Wake of the Dead | One

Chapter twenty-four

That night was definitely not peaceful for Jasper. He had grown so used to falling asleep with Killian's occasional squirming on the other side of their room, that without the comfort of hearing the faint rustle he could barely fall asleep. Jasper always had the habit of being a light sleeper, but now he found himself waking every half our or so. There had been question at the back of his mind; was Killian having trouble sleeping as well? If so, what did it matter to him?

An audible scoff of amusement was let out from between Jasper's lips. Who was he kidding? Definitely not himself. Anybody with a frontal lobe could see that Jasper cared for his friend deeply. If anything happened to Killian while Jasper was away on the mission, he would never forgive himself.

It wasn't until Jasper was able to think over the events of the past day that he realized he could have easily argued for Killian to come with him. Leaving the other man with the group probably wasn't the best idea. Maybe he'd made some friends...hopefully. Probably not. Definitely not. A melancholy sigh drifted its way from between Jasper's lips as he turned over on his side uncomfortably.

Closing his eyes, Jasper tried to get as much rest as he possibly could. He already began to feel the formation of a cramp in his lower back and his neck. The only place the small patrol could find to sleep in was the car garage they'd found that young woman beside. Of course, nobody besides Aubrey had thought to bring a pillow along. "Stop moving." Aubrey mumbled from beside Jasper, who'd moved onto his back with his hands resting on his chest.

"Sorry," Jasper replied with a soft murmur, not being able to hold back a slight chuckle. Aubrey had gotten cold near the middle of the night and decided Jasper would be a good source of warmth to cuddle up to. Of course, he knew she wouldn't dare do that with any of the other men in the group. Presumably none of the women would, especially since nobody besides Aubrey, Darren and Killian knew of his physical and romantic predilections. But that wasn't even the half of it. Jasper seemed to be the only man there who'd admit he was a bit needy for a nice hug every once and a while.

Aubrey huffed irritably, peeling her eyes open and laying her chin on Jasper's chest. She muttered, "You gotta move before Keagan wakes up...lord knows the rumors she'd spread about us if she saw you laying next to me." Jasper's sigh edged on annoyance, casting Aubrey a reluctant glance. First, she'd used him for snuggles without even offering any space on her pillow. Now she was telling to go away?

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Jasper gave Aubrey the best puppy dog eyes he could muster. "Why, I've never felt so used in my entire life." He could hardly hold back the smile just barely curling upwards at the corners of his lips. Aubry simply stared at Jasper, to which he relented. "Well, maybe except for the time that one football player in high scho-"

"Okay, that's enough. Gross." Aubrey giggled, shoving at Jasper's shoulder. "Go away."

Snickering, Jasper simply rolled over a few times to get away from Aubrey. He was too tired to actually stand up. Using his arms as a pillow and laying on his stomach, Jasper closed his eyes and forced himself to rest for a little while longer. A little over half and hour later, the first light of dawn began peeking out from under the garage door and birds could be heard chirping outside. A collective, reluctant sigh echoed through the otherwise silent garage.

Jumping to his feet, Jasper stretched his cramped arms, his lips parting into a yawn. Clapping his hands together he raised his voice to a chipper tone, "Alright you three, up and at em.'" Darren proceeded nodding off again, even before he'd fully woken up yet. Keagan was stirring, with the help of Aubrey poking her awake. Jasper walked over to his sleeping friend and nudged him with a foot. "Darren," He said in a sing-song voice, "Wakey wakey."