Love Found

Chapter Nineteen

Jasper

I listen to the voicemail all night. Why is there a girl there...I know they explained, but it's still weird... I roll on my side, not able to sleep.

2:10am

I pick up my phone and call him.

"Hey..." Hunter answers, his voice sounding raw. "I'm sorry..."

"You swear she's a friend?"

"Yes, of course." He sniffles and I hear him shift.

I stay silent, just wanting to be on the phone with him. "I miss you..."

"And I miss you..." He sighs. "On your time...do you know what day it is?"

"Hm?"

"It's your birthday...so happy birthday, my lovely boyfriend."

I blush and grin. "Thank you."

"Get some sleep, okay?"

"I don't want to..."

"I know...but you have a whole day of exploring in a few hours."

"Exploring?"

"I'm sure your cousins will take you out somewhere other than diners."

I giggle. "Yeah...goodnight."

"Night."

I hang up and turn off my phone, my chest finally feeling lighter. One day I will say it.

I get up in the morning and go into the kitchen to see Dylan looking for something, Lucas helping him, and Christian making breakfast. I pick up something from under a chair and see keys. "Hey, Dylan!? Are you looking for your keys!?"

"Yes!" He yells from another room.

I find him and toss them in his direction.

He catches them with a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I'm good at helping people." I go to the kitchen. "Sadly, I'm not good at helping people cook." I mess up Christian's hair.

"Hey!"

"What? Brothers do it, don't they?"

He smiles and keeps cooking. "Get plates, I'm almost done."

I help set the table and he gets the food on the smooth surfaces. "Breakfast!" I shout as I sit down. "I'll help clean up today."

"You're getting the hang of this quickly." Tina says. "Did you stay somewhere before you came here?"

"A week or two after we moved, my...friend, Hunter, helped me out with the situation and would sneak in my window sometimes to make sure I was okay...then he called the cops and I stayed at his place up until now."

"Friend, you say?" Dylan inquirs. "We're all open, Jae."

"Boyfriend." I correct myself. "And I was wondering if we could see each other in the summer, when school ends for both of us..."

"You're gonna need to get a job in the summer." Bob says.

"Wait..." Lucas interrupts. "Isn't today your birthday?"

I turn pink. "Maybe..."

"Then we should celebrate, not talk about boring things! We can get back to jobs and all that later, but I'd love to meet your hottie."

Dylan laughs and checks the time. "I'll be back soon, my shift is about to start." He rushes out the door, thankfully not forgetting his keys.

"He's welcome here, but I'm not sure on you going back so soon...someone might think you ran away or something and we don't want that." Tina says.

I nod. "Thank you." My phone buzzes next to me and I glance at it, but don't answer.

"Who's that?" Lucas asks.

"Hunter's just saying goodnight, he just does it to tell me that he's doing okay...it's really rough for him."

"Your hottie?"

"Yes, my hottie." I laugh and finish eating.

"Thanks for today." I say when we get home from shopping and walking around for hours. "Wow, it's already 6:pm!?" I check my phone to loads of missed calls from Hunter. "Oh no..."

"What?" Tina asks.

"I have to call Hunter..." I run to my room and shut the door as I look through the messages he sent.

Hunter: Morning, sunshine! Have a

good day! -1:33pm

Hunter: I miss you and happy

birthday! -2:58pm

Seven missed calls from Hunter.

I dial his number. "C'mon, Pick up..."

He picks up, but silence hang in the air for a minute. "Happy birthday, Jasper." He says with a raw voice.

"Hunter, I'm sorry I didn't answer!"

He doesn't reply.

"Hunter?"

"My mom got in a reck."

It became my turn to go silent as tears flow from my eyes. "What?"

"I'm in the hospital waiting room...it's been two hours and I'm scared to leave..."

"Hunter..." I try not to sob as I try to keep it together. "Oh my god...are you okay?"

"I wasn't in the car with her...she was leaving the house after her lunch break and I just got the call and-"
He stifles his sobs.

"I'm so sorry..." I get up and go into the living room where everyone is laughing and talking.

"Jae? What's wrong?" Tina asks as she stands up.

I mute the call with Hunter. "I need a plane ticket to get to Hunter asap."

"What happened?"

"I..."

"It's okay..."

I shake my head. "Please...I know it's a risk, but please..."