Page 19 of Casper
I stared down at the unconscious man. He was breathing, right? I sure hoped so. I couldn’t watch Casper kill someone else. Not like this.
Security quickly intervened. A few of them surrounded us, stopping Casper from any further abuse. Once they got the guy on the floor talking and confirmed that he didn’t want to press charges, they told us to leave.
When one security guard shoved Casper toward the door, Casper shoved him right back. Everyone in the vicinity watched, fully expecting to see Casper get his ass kicked. As tough as he was, I didn’t think he could take on six security guards at once. Not without a weapon.
Not knowing what else to do, I took Casper’s hand, tugging him along with me toward the exit. He resisted at first. With one look at my face, he relented, allowing me to lead him from the building.
“Are you all right?” I asked when we were safely inside his car. “Your hand is bleeding.”
I pressed the interior light above me, turning it on so I could examine his knuckles. Did they even get a chance to heal from the last time?
With a heavy sigh, Casper nodded. He pulled his hand away with a dismissive wave. Making a frustrated huff, he began typing on his phone.
I’m sorry. I ruined our night. I couldn’t let him talk to you that way.
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go back to my place. We can order food and get your hand cleaned up.” How could I possibly be angry? Of course I didn’t want him to fight. Yet I couldn’t help but feel incredibly special. Casper hadn’t hesitated to defend me. And honestly, the guy kind of deserved it.
He held my gaze for a moment in the dim lighting of the car. Reaching to stroke a finger softly under my chin, Casper leaned in and lightly brushed his lips over mine. The barest trace of a kiss. Somehow, it still managed to set my insides on fire.
The drive back to the dorm was quiet but comfortable. I didn’t feel the need to fill the silence like I had on the way to the show. When I really thought about what had happened back there, I had to laugh. How could anyone possibly fault Casper for being so fiercely protective?
Back in my dorm room we both squeezed into the tiny ass bathroom while I washed his hand. The cuts on his knuckles were minor. He still bore purple and blue bruises from Halloween night. I assumed tonight would darken them.
I dabbed some colloidal silver gel on the cuts. I kept some on hand for minor wounds and burns. One might be surprised how serious a burn from a curling iron or straightener could be.
I found myself chuckling. “You really are crazy, you know that? Do you always react first and consider the consequences later?”
Casper’s lips curved into a grin. He offered me a shrug and an adorable head tilt.
“Come on. Let’s order some food.” I went to the small mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water for each of us. Then Iopened up the food delivery app on my phone. “What are you in the mood for?”
Casper sat beside me on the bed, leaning in to look at my phone screen. He scrolled it down to a local pizza place.
“Sounds good to me. What do you like?” I waited for him to tap his order onto the screen. When he was finished, I selected a veggie pizza for myself. Setting my phone down on the mattress, I turned toward him, sitting cross-legged. “Can you show me some sign language? Maybe some easy phrases you tend to use.”
Casper’s face lit up. He vigorously nodded, turning so we sat facing one another on the bed. He placed his phone between us with the notepad open so he could easily type out messages.
As he walked me through various signs, he typed on the phone to tell me what each one meant. I paid close attention, doing my best to follow along. There was something so light and happy about him as he taught me. I got the feeling it meant a lot to him that I’d asked.
We took a break when the pizza arrived. I’d opened my laptop, pulling up one of those calming ambiance videos to play in the background. A cozy coffee shop displayed on the screen while easy listening music played.
While we ate, Casper led me through a few more signs related to the food and eating. I did my best to remember, even though I knew that I wouldn’t retain all of them without some practice. Seeing how happy it made him inspired me to keep learning.
“Has anyone other than your friends learned to sign for you?” I asked between bites of pizza.
He quickly tapped out a message on his phone.Not really. Auryn and Rebel are pretty half-assed at it anyway. Codie said she wants to learn though, which is really sweet of her.
Knowing Codie, she couldn’t stand the thought of living in the same house with Casper and not being able to properly communicate. She was always willing to go over and above for her friends.
“It must be frustrating. To have to do things like this.” I pointed to his phone between us. “Hopefully it doesn’t take me too long to learn.”
Casper surprised me by gently swiping his finger over the corner of my mouth, wiping away a stray drop of sauce. He licked it from his finger before typing again.
I don’t mind. I’m used to it. It’s not ideal, but it gets the job done.He paused for a moment, staring down at the screen before continuing.I’ve had to write out or type my thoughts for a long time now. Since I was seven.
Even though most of us knew that a car accident had killed his parents, none of us knew the details. It was nobody’s business, of course. Since he’d lightly mentioned it, I wanted to make him feel like I was a safe space if he ever wanted to talk about it.
“I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like for you,” I said, placing a hand on his arm. “You were just a little kid.”
