Adopted by the Devil - Matt Murdock (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 20

Jasper walked home after spending the night at Matt's place. He rubbed his face, his boots clomping against the ground as he made it back to Caroline's home. He walked in quietly, closing the door silently behind him before taking his jacket off.

"How's Matt." Caroline stated, standing on the stairs with her arms crossed. "I should be asking how your face is," she said gently as she walked down to meet him. Jasper clenched his jaw, looking at her as she took his chin in her hand as she examined his face.

"Who did this?" she asked before walking into the kitchen to grab some ice. Jasper exhaled, putting his backpack down.

"I uh ran into Jake, he uh... kindof set me off." He mumbled. He sat down on the couch and sighed shakily. Caroline sighed and sat down beside him.

"Do you need this?" she asked, holding the pack up. Jasper shrugged and took it anyway, pressing it against his face.

"Still hurts so," he sighed. "Sorry I got into a fight..." he mumbled, finally making eye contact. Caroline sighed.

"I would have punched him too," she whispered, rubbing his shoulder gently. "But you need to get some proper self defence training if you're gonna keep getting into fights," she said softly.

Jasper huffed and got up. "Yeah no not gonna happen," he whispered, putting the ice pack onto the coffee table. Caroline exhaled as she brushed her hair back.

"Jasper you can't keep going in this loop," she stated.

"I can, okay!" Jasper yelled, ripping his hat off his head. "I've done it for long enough! I kept Lizzie safe from dad-" he paused, his voice catching the blockage in his throat. "Harrison. I kept her from Harrison and now It's Jake because I bet he knows if he wants to piss me off he'll-"

"Jasper, do you hear what you're saying?" Caroline asked, standing up and crossing the room to him. "Jake isn't-"

"Like hell you know! You're not in his head or his mom, hell you're not even mine! Mine is a piece of shit who thinks she can come back into my life after all the shit she caused by fucking leaving!" he screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he filled the house with yelling.

Quinn stood at the top of the stairs hidden from view with her hand covering her mouth. She wanted to step in, stand up for her mom for everything she was doing to help but she felt trapped. Jasper's feelings were valid in their own ways and she respected that, but it didnt give him the right to yell at her.

Caroline stood there as he yelled, taking everything he threw. After a moment of silence between the two she spoke. "Jasper. You need to calm down and once you do, we can talk about this but I'm not going to speak to you in this state. I wont be yelled at in my own house and I wont yell back at you." she spoke calmly, her jaw clenched.

Jasper sighed shakily, his body rigid as he listened to her. He expected the same back, yelling in his face and maybe a fist or two but she spoke to him like an adult, a parent. He hesitantly nodded his head before grabbing his backpack. He ran out the door, slamming the door behind him.

Caroline jumped and rubbed her face, squeezing the bridge of her nose as she herself calmed down. Quinn slowly walked downstairs and looked over at her mom.

"Mom?" she whispered, holding the railing. Caroline looked up and sighed.

"You hear that?" she asked gently, crossing her arms. Quinn nodded, chewing on her inner lip.

"Kind of hard not too," she whispered, shifting on the stair step. "Will he be okay?" she hesitantly asked. Caroline shrugged.

"He said alot there, I'm not sure." she admitted, walking over to Quinn and hugging her. "It'll be okay," she said softly, kissing her head. Quinn exhaled and hugged her back.

"Will he be back?" she whispered, leaning her head against her shoulder. Caroline sighed and looked up at the stairs, spotting Lizzie now standing where Quinn stood moments before.

"We'll give him some time but in a few hours we'll try and get him to come back," she explained, talking to both girls at once.