A Silent Soul- Chapter 5
#5 of A Silent Soul
Chapter 5! :3
Hey you furs! We're back for the next chapter of A Silent Soul! I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter yet, but rightfully so! It's a very important chapter where secrets are revealed and friendships are forged! Not to mention many embarrassing moments for poor Elijah! Woohoo! Also quick question for all of you who are keeping up with the story. Would you guys prefer longer chapters like this one, or shorter chapters like the first couple? It will ultimately define the pace of the story and how much I reveal during each chapter, so leave comment telling me what you'd like to see! Anyways that's all from me, see you at the bottom of the page! :D
P.O.V. Change: Jasper
I was jolted awake by the sound of my alarm clock. Reaching over to hit the 'off' button on the digital clock that read 8:00 a.m., I buried my face back into my pillow, huffing in frustration.
Noooo but I was sleeping sooo gooood! And was having such an awesome dream about that cute...
My thoughts were interrupted as the smell of bacon assaulted my sensitive nose. My eyes widened and ears perked up immediately as I jumped out of bed and ran down the hall towards the kitchen.
Skidding on the tile floor I slid to a stop just in time to not run into my dad who was currently holding the plate of steaming hot deliciousness.
"Morning sport! You're just in time for breakfast, go sit down and I'll bring you a plate." My dad said, grinning at my excited state. I nodded my head vigorously and sat down at the table, tail thumping against the leg of the chair.
My mom was sitting at the end of the table, drinking her coffee and scrolling through Facebook as she always did.
"Good morning Jasper, did you sleep well? Big day today hmm?" She asked.
"Sure did, and that it is! Probably going to leave around 10 since the dorms aren't ready to move in to until 11." I responded.
She sipped her coffee before asking, "Are you sure you don't want us to come help? We don't have anything else planned for today."
I told them earlier that week that they didn't have to come help if they didn't want to. I secretly hoped they would come, but it depended on if they were busy. Judging by my mom's question, they weren't busy.
"I mean I would appreciate if you came with me, I know you probably want to meet my roommate." I offered. My dad interrupted the conversation with three plates piled high with eggs and bacon. Looks like that conversation was going to have to wait.
I dug in to my plate, having no shame when it came to eating. I got the eating habit from my dad who showed no remorse to his food as well. My mother on the other hand was much more conservative, as she sighed at us but smiled nonetheless. It didn't take long for us to finish eating, so I took the opportunity to pick up the conversation from before.
"So dad, did you want to come help me move in today? My roommate doesn't have anyone to help him move in and I told him I'd help, but I don't know how much stuff he'll have. Plus I know you said you wanted to meet whoever it would be." My dad seemed to ponder his decision before answering.
"Of course we'll go! What parent wouldn't want to help their kid move into college? That's just silly!" He remarked. I grinned giddily, tail swishing slowly behind me.
"Awesome, I planned to leave at 10 if that's okay?" I asked.
"Yes, that's fine, gives us a couple hours to get ready."
"Alright, then it's settled! We leave at 10. I'm going to go pack up my car and hop in the shower." My parents nodded as we cleaned up the dinner table before going our separate ways to prepare.
P.O.V. Change: Elijah
Pulling into the driveway of my house, I shuddered knowing what it was going to be like being back inside. Rachel woke me up at the crack of dawn knowing we had to get over here to pack my things to move in later today. I wasn't happy about it, plus the fact I was dreading having to come back, but I mustered the strength to do it.
Sighing deeply, Rachel gave my hand a squeeze, letting me know she knew what I was going through. I smiled gratefully before throwing open my door, climbing out of the truck. The walk to the front door seemed to never end, and the memories attempted to take over once again as I stood in front of the door.
I reached up to grab the cross around my neck and took another deep breath before unlocking the front door and pushing it open. I willed myself to not look down the hall towards my mother's room, walking silently to the other side of the house where my room resided.
Going inside, I smiled inwardly at the sight of my own room. My bed, my laptop, and everything else that inhabited the bedroom made me feel a little bit better about being here. Rachel and I got to work quickly, grabbing the boxes from the back of my truck that her father let me have.
