Ace
I quickly and quietly ran through the woods behind Aspen, making sure I kept a fifty-foot distance so I wouldn't alert her.
I was angry all those times ago, yes. But now?
Now I just wanted to know what the fuck was going on. She was clearly hiding