Stutter | A Jaspar Fanfic

25. Freedom (Not Really)

After a full session of Physical Therapy, Caspar has finally come to the conclusion that crutches were made by the devil. His armpits sat very uncomfortably atop of the arm rests, he kept almost tripping, and when he finally got the hang of it; he was slow as shit. Caspar couldn't fully function with them, wishing for nothing more than to roll around town in a wheelchair. He even asked if he could have a wheelchair instead, and they said no. The only good thing about it, was that he was finally being able to go home today when his parents finished checking him out.

"You excited to go home today?" His nurse asked after she had taken the sling that held his foot up down.

"Definitely," Caspar replied. "I thought I was going to start living here, at this point."

Having to set up his departure from the hospital took a lot more time then he expected it to be. Getting the crutches, having to start on Physical Therapy; learn to use the crutches. It was so much all happening at once, but then again, it's not like that hasn't happened before. In the end, it will all be worth it when he gets to finally live his life normally again.

Caspar's mom and step-father came to sign the papers for his release around lunch time. The boy didn't order anything, mostly because he was too excited to finally be home. His step-father decided to be the ones to sign the papers, standing with his doctor at the opening of the door while Caspar was walking around on his crutches outside; mother watching him.

"You don't seem to have the hang of it yet," she said when Caspar hopped back over to her slowly, the right crutch moving farther up than the left. "You look like you're going to fall."

"I don't have very good balance," Caspar replied, moving past her so he could practice for when he goes to school. "I asked for a wheelchair but they said this would be better."

"Why?"

"I dunno," Caspar shot a glance at his doctor, who was speaking as his step-father signed at the bottom of the papers. He had already signed the patient signatures before, barely listening to the doctor's word of advice. "It'd be way easier though, and they both are able for me to move around without my bad leg having to step on the ground."

"It's kind of silly, isn't it?" His mother said. Caspar turned around awkwardly, moving his body profile left before turning around, putting all his weight onto his good leg as he switched the crutches around so he could lean on them. "I didn't think it would make that much of a difference."

Caspar nodded and continued to do the same thing two more times before the doctor declared that he was finally free from the hospital.

"Make sure he takes the painkillers everyday at seven o'clock like he has been doing for the time that he has been here," the man said. Caspar was letting his mom listen for him, wondering if he could start swinging his body like the Foosball men on a Foosball table, when he got good at it. "He will meet up with his Physical therapist every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday for two hours. It'll help push him towards the direction of being able to start walking again."

"Will this make a bad impact when he gets older?" His mom asks, crossing her arms as her eyebrows joined together in curiosity. "Could it stop him from running, or moving around properly?"

"If he plays sports," the doctor replies, "Which he has already told me he doesn't, he wouldn't be able to play anymore because of the pain that could easily come back. He truly is a lucky patient though, since the bullet didn't hit his bone. If it did, we probably would've had to cut his leg off, or he would've been disabled. It always depends on your luck, really, but no. As long as he goes to Physical Therapy, it will help him become a hundred percent able to walk like a normal person. There shouldn't be random shots of pain, or anything. He'll be fine."

His mother nods and thanks him before they are finally able to leave. Caspar says goodbye to the nurses he knows, passing by the nurse that had snuck Joe in to see him the night that they were once together. She catches his eye and smiles, giving a subtle wave.

Say hi to Joe for me, she mouths at him.

Caspar can't help but smile.

$$$

"So," his step-father says when they're finally on the road to go home. Caspar is sitting in the backseat, his crutches laying down on his lap and the seat next to him. "Are you happy to be coming home?"

"Duh," Caspar states. "I hate the hospital."

"Hate is a pretty strong word," His step-father says, making Caspar tilt his head in confusion. "Especially with where you're going."

"Sham!" Caspar's mom snapped, glaring over at him. "We weren't going to tell him that today!"

Caspar's heart sunk and he frowned, looking at his mother. "What does that mean?"

"We're sending you to a boarding school in Ireland," Sham said, his mother going red in the face. "You've gotten expelled from one school, you've gotten into fights; and now you got into one so bad you got shot. Your mother and I have been talking about it, and going to a boarding school seems like it would be the best to help you with those issues."

Caspar didn't know how to react. He didn't know if he wanted to reach out and start choking his step-father, scream at him, or beg to give him one last chance because he knew if he went to the boarding school, no matter where it was; he wouldn't be able to see Joe. He just sat there trying to wrap his mind around it, his mouth slight open out of shock and disbelief and his mother started to speak.

"Sweetheart," his mom said, turning in her seat slightly so she could look back at him. "We weren't going to tell you today, but we think this will be the best thing for you. You're so, so lucky nothing drastic happened to you. We could never handle the thought of losing you, and we know you wouldn't be like this if it wasn't the school you were going to."

"Mom," Caspar said, voice strained. "I can't leave. I promise, I swear to God; I will never make any mistake again, please don't send me to a boarding school."

"You should've thought of the consequences before you went out and got yourself shot," Sham replied.

"That isn't my fault!"

"It is," He barked sternly. "You wanted to start a fight, and you got one. It's your fault, Caspar, not anyone else's."

"Lets just speak more about this when we get home," his mother said, before turning around and turning the radio up higher. She switched the conversation with her husband as Caspar leaned back in the seat, trying to fight off tears.

He couldn't be going to boarding school. Knowing Sham, it's probably not even close to here. He wouldn't have care much if he didn't have Joe, but he does have Joe, and fuck what was he going to say to him? Caspar couldn't leave Joe, especially when he's going through a time like this. Fuck his problems, fuck everyone else's problems - Caspar wanted to help fix Joe before he did anything else.

Caspar could feel a hand reach out and grip his heart, squeezing it tightly. He rubbed his chest and asked his mom to turn up the radio, which she did.

No matter how loud it was, his thoughts could not be drowned out.

$$$

it's finally coming to an end

are you excited

i love angst

fuck yeah