Aspen
I stilled at this sudden playfulness, now questioning where our relationship stood.
He hated me; I was sure of it.
I could tell by the slight darkness to his eyes, the ones that I thought I knew.
But I hadn't seen him in forever... and those eyes looked so foreign...
When he tipped his head to the side, I felt my eyes burn, and something else down deep inside, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"What do you want?" I questioned.
His eyes locked on mine then, and I could still tell he was playing with me. "Do I have to want something to see my best friend?"
I laughed then, a dry, angry laugh. "What? 'Best friend?' Don't make me laugh." I gazed up at him then. "You ditched me two years ago, and I just decided to let you because I knew you were pissed, and now, years later, you want to be friends?"
I was right... he ditched me first. He was the one who wanted distance, and after everything that went down at home, I knew I couldn't confide in him anymore, so I ended up cutting him out.
His eyes searched me, and I noticed his lips settle back into a small smile. "You're angry," he noticed.
"No, shit," I snapped.
He raised his hands, claiming innocence, and took a step back.
It only took me watching his fingers curl down when I noticed something was up.
I stilled when three more figures dropped from the sides of the banister, slamming to the ground while surrounding me.
The door was still behind me, though.
But I didn't find myself running.
"Hey, Aspen," the man to my right said, and I turned to face him, recognizing his voice.
It was Miles, Ace's best friend.
"It's been a while," the one on my left told me.
I gulped.
Kylo, the mean one.
But my eyes locked on the final one who remained silent, but I could still tell he was glaring at me.
Nick.
I looked back up to Ace then, noticing that they weren't walking to me yet.
"Uhm... hi... all of you," I said. "May I ask why I'm here?"
What a fucking reunion.
Ace strolled two steps toward me and stopped. "I just thought I'd stop and say hi," he told me with a smile. "We're moving to the same college, after all. We needed some kind of reunion." He gazed at me through his long lashes then. "Do you remember this place, Aspen?"
I moved my head around the room, heart thudding against my ribcage when I realized.
Oh... shit.
That's right.
This place... this place was where it happened...
I gazed up at Ace, seeing him watching me more out of curiosity now.
Almost three years ago, we were all here. Ace, Nick, Miles, and Kylo, but our best friend was here too.
Tyce... Tyce Walker...
He was part of our friend group in high school, and one night after my birthday, I snuck off with all of them and we came here of all places. We popped some vodka and drank even though we were clearly too young, and I was pretty rebellious which was probably why my father hated me so much.
But, my brother, Orion came here... He found me drinking with my friends and he immediately pulled me out.
I told him I wasn't leaving. I told him that he couldn't control me anymore.
He let go of my arm and slapped me across the face. We were outside so Ace, and everyone didn't see it.
But Tyce was out taking a smoke, and he picked a fight with my brother for slapping me.
Orion shot him.
Right outside here, he did.
How could I forget that?
I gazed up at Ace then, heart thundering against my chest.
They finally figured out I knew the killer about a year later, and they tried to get it out of me.
I couldn't give up my brother no matter how much I hated him. He had someone important tied into his fingers, and I couldn't put her in danger.
They brought me here on purpose.
They were going to try to pry answers from me again, but I couldn't slip.
But Ace was watching me, clearly studying my reaction. "Do you remember this place, Aspen?"
"It's hard not to," I responded quietly.
But all of the sudden, Kylo took a menacing step toward me. "Are you still protecting that piece of shit?"
I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut before opening them again. "It's hard to explain."
They were all silent then, and I could feel Ace studying me.
I felt chills run through me, and I wanted to run. I wanted to get out of here and run and run, hoping to leave this nightmare behind. They hated me. I couldn't explain what was happening because I couldn't risk it. I couldn't. They wouldn't understand, and they hated me because I wasn't going to break.
I shivered at the wind howling through the windows, and I gazed up at the moon that was closing in by the clouds.
"Alright, guys," Ace said after a moment, and I looked up to see him continuing to watch me, "back off."
All his friends took a step back as if they were his puppies, and he watched me with more interest now.
"Aspen," he said, "we came here for answers."
I closed my eyes and folded my lips between my teeth. "I'm not giving them to you."
"Why are you protecting him?" Ace questioned angrily then, and I gazed up to find his familiar angry stare.
There it was. The hatred.
This hurt. I couldn't be here anymore.
But my phone chimed, and I glanced down at it to find a notification from my sister's phone.
I went still.
"Fuck," I whispered in fear, then glanced up to find Ace's brows drawn together. "I have to go, it's getting late."
I could tell by his darkened eyes that he knew something was up.
I couldn't do this right now.
I turned and opened the doors, launching out to the darkness seconds later.
I didn't have time for this.
She better have a good explanation as to why she's here right now.
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