Since You've Been Gone. (boyxboy)

Chapter 12: Rendezvous

"Do you want me to leave him?"

☆

Jasper looks at Beth with suspicion. "What do you mean? I told you. We're just friends.'' His body tenses at the rather innocent yet straightforward question. He knew he should elaborate. He had a few options now. The straight forward answer, or the poetic one.

He looks at Beth, trying to assess the best option. What he thought she could handle. She had already become more anxious and insecure of late. Would she be able to stomach the truth about Thomas and him? That they had a relationship way beyond friendship? That this man was his first love? He knew if he told her that, she wouldn't let Jasper near him. And rightly so, even though they had both said that they weren't in that place anymore, his past track record spoke for itself. No...the uncensored truth would have to stay hidden.

"Answer me Jas." She asks again. Her voice is soft, calm but still masking the fear of the unknown.

Jasper reaches forward and takes Beth's hand. He knew the touch would soften the conversation. "Beth, you know my life as a teenager was a total mess. You know how reckless I was with my... relationships." He could tell the sheer mention of his past promiscuity was making her uncomfortable.

"What has this got to do with Thomas?" She asks again. The clever tactic of Jasper's hands holding hers, stops Beth from pulling away. She had to brace herself for the truth, regardless of what it was.

"He helped me, that summer when I was sent to stay with uncle and Molly. He was there. He helped me with the jobs around the farm, but he also helped me to find myself." Jasper looks down on himself, not wanting to say any more, hoping what he had said was just enough. "I don't expect you to understand, but when he went away to college and me back to school, we said we would catch up, but he didn't. And it hurt Beth, because I waited and he never got in touch. I never understood why. But now I do, He explained it all and I want us to make up for lost time." He looks back up at Beth to see tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry." She says. Not really knowing herself if they were tears of relief, or because what he had said sounded so beautiful. She pulls away from Jasper's grasp to push away her tears with her fingers. "I'm just a mess right now. A stupid emotional mess."

Jasper pulls her close to his chest. He kisses her soft blonde hair as he wraps his arms around her. "These baby hormones are messing with you something bad." He hums, glad that what he had said had appeased her wonder. It wasn't as if he told her a lie, just not the complete truth.

***

She looks to her left. The man beside her, dead to the world. His light snores fill the silent void. Beth leans across to her nightstand. She rereads the message. I need to see you." She reluctantly replies to the sender.

20 minutes, usual place.

She looks one last time at Jasper, still in the midst of his slumber, before pulling back the sheets and quietly getting out of the bed. She hurriedly gets dressed, pulling some sweatpants over her legs and Jasper's hoodie over her head. She continues to glance at the male in bed, unaware of her departure as he stays in the same position.

Out in the hallway, she grabs the car keys from the dish on the side table and heads out of the apartment. She is soon down the one flight of stairs and out to the parking lot where the car resided. She gets in, starts the engine and is soon heading out into the street.

It is not long before Beth pulls along the curbside of an unassuming residential street. She switches off the engine, with the atmosphere becoming silent and still. That is until the sound of faint footsteps approaches and the passenger door opens and in gets another. The door closes with a slight bang, making the car jolt in place. Beth looks ahead out to the silence of suburbia. "What do you want, Ed?"

Ed looks over at Beth's profile. "What I told you. You asked him yeah?"

Beth now turns to look at him. "Yes and you got it wrong. There's nothing going on. Thomas is just a good friend who helped him when he needed it. Why do you insist on making Jasper the villain? He's supposed to be your friend."

"You're my friend too Beth. I know what Jas is like. I know how he behaves. I just don't want you to get hurt." Ed reaches forwards to place a hand on Beth's shoulder. It makes her pull away at the touch and causes him to retract his hand.

"Then act like one and just let us be." She replies, again looking away out of her own window. "Are we done?"

"The baby."

Beth again turns to Ed with a glare. "What about the baby?"

"Will you ever tell him?"

"There's nothing to tell." She is quick to reply. Beth looks down at her body, subconsciously touching her lower stomach.

Ed follows her gaze as his eyes end up at the same spot. "It could be mine." He utters under his breath.

"Well it isn't." Beth snaps back. She removes her hand from her stomach and puts it back on the wheel.

"You sure about that?" Ed continues, determined to get more clarity. "The dates fit and I know he was using condoms because he told me how surprised he was that you got caught."

"What do you want from me Ed huh?" Beth cannot help but raise her voice. Was it the irritation, the feeling of being made to face an uncomfortable truth she didn't want to face? "Do you want me to leave him? To run into your arms because I had a moment of weakness? We both have something to lose if he were ever to find out."

"So the baby is mine." Ed says again.

"And what if it is? If Jasper were to find out? He would probably shout, call me names and end it with me, but what would he do to you?"

Ed sniffs in a quick breath. "Ok. Have it your way, but I am invested now because if that baby is mine, I have rights."

"Get out Ed." Beth starts up the engine.

Ed takes his time to exit the vehicle, staring at Beth a moment longer before finally pulling at the handle to open it. As he steps out into the crisp night air, he slams the door closed. The car pulls away down the street. He is left to contemplate his next move. Should he do nothing? Pretend that all is well and just sit back and watch Beth and Jasper play happy families? Should he come clean to Jasper? Tell him about his and Beth's one night of spontaneous passion, when she had knocked on his door, an emotional wreck, after her falling out with Jasper over some girl he was personal trainer to at the gym.

He had been a good listener that night, he had consoled her, told her all the right things, exactly what she needed to hear. Beth had told him that maybe she had fallen for the wrong guy. That was the moment everything changed. The one who was being accused of cheating was now the one being cheated on....No. Ed would keep that story far from Jasper's ears.

So that left one more option. Jasper and Thomas. What past endeavours were they hiding exactly? Ed rubs his chin with his finger. He was determined to uncover the whole truth...