A Boy Named Jasper {Wattpad Featured Novel}

<Jasper> A Boy Who Can't See the Good in the World

Chapter 9

<Jasper Coven>

It's Saturday morning and I'm up before the sun so I can get a jumpstart on my chores. I try to help my mom out as much as I can and the lack of aid from my father's side means I'm usually left with all the heavy lifting. I sigh and roll over onto my side so I can see the numbers on the clock: 5:15. I pull my hand down my face and then sit up, my eyes travelling around my dark room. The curtains are drawn and my door is locked tight, a safety precaution should my dad ever find it in himself to actually come upstairs.

I push back my tattered quilt and stand up, searching around my room for some clean clothes. I pull on a white t-shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans. I grab the baseball hat from my dresser and then walk cautiously down stairs, praying that my dad isn't awake. I let out a deep breath when I reach the kitchen and see him still passed out in his recliner. I roll my shoulders a few times and fill a travel mug with bitter black coffee. I slip on a pair of work boots and grab a banana along with my car keys before exiting through the back door. I slip into my pick-up and set down my breakfast before I begin driving towards the chicken coops.

I hop out grudgingly and grab a red bucket from the ground by the coop. I fill the bucket carefully with eggs and then sprinkle some feed in front of the animals before I clean out all the dirty hay, laying down a fresh bed for the chickens to rest on. Next I drive towards the horse stalls where the three family horses are housed. They're getting pretty old so we don't use them for much, but my mom likes to keep them around anyway. I humor her because the horses are one of the few things that can put a smile on her face anymore. I put a bridle on each of the horses and let them go graze in a nearby pasture, so that I can clean out their stalls. I rake the dirty hay and refill their water troughs before going back to my truck. I squirt some hand sanitizer onto my palms and then take a sip of my now cold coffee.

Hands firmly planted on the steering wheel, I drive towards the barn that's on the back of my dad's property, past the corn fields and my mom's garden. I park my truck and walk towards the barn where I can hear the sounds of hungry cows coming through the red wood. With much effort, I push back the door and let the cows go graze while I clean out the hay and water troughs like I did with the horses. Next I move onto the pig pen, where the animals' squeals pierce my ears. I roll my eyes as I put on a pair of gloves and grab a bucket of feed. I dump it into their food trough and refill their water as the sun begins to rise.

"Enjoy." I mutter with disgust and then make my way back towards my truck and the rest of the chores that await me.

~~~~~

I've put the horses and the cows back where they belong, all of the stalls have been cleaned and now it's time to take care of my mother's prized garden. I turn off my truck right next to the fence that separates her garden from the rest of the property. I grab a pair of gardening gloves from the shed and some tools before I begin to weed around all of the blooming plants. She grows different types of plants in every season so we'll have fresh produce year-round. Since it's almost fall that means it's time for tomatoes, okra, apples, collards, peaches and herbs.

She originally set up this garden as a way to get some money on the side; money that she was going to put into an escape fund for me and her, but then my dad found the tin can underneath the sink and beat her heavily for hiding so much money from him. After that, she abandoned the plan and went right back to being his caretaker and faithful companion. She used the money to pay his legal bills and all of the expenses that seemed to keep piling up. I fought with her for weeks about her decision, but in the end I gave up because I knew I'd never be able to change her mind.