A/N: Finally an update! Thanks to everyone for sticking with this story. Big thanks to my pre reader, OCDJen, and my beta, Ealasaid77, for working their magic on this story. Even with their very busy lives, they both manage to fit me in and I am forever grateful! Just a warning, this chapter might be a little hard to read due to some emotional issues that Jasper deals with.

Reaching for his hand, I held it in mine and rubbed small circles on his palm. Jasper's skin was so soft and warm, and his hand fit in mine perfectly. Sighing, I looked up at him. "Jasper, I can't tell you how warm inside it makes me feel to hear you say that. All I can hope for is that your faith in me is not misplaced. I do promise to do everything I can to help you with your therapy and I will always be here for you for as long as you need me."

Jasper's smile was so big that I could see his dimples. "Thanks, man, that means so much to me. I promise you that I will do my very best with my therapy this time. With you by my side, I just know I can beat this thing. We can beat it, together."

"Together," I said smiling back at him.

Chapter 10

Sunday had continued in the same vein in which it started. We remained on the couch all day watching all the 'Die Hard' movies. The only time we moved was when we needed to grab something to eat, or to take a bathroom break.

When it was time for bed, Jasper gave me a big hug and thanked me again for being there for him. I told him it was the least I could do, and that I would be there for him for as long as he wanted me.

Monday morning came way too quickly, and Jasper and I went our separate ways. He headed to the Student Medical Center to make an appointment, and I made my way to class. Classes dragged by and I was finding it hard to concentrate. My thoughts kept turning to Jasper, and whether or not he had been successful in obtaining an appointment with a therapist. He was supposed to text me as soon as he was done, and yet two hours had gone by without a word. While I knew it was foolish to worry about something I had no control over, I couldn't help it. After what had just happened with Jasper, I was going to be walking on eggshells around him. The last thing I wanted was to set him off on another downward spiral.

Just as I was heading into the student union for lunch, my phone started ringing, flashing up Jasper's name. "Hey there! What's going on?"

"Hey, Edward, everything is good," Jasper answered.

"Well, what took you so long to call? I was starting to get worried," I said.

"It's kind of a long story. Where are you now?" he asked.

"Heading into the Union for lunch. What about you?" I replied as I dodged the students coming out of the building.

"I'm on my way there now. Grab a table and I'll see you in a few," he replied before hanging up the phone.

Heading inside, I grabbed a table and sat down to wait for Jasper. About five minutes went by before I saw him enter the room. Motioning him over, I started on him as soon as he sat down.

"So, what happened? You didn't call and I was worried about you," I gushed out.

"Sorry, Edward. The time just got away from me, and then I had to get to class. It wasn't my intention to worry you," he explained sheepishly.

"I know that, Jasper, and I'm sorry for being a pest. Just can't help myself, I guess. Anyway, tell me what's going on." I really wanted to know what happened so I backed off and let Jasper continue at his own pace.

"It's okay, Edward, I understand, and I appreciate you being concerned for me. It's been a while since anyone has cared," he murmured looking down at his hands.

"That's not true, Jasper. Your mom cares about you, and you know that. As for your dad, I'm sure deep down he cares. He just can't come to terms with your sexuality, that's all." Considering the alternative, I hoped to hell I was right.

"Always the optimist, huh?" he joked.

"Well, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, so yeah, guess I am an optimist. What of it?" I demanded while chuckling at him.

"Nothing, just nice to see is all. Back to my news, I did go to the Medical Center this morning, and I was very lucky. When I let them know why I was there, they told me one of the doctors had a cancellation that morning if I wanted to take it, so I did. Lucky for me, my classes started late today," he stated happily.

"Wait, so you actually had a session today? Is that what you are saying?" This was great!

"Yes, that is what I am saying," he mumbled while nodding his head.

"Wow, Jasper, that's great! How was it, if you don't mind me asking?" While I didn't want to push, I did want to know how it affected him.

"No, I don't mind at all. It was okay. Good, I guess, but a little uncomfortable," he replied while shrugging his shoulders.

"Can't even imagine how hard it must be to talk about what happened to you." Shifting in my seat, I tried to get him to look at me to no avail.

"We really didn't get into that today. All we touched on really is the fact that I felt I needed to speak with someone as I was having a hard time dealing with certain issues from my past. Gave a little bit of background, but just the basics. We'll ease into it slowly I hope. Not quite ready to bare all, if you know what I mean," he chuckled nervously.