We had to strap them down halfway here, as a few had flown out of the bed of my truck and laid in the road. We separated everything into piles to be packed up, and I crawled underneath my bed to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.
"Ohhhh Elijahhhh, would you mind explaining why these were in your closet?" I blushed furiously as I knew exactly what she was talking about. Shamefully crawling out from under the bed, I grabbed the stack of adult magazines from her.
"We never speak of this, got it?" I gave my best attempt at threatening, but my permanent blush betrayed me.
She giggled before speaking, "Don't worry fur boy, my lips are sealed. But on one condition." I groaned as I could only imagine the blackmail.
"Please don't let it be anything crazy?" I begged. This time it was her turn to blush however.
"Do you think I could borrow those sometime? Mine are really outdated." She whispered the last part. I grinned, still blushing madly.
"Sure, perks of having a gay best friend eh?" I chuckled. She grinned back at me, blushes finally fading now that the awkwardness of the topic had faded.
A couple hours later, we finished taping up all of the boxes before loading them into the back of the truck. I was confident that they weren't go anywhere because of the weight of each box, but I wasn't taking any chances. Once I was convinced that the boxes wouldn't be going anywhere, I performed one last walk through of the house to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.
I sat down on the couch one final time, clutching the cross around my neck once again to help keep the emotions at bay. Rachel joined me soon after as I simply admired the house and the memories I made here.
"I'm sure going to miss this place. Lots of memories here." Rachel nodded appreciatively at my statement.
"Yeah, I can only imagine. You're always welcome to stay at my place if you want to come home on the weekends." I nodded this time.
"I'll consider it, thanks." We both sat in silence for a few more minutes before I stood up, ready to face the final challenge.
"I have one last thing to do before we leave, you can wait by the truck if you want." I told Rachel. Seeming to know what I wanted to do, she glanced my way worriedly. I offered a confident smile that seemed to calm her, as she walked out the front door.
Sighing, I walked down the hall towards my mother's room, wanting to reminisce one final time before I left. Pushing the door open, I let the slowly fading scent of my mother fill my senses as I stepped inside.
My mother sat me down a few years ago once I was able to understand properly what death meant and explained to me what to do in the case that she passed. Opening her closet door I found the sticky note behind the door of the security system box. On it was the code to the safe on the floor in her closet.
Dialing in the code, I opened the safe. My nosed wrinkled at the old, musty scent that emerged from the safe, causing me to cough slightly.
Inside the safe was a small box. I opened the box to find a letter and a small silver key inside. I smiled at my mother's neat handwriting.
Dear Elijah,
If you are reading this letter it means that I have passed. I'm so sorry that I can no longer be there for you to support you. My heart breaks as I write this, knowing how you must be feeling right now. Your grandmother has my will, I will need you to give her this note. She will then be instructed to give the will to the funeral director, who will distribute my belongings accordingly. Also inside this box should reside a small silver key. This key will unlock the silver locket inside my jewelry box. I will not spoil what is inside the locket, it is for you to discover on your own.
Once again I am so sorry that you are having to go through this, no matter when you may be reading this. Whether I passed peacefully or not does not matter, just know that I'll always be watching over you and keeping you safe.
With endless love,
Mom.
By the time I had finished reading the letter, the tears flowed freely down my face, drenching my muzzle once again. Drawing in a shaky break, I slowly stood up from my sitting position I'd assumed while reading the letter.
I found my mother's jewelry box in her dresser and retrieved the silver locket shaped like a heart. The small silver key fit perfectly into the small keyhole on the bottom, and upon twisting the key the locket popped open.
Inside was a picture of my mother and I that I recognized from when I was only 4 or 5 years old. We had our noses pressed together with suppressed smiles planted on our muzzles.
I smiled at the picture, sniffling as I closed the locket. I closed the jewelry box and put it back where it belonged, putting the locket in my pocket. I grabbed the small box with the letter and key inside before closing the safe.
