The Anatomy of a Broken Heart //Completed//

85. Santana

When I got to Jasper's apartment, a black van was waiting by the curb and the guys were climbing inside.

"Baby! You made it," King exclaimed jovially when I reached them.

Jasper looked shocked to see me, but masked it and gave me a tight hug. I climbed into the van behind him, abandoning my car, and sat without a word until we were already on the road. My palms were sweaty and I couldn't stop my leg from bouncing up and down. The back of the van was hollowed out, the seats replaced with furry carpet covered benches that wrapped around the perimeter of the vehicle. There were a couple of big black gym bags thrown in after us and Tommy and the others climbed in.

To say I was terrified was the understatement of the century, but my pockets were in a drought, and if I could help my family this way then I would suck it up and do what I had to.

"I've been calling you all day," Jasper spoke softly in my ear. I looked around at the other guys but they were engulfed in their own private conversations. King was at the wheel, on the phone.

"I, uh, lost my cell. Sorry."

Jasper nodded and seemed convinced with my answer so he sat back on the seat and rested his head against the window. I tried doing the same, but the mad rumble of the van shook my brain in my head, rattling my thoughts and scattering my nerves.

"About yesterday," Jasper began again, but I shook my head. All my energy was focused on what we were about to do and I couldn't lose that focus.

"Here." Tommy came to sit by us and handed Jasper a silver gun.

Jas shook his head. "I've got my piece," he said and patted his hip.

"Nah, man. King wants to make sure this shit goes off without a hitch, so you're better off using this. If anything happens, the bullets can't be traced." Tommy pushed the gun into Jasper's hand and took the other one. Then, he offered one to me but I didn't dare take it.

"It's a fake. Just for show, look." He pulled the trigger and I jumped at the small clicking sound it made. It was a toy but looked real enough. I reached for it, surprised that my hand was so steady because my entire skeleton felt like it was in the middle of an earthquake.

"Cool. Now take these." Tommy handed us a black balaclava each, which Jasper immediately put on.

"How do I look?" he teased, but I wasn't in the mood for giggling. All I needed was for this to be done. Only his eyes showed behind the ski mask, but I knew he could tell I wasn't okay.

"Put it on," Tommy demanded, so I obliged. It wasn't as soft as it looked, chafing a little around my neck. "You two look like a couple of bad ass motherfuckers," Tommy laughed.

"Now, remember: in and out as fast as you can. If Johnny gives you a hard time, give him a good scare."

We nodded in unison and Tommy went back to sit by King who was still talking animatedly on his cell, but I couldn't hear what he was saying over the music he had turned up.

My breath was hot under the mask, the muggy oxygen coating my airway uncomfortably. Jasper's eyes flicked back and forth from King to Tommy and his hand fiddled with the unfamiliar gun. He looked nervous. His whole body had gone rigid as soon as Tommy left and I had the same feeling I did yesterday that something was going on. I reached out and took his hand in mine. It was clammy but still gripped me tightly.

"Jas," I whispered. He met my eyes. If it hadn't been for the fact that I'd seen him put that mask on next to me, I wouldn't have known it was him. I didn't recognize the fear in those blue eyes.