"Sure do, but I have to say I'm really proud of you, Jasper," I said smiling. "You took a really big step today, and even though it had to be really terrifying, you still did it."

"Thanks, Edward, I promised you I would do this, and I will. I want to get help, Edward, I want to have a normal life and maybe a future, with you," he explained reaching his hand across the table.

Putting my hand in his, I squeezed it tightly. "It'll all work out, Jasper, you'll see. You just need to have a little faith."

"Because of you, I do have faith, but I also have hunger so can we please eat?" he pleaded.

Laughing, I pulled him up from the table. "We most certainly can, tough guy. Let's go."

The rest of the week passed in a relatively quiet manner. Jasper had his second session with the therapist and it had gone well. They hadn't touched on anything of any importance yet, but he already felt lighter just being able to talk about things.

Our friendship became stronger, too, as the week went on. We spent all of our free time together, talking, doing homework, eating, and watching movies. It was really great. I was happy and Jasper was happy. That's all that mattered for now.

About a month later, Jasper came home from his therapy session extremely upset. He stormed in the front door, threw his bag on the floor and headed to his room, slamming the door behind him.

I was at a crossroads, as I didn't know what to do. In the past, after Jasper's sessions, we had always sat down and talked about it. He didn't always give me details about what was said, but he would tell me how he felt after each session and any changes he was experiencing as a result of his therapy. Up until now, everything had been positive.

Deciding I was just going to have to bite the bullet, I made my way over to Jasper's door and knocked. "Hey, Jasper, everything okay?" I asked leaning on the door.

"No, Edward, it's not," he yelled through the door.

"Do you want to talk about it? Maybe that will help," I offered.

The door whipped open causing me to jump back. Jasper stood there, hair messed up, eyes red, and tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Talk about it? Do I want to talk about it?" he screamed at me. "No, Edward, I don't want to fucking talk about it! It was talking about it that got me into this mess to begin with."

"Whoa, Jasper, calm down. I don't know what happened today, but I do know that you are upset and I want to help you any way I can," I let him know quietly.

"There's nothing you can do, Edward, okay? You can't change my past, you can't change the fact that the therapist is an ass, and you can't help me, understand? So just do what everyone else does when I freak out, leave!" he sobbed out as he slammed the door in my face.

Grabbing the handle, I opened the door, went into his room, and slammed the door behind me. "Enough of this bullshit, all right? It's not my fault that your therapist is an ass, and I can't change your past. But what I can do is change your future."

"Really? How are you going to do that, Edward? Huh, tell me," he demanded crossing his arms over his chest.

Walking over to him, I swiped at the tears on his cheeks with my fingers, and then rested my hands on his shoulders. "By not leaving, Jasper. That's how I'm going to change your future, by not leaving," I whispered as I pulled him into a hug.

Hesitating for just a minute, he wrapped his arms around my waist and settled his head on my chest. His shoulders began shaking as I held him, and I could feel the wetness of his tears soaking my shirt. Squeezing him tighter, I tried to let him know he was safe and secure with me.

"It's okay, Jasper. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere," I murmured against his hair.

We stayed locked together swaying against each other, as Jasper let loose his pain. All that kept running through my mind as I felt his body trembling and his tears soaking my shirt, was what could have happened today in therapy. What could the therapist have possibly said to make Jasper react like this? I didn't know, but I was sure as hell hoping to find out.

When Jasper's tears seemed to slow down, he pulled himself away from me wiping his eyes on his shirt as he went. "Sorry, Edward, I keep doing this shit to you," he rasped out as he plopped down on his bed.

"It's okay, Jas, really," I said as I sat down next to him and gripped his hand in mine. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, yes, I don't know. I'm just really confused right now. My head feels like it is all jumbled up, you know?" he asked turning to look at me.

"Maybe talking about it will help straighten things out for you. It works for me," I replied encouragingly.

Throwing himself back on the bed, Jasper covered his eyes with his arm while letting out a big sigh. "It's just so hard to talk about. Talking about it has cost me the love of everyone important to me in my life, and I just don't think I can take that risk with you, Edward."

"You can tell me anything, Jasper. There is nothing you can say that will make me turn against you. I'm so sorry that you've had to deal with so many horrible betrayals in your life, but I promise you that I won't be one of them," I vowed squeezing his hand.

