleep. She felt tears run down her cheeks as she grabbed at her friends hand, feeling a sob wreck through her body.

"You love him so much and he can't even see it," She whispered, wiping at her eyes. "You love him so much and he's so busy dealing with the past that he can't even confront his own feelings. I don't even see how someone who's know someone for such a short time, but you do and it's such a tragedy and ugh..."

Zoe let go of his hand and looked down at her lap, taking in a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, covering her eyes with her hand and letting out a cry. "Both of you, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."

$$$

A/N: poor zoe. I can't believe I updated so quick lolz. Anyways

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