Chapter 54

Chapter 54

JASPER

“ H ey, Mom?”

Jasper rapped on the door and waited. When there was no answer, he didn’t bother knocking again, just pushed the door to the tiny studio apartment open and walked in.

One glance around the room had him swallowing an annoyed sigh.

His mother was there, sleeping on her armchair, wrapped in a tattered old blanket one of the other older Wolves had knitted for her. The fabric was threadbare and moth eaten from years of use. He’d tried to replace it once, when he was a kid, had saved up for months to buy her the most expensive blanket from the most high-end Witch shop in the city. But she’d never used it. She preferred this one, old and ratty as it was.

“Mom,” Jasper said, voice barely a whisper, as he stepped closer. The place was clean but could use a full scrub down, he noticed as he glanced around. He’d have Mara arrange to have her sister visit again, to clean the place properly from top to bottom. His mother hated relying on anyone else to clean her place, but maybe he’d stretch the truth just a tad for her. He could tell her Mara’s sister was down on her luck and needed the money, maybe? Yeah. Mom would like that, would like to think she was helping someone in the community .

Jasper reached out and shook her shoulder, gently.

“Mom, wake up,” he said softly as he could. Finally, she opened her eyes, blinking up at him with caramel-colored eyes.

“Oh! Jasper!” she said, face splitting into a warm grin. “What are you doing here, so late?”

Jasper bit back his own smile. “It’s not late, mom. The sun only rose a few hours ago. Hey—have you seen Viv? I thought she was supposed to be here last night.”

Blinking hard to ease the sleep from her eyes, his mother looked around her apartment.

“She’s not here?” she asked, confused.

“Nope, not here. Unless you’ve tucked her into the icebox.”

“Oh.” She reached out and swatted at him. “You and your jokes, Jasper. Well, let me think, let me think. I don’t think she’s supposed to be here, not tonight. And she wasn’t supposed to be with you?”

Jasper shook his head.

“What’s going on? Is she in trouble?”

“No, Mom,” Jasper said. “I just… I feel like I’m seeing her less and less, you know? I just want to make sure she’s okay, keeping out of trouble. I thought she was here, and maybe we could go for a run, but…”

He motioned around at the clearly empty apartment.

His mother sat up further, and Jasper recognized the subtle shift as she swung into problem-solving mode.

“Well, she can’t be at Karla’s because that old bat is out of town visiting family for another week.”

“You shouldn’t call your friends names, Mom,” he chided her.

“Why not?” she asked. “Honestly, you should hear what she calls me, the old bat. It’s much worse. I’d have to cover your ears.”

Jasper chuckled.

“Have you tried that little warehouse she and her friends are always hiding out in?”

“The clubhouse?” Jasper’s smile widened. The place brought back memories of when he was young, and he and his friends spent their days there, getting into trouble. He should have known his mom knew about it, even back then. “Yeah, actually, that was the first place I checked. Declan’s younger brother was there. You remember him?”

“Jayce.” His mom smiled. “Ah, he is a good lad.”

“Yeah, Jayce. He said he hadn’t seen her.”

His mother frowned and looked at him, really looked at him—the look that made him feel like she could see through him to every sin he’d ever committed.

“You’re worried,” she declared.

“I… yeah, I guess I am. I am worried.”

His mother reached out and gave his arm a comforting pat. “She’ll turn up,” she assured him, smiling. “Trust me, they always do. Sometimes you just have to wait for them to get out of whatever mess they’ve gotten themselves into first. But they always turn up.”

Jasper considered her words on his walk home, back to his own apartment. It had been a surprise not to find Viv at the clubhouse. He’d hoped whatever trouble she was getting into, at least she had the rest of the pack around her. This worried him, her going off without them, doing only the Goddess knew what.

He spent the last few nights with Alastair and Fey, and would gladly have stayed there even longer if guilt over Viv hadn’t set in. It had been days since he’d last seen her. He didn’t want to be just another male in her life who vanished, just another family member who treated her like a stray pup. He wanted to be her Uncle Jas, the one who was there for her no matter what, the one who she could trust.

He just wasn’t sure how.

The deadbolt made a heavy sound as he unlocked his door and stepped inside.

Goddess, maybe he needed Mara’s sister to come clean his place more than his mother did. It was a mess, pizza boxes piled next to the sink, beer bottles he hadn’t taken out to the recycling…

And his niece, sitting cross-legged on his kitchen table, stuffing her face with cookies.

“Feet!” he said, almost instinctually, even before the relief of seeing her set in. “Shoes off the furniture, Viv!”

She smiled at him, scooting forward and unfolding her legs from underneath her to let them dangle off the edge of the table. A few crumbs slipped out of her mouth, falling to the floor, when she grinned.

“What in the world are you eating?” Jasper asked. He stepped forward and plucked one from the open box on her lap, frowning at it. Some sort of… purple round thing? He gave it a sniff.

Vivian smiled at him. “They’re called macarons. And they’re delicious.”

He’d never even heard of a “macaron” before.

“Where did you even get these?”

“None of your business,” Viv told him. She reached up as though to snatch the cookie back from him, but Jasper quickly popped it into his mouth and chewed it with a smile.

It was… odd. A little too sweet. He wasn’t sure he liked it. And the taste…

“What is that flavor?” he asked, frowning.

“Lavender,” Vivian told him smugly.

Jasper blinked. “That’s a smell. Not a flavor.”

“Well, rich people think it’s a flavor, and I think it’s nice, okay?”

Jasper sighed. Rich people, huh?

“Viv… did you steal these?” he asked, exasperated.

Vivian snorted and kicked her legs. She didn’t answer.

Okay, time for some tough love.

“Viv?” Jasper repeated, voice harder.

“No, I did not steal them,” Vivian said. But she looked away a little too quickly. “Not technically, anyway.”

“And what does that mean, ‘not technically’?”

“I was told I could have as many as I wanted, whenever I wanted, alright?” Vivian insisted. “Just because no one was around when I took this particular batch doesn’t mean it was stealing. I had permission.”

He wasn’t sure he could argue with that one, so he let it slide. Triumphant, Vivian popped another cookie in her mouth.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re here,” Jasper said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you. Have you been…uh…. How are you doing?”

Goddess, he wasn’t good at this .

Vivian chewed her cookie, cocking an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean, Uncle Jas?”

“I’m just…” Jasper ran a hand through his hair, suddenly awkward. “I spoke to Nan today.” Viv froze for a moment, then began chewing more quickly, a sure sign she was hiding something. She was a terrible liar. Just like her mom.

Jasper took a breath. “She hasn’t been seeing you around much. And she seems to think you’ve been spending your time here.”

“Well.” Vivian swallowed her bite. “You know Nan, Uncle Jas. She gets confused, doesn’t she? Half the time she doesn’t even remember where I’m supposed to be. Or even what time it is.”

Jasper thinned his lips. “I’m not looking for an excuse, Viv. Or even an explanation. I’m just… I’m worried about you, okay?” He gave her a smile. “I just want to make sure that you’re doing alright.”

“Just alright?” Vivian repeated, smiling broadly at him.

His smile grew to match hers.

“More than just alright,” he assured her. “I want to make sure you’re happy. Healthy.”

Vivian popped the last piece of cookie in her mouth and patted his arm consolingly. She gave him a crooked smile, so like her mother’s. “Don’t worry about me, Uncle Jasper… I’ve never been better.”