Always Him (Always #1)

Chapter Twenty

When I came home, the apartment was clean and organized once more. Bags were packed in the living room. Jasper wasn't around.

"Jas?" I called, setting down my keys and bags. "Jas, where are you? Everything okay?"

Jasper calmly walked into view; his phone was in his hand; he wouldn't look at me. My heart began to race; this couldn't be good. In my head, I imagined a thousand different things that I could have done; I came up with nothing. We'd had such a good night last night; the past week had been excellent. Our relationship was still new, we were still figuring things out, but I thought we were doing good, having a good time.

"Everything okay?" I asked again, sidestepping the bags. "Why do you have a couple of bags packed?"

He remained silent, looking at the wall to his left.

"Jasper!" I said a little louder; I needed his attention, needed him to tell me what was going on. I wanted my heart to calm down, and it was only going to speed up until I had a heart attack unless he said something. "Speak to me!" I was beginning to get frustrated, I never got frustrated at him, but you can't expect someone in a new relationship to come with their significant other's bags packed and not worry. "What is happening? What did I do? Where are you going?"

That got his attention. "You did nothing, Sadie, absolutely nothing. It's a family issue."

"I'm family."

A sad smile with a matching chuckle. "Meaning my parents, Sades." He glanced at his bags. "I need to go home for a while."

"You are home." I tried, my voice growing weaker every time I spoke. "Here." I motioned around me. "We've made this your home, haven't we?"

Tears were beginning to prick at my eyes; Jasper noticed and pulled me close. "We have, darling, we have." A kiss to my head. "I'll come back to you; I promise."

I still had so many questions for him. "But why are you going? Can I come with you?"

"I wish you could." He replied, beginning to sway with me, help shake the sadness I was feeling. "But you need to stay here; you've got school and work which you're doing so well at. I can't take you from this."

"I don't want you to leave."

"I don't want to leave."

And yet, he was about to. "I don't want to be alone again, Jas; I just got you back in my life. We were already apart for a while; we just said the other night we wouldn't go long without the other. You're making it sound like it's going to be a while."

"It could be." He admitted. "I'll come back to you as soon as I can."

Anger was bubbling up within me again. He was avoiding my question. "Why are you going, Jasper? What's going on?"

A long sigh escaped him. "My mother says my dad got into a little trouble back home. I need to go, make sure he's okay."

That didn't sound like a whole reason for him to go back home. "I don't understand."

"I don't really understand it either, Sades; I only know my mother called and asked for me to come back home for a while. Said my dad got caught up in something. I'd asked if he was healthy, she responded yes but said something else was going on. Something I had to see in person to understand." His arms began to loosen around me; I pressed myself into him, not ready to let him go.

Jasper reached back and pried my arms off him gently, yet with stern purpose. He kissed each of my fingers before lightly pushing me back, away from him as he backed to the door as if that'd keep me at bay. I didn't want it to hold me back, yet it did. "I'll be back before you know it." He grinned. "Just you wait. You need me around here, so I'll be back to save the day."