Page 109 of Memories By the Shore
Jasper
It’s been almost a week since I’ve been back on my medication. The clouds haven’t entirely lifted, but the first few hours after my first dose of the day, I get a little burst of energy—a transient effect that will level out over time, like it has many times before.
I overheard my dad on the phone with Helen, discussing Avery’s decision to return to Arizona for school. That conversation ripped me open and sent me to sleep for about two days afterward.
“Jasper?” My dad knocks softly on my bedroom door. “Can I come in?”
I peel my face from the sticky cotton pillowcase. “Yes.” I’m relieved when I answer that it doesn’t physically hurt.The medication is working. This episode is passing.
My dad opens the door but doesn’t walk in. I see his shadow only as he stands in the doorframe. I know it’s daylight outside based on the sun shining through the slits in the shutters on eachwindow.
“Easton is here,” he tells me. “Would you like to see him?”
I roll onto my back, another activity that doesn’t come with pain.Thank god.The fog that’s clouded my thoughts is also dissipating. “Sure.”
My dad nods, then walks away. He’s heartbroken by the events of the last almost two weeks. What Avery and I have been going through has unintentionally strained my dad and Helen’s relationship. Helen wants to support Avery, and my dad intends to help me. And as I’ve overheard a few of their conversations, those two things don’t always align.
I pull myself up to lean against the headboard of my bed. Blinking a few times, the furniture in my bedroom looks crisper than in some time. I can make out the sharp lines and the textures of each item. Another sign is that things are passing.
“Hey,” Easton greets me as he walks through my door.
I reach my arm out to shake his hand. “Hey, man.”
A somber expression has taken over my best friend’s face. Normally happy and going with the flow, his demeanor is unsettling.
He sits at my desk on the opposite side of the room. “How are you feeling?”
I shake my head with relief. “I’m feeling better. Thank god.”
“That’s good,” he says, avoiding eye contact.What’s going on?
“What’s up, dude?” I bluntly ask, knowing there’s something on his mind.
He leans back and rubs his palms across the top of his legs. “Have you spoken to your dad about Avery?”
My heart aches. “I did, briefly. He mentioned she decided to go back to Arizona. I’m going to try to go back there tonight. I remember she was supposed to leave in the next few weeks.”
Easton’s eyes dart over to the calendar on my wall, then back to the floor. “I saw her last night.”
My ears perk up. “You did?”
“Yeah,” he says, nervously picking at a loose piece of denim on the seam of his jeans.
A heat pulses through my veins. “And?”
“She wanted me to give you this,” Easton says, reaching into his front pocket. He pulls something out. With his palm face up, my eyes land on a yellow-gold diamond ring:my mother’s—the one I gave to Avery.
My breath hitches, and my heart shatters. “Fuck,” I let out, and my head drops into my hands.
“I’m so sorry, Jasper,” he mumbles. Easton steps up and puts the ring safely on my nightstand.
“What am I going to do?” I ask painfully.
With his forehead puckered with empathy, Easton rests his hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“You saw her last night?” I ask.
He nods. “I went to her house. We talked outside for a bit. She’s broken, Jasper.”