I made sure to put the sticky note back as well in case I needed to access the safe later. I closed the bedroom door behind me as I walked to the front door, taking one last walk through the house to lock up all the doors, knowing I would not be back for a while.
Finally, I walked out the front door, locking it behind me as well. I trotted slowly to the truck with box in hand where Rachel was waiting. She gave me a nod of understanding before climbing into the truck where I joined her quickly.
The ride back to her house was quiet, no words needing to be spoken. We had to stop at her house briefly where her parents were waiting to follow me with all of her boxes, as they weren't sure where to go. Rachel and I chatted idly on the way to the campus, mostly about classes tomorrow.
We didn't share any classes unfortunately, but we agreed to meet for lunch whenever we could. The campus was only about an hour away, so it wasn't long before we pulled up the gates of the University. We both shared a look of excitement before I turned back to the sign above the gates.
"Welcome to Saint Leo University, Home of the Lions."
I waved goodbye to Rachel as she was located in a different dorm building. I parked my truck and pulled out my phone to call Jasper. Holding the phone to my ear the phone rang 5 times before going to his voicemail.
"Hi, you've reached the phone of Jasper McHugh! Sorry I can't get to the phone right now, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you ASAP!" I sighed before grabbing two boxes and started walking towards the Beta building.
My room number was 112 if I recalled correctly from the housing website, and it didn't take me long to find it. Hearing loud music coming from the other side of the door, I assumed Jasper had already made himself at home.
Pushing the door open, I shook my head amusedly as I watched my roommate performing an air guitar to the solo that was playing. He had yet to notice me so I set the boxes down and tapped him on the shoulder.
His reaction was priceless! He jumped a solid two feet into the air before landing facing me, his raised hackles running down his back. His faced quickly lit up upon realizing who the person who had startled him was.
"Hey man what's up! I'm Jasper! Well I mean you already know that but now it's official!" He exclaimed excitedly, holding his hand out. I returned the handshake quickly, not wanting to start things off awkwardly.
"Elijah, so good to finally meet you!" I stammered out, somewhat nervous about the entire encounter. He seemed to notice as he clenched my hand briefly, offering me a reassuring smile.
"You don't have to be nervous around me, I promise I'm one of the nicest people you'll ever meet!" He did his best to assure me.
"No no it's not you I promise, I just get all tense and anxious when I meet new people for the first time. I promise." I explained to him. He accepted the response with another muzzle splitting grin that seemed to light up the room. I couldn't help but smile myself at his overwhelming enthusiasm and charming grin.
Woah now take it easy Elijah, you literally just met him. Realizing I was still grasping his hand I quickly released the grip before tilting my head downwards to look at nothing in particular. I didn't notice the disappointed look on Jasper's face however as it was quickly replaced by his trademark grin once again.
"So did you still want help unloading your stuff? I'm all unpacked already so just let me know." He said.
"Oh yeah, I tried to call you but I guess you didn't hear the phone over your music." I exclaimed. He scratched the back of his head before turning the music down.
"Yeah sorry about that, I was just hyped up to start college that I just felt the need to jam out, y'know?" I nodded at his response.
"Well I've still got some boxes to carry in, my truck is parked just across the lawn in the resident parking lot."
"Yeah let's go get those so we can get you settled in!" He ran out of the room, and I could only shake my head at his endless enthusiasm. I showed him where my truck was, and he proceed to grab three boxes at once.
"Be careful please! I'll feel awful for asking you to help if you go and hurt yourself."
He laughed before responding, "Nah don't worry about it, my dad and I used to go to the gym all the time to work out. Got big guns to work with here!" He proved his point by putting the boxes down and flexing his muscles. I had to restrain myself from reaching out and touching them, as well as keep myself from drooling.
Shaking my head I grabbed a box and followed his lead back to the building. A few trips accompanied by stealing a few looks at my roommate later we had all my boxes stacked neatly on my side of the room.
We began unpacking the boxes, and I told Jasper where to put each item when he pulled it from the box. My worst fear materialized however when he opened another box and hesitated.