"She asked me if I thought that maybe I was asking for it..." he mumbled under his breath.

"Asking for what?" I asked as my mind raced. What could she possibly mean? Did she think that Jasper wanted his family to betray him, or did she mean that he wanted James to… Oh no! She couldn't possibly mean that, could she?

"That I was asking for what James did. That I wanted him to take me, to force me, and that when it was all over I was ashamed of my behavior so I accused him the way I did. She said that could be why my family sided against me, because they could tell I was lying about what had happened, what James had done," he sobbed out.

Lying down on the bed, I pulled Jasper into my arms and held him as he cried. "You know she's wrong, right, Jasper?" I whispered into his ear. "James tried to force you to do something you didn't want to do. You did nothing wrong, and you are not to blame. Please believe me when I tell you this."

Jasper disentangled himself from my arms and got up off the bed. Making his way over to the window, he leaned against the jamb and looked out into the night. "I don't know, Edward, maybe there's a little truth to what she says. James is gorgeous, athletic, smart, and funny. When we first met, I did have a little bit of a crush on him, but when I realized he was straight, I gave it up. By the time this happened, I thought of James as a brother, nothing more, which is why I was so surprised that he made a move on me that day."

Walking up behind Jasper, I slid my arms around his waist and pulled him back so he rested on my chest. "Jasper, even if you did harbor an attraction for James, that doesn't mean that what he did is acceptable, because it's not. As for your therapist, I know her job is to make you think and uncover your deepest, darkest feelings; but she's lucky she's a woman cause if she were a guy, I'd storm down there and beat the shit out of him for hurting you this way."

Jasper chuckled into my neck. "My hero! Thanks for that thought Edward, it cheered me up just a little. While I know she has to ask these types of questions, part of me felt like she believed that it happened that way when she asked me about it. As for continuing with her, I'm not sure I can do it."

"You don't have to continue with her if you don't want to, but before you drop her completely maybe you need to ask her why she went in that direction with your therapy. She may have a good reason for it," I reasoned, not wanting to be the cause of Jasper quitting his therapy due to my inane comments.

"Maybe you're right, I should give her the opportunity to explain herself. I think I'm going to call her now and ask her. There's no way I can wait until next week to find out," he yawned.

"Sounds like a plan, Jasper. Make your phone call, take a rest and I'll rustle up some dinner for us," I said heading to the kitchen.

Deciding to make some pasta, I busied myself cutting up some garlic and tomatoes to cook while waiting for the water to boil. A loud stream of cursing from Jasper's room caused me to jump and almost cut my finger. Throwing the knife down on the counter, I ran down the hallway to Jasper's room. There I found him crumpled on the floor like a used paper bag with the phone in one hand and tears streaming down his cheeks.

Kneeling down next to him, I pulled the phone from his hand and tossed it to the side. "Jasper, what's wrong? Please talk to me!" I begged as he continued to sob.

"My father…" he choked out.

"What?" I asked. "Your father called?"

"No," he continued sobbing, "my father spoke with my therapist."

"How? Is that even ethical? I mean, did you give her his number or something?"

"No, she had to call due to problems with the insurance or something, and he gave her an earful before she could even blink. He told her that it was my entire fault what happened, that I pushed myself on James and he fought against me in self-defense. That's why she asked me if maybe I was asking for it, what happened. She believed him, not me," he cried.

"Maybe not, Jasper. Maybe she just asked you to confirm or deny what happened, that's all. What exactly did she say when you called her?" I questioned him gently.

"You mean besides telling me what my father said?" he replied snidely. "She just said that when she called to confirm some insurance information my father told her not to be fooled by my cock and bull story and proceeded to tell her James' version of events. In her defense, she did say that she didn't believe what he said, but it did give her some new avenues to explore with me in the course of my therapy. Although she apologized for upsetting me, she said it was a good experience for me because I need to deal with my feelings of rejection and abandonment. Maybe she's right, but I'm still pissed off, and upset. I don't want my father involved in my life anymore, especially if he still feels that way."

Pulling him closer to me, I kissed the top of his head. "Dealing with these deep-seated feelings may be the best thing for you, but I'm just sorry it had to come about this way. As for your father, you don't ever have to deal with him again if you don't want to, and if you do, I'll be with you all the way."

"Thanks, Edward, I don't know what I would do without you," he whispered as he kissed me chastely.