"Uhh Elijah? Are these yours?" I whipped around to see Jasper flipping through one of my magazines. Blushing madly, I narrowly avoided disaster by thinking of an excuse for why I had adult male magazines in one of my boxes.
"N-no, they're Rachel's. She asked me to hold on to them because she was afraid her parents would find them. I have to bring them back later." I explained quickly. He shrugged before closing the magazine, placing it back in the box with the others.
"Well, she has good taste I guess. Err, I mean, you know." He stammered the last part out. I was shocked at the statement.
Wait, is he...? No, there's no way. He was just commenting on the quality of the magazine that's all. I grabbed the box and slid it under my bed, ending the conversation effectively. The rest of the time was somewhat awkward between us, and eventually Jasper just grew silent all together. I didn't want to press, so I left him alone and finished unpacking.
A knock on the door caused both of our ears to perk up as the door opened.
"Hey boys! How's unpacking going for you two?" Rachel asked, closing the door behind her. Jasper seemed to snap out of his mood, regaining his lost confidence.
"Great, just got done helping Elijah unpack his stuff! I think we're finally getting settled in here." Jasper exclaimed. I simply nodded in response.
We were interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing in my pocket. Pulling it out I saw that it was my grandma. I shuddered briefly, as the last time we'd spoken on the phone was the night my mom died. I hesitantly answered the phone, tail twitching nervously behind me.
Rachel and Jasper both gave me questioning looks, but I ignored them.
"Hello?"
"Hi Elijah it's me calling. I just wanted you to know that your mother's funeral is going to be on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. I'll be picking you up around 2:00, so make sure you're ready. I'll see you then, goodbye." She hung up quickly. I stared at the phone for a few moments before sitting down on the bed.
"Can you two just give me a few minutes? I need to be alone for a bit..." I asked them, doing everything in my power not to break down in front of my new roommate. Rachel nodded knowingly, motioning to Jasper to follow her.
Jasper shot me a look of concern before following her out. As soon as the door closed I let the tears flow, curling up in a ball on the bed while sobbing quietly.
P.O.V. Change: Jasper:
I sent a concerned look to my new roommate before following his fox friend out of the room. As soon as the door closed, I turned to the fox.
"What's wrong, it's not because of me is it? Please tell me it's not me I've tried to be so nice and..." I trailed off at the shaking of her head.
"No it's not you believe me. He's going through a really, really tough time right now." She took a deep breath before continuing. "His mom died on Thursday in a car accident, and it's been extremely difficult for him to cope. Even the smallest things can trigger it. I don't know what he was told on the phone but it most likely had to do with his mom."
My mind flew back to Friday morning to the news report, remembering the car accident. Single mother, last name Moore... that was his mom that died in that crash! I immediately turned towards the door wanting to console my heartbroken roommate, but Rachel grabbed my arm before I could. She shook her head gently.
"He needs to be alone for a while. Do you want to go get something to eat?" She asked me. I still wanted to go back inside, but I restrained myself for the time being. I nodded in response and followed her to the dining hall where we ate in silence.
She told me a few things to know about Elijah, such as things not to say or mention around him, things he enjoys talking about and doing, and basically anything else I would need to know about my new roommate. I couldn't help but think back to earlier when he was smiling and joking around, I would have never thought that something was up.
I'll just have to pay more attention to his body language to spot his mood swings. Anything from a drooping tail to splayed ears to general quietness could mean that he was struggling with something, and I was determined to make sure he was happy as much as possible.
I wasn't sure what drove me to set this goal for myself, but I was sure of my decision. Rachel and I said our goodbyes leaving from the dining hall, and by the time I got back to the room, it was dark outside.
I walked up to the door, putting my hand on the handle before hesitantly entering the room.
Haha! The first cliffhanger! I hate to do it to you guys but this chapter was getting somewhat lengthy, so what better way to end it than to leave ya hanging? Don't hate me please. ;-; But yeah that's all for this chapter, the continuation will be up tomorrow sometime so be prepared! That's all from me, hope you enjoyed! ^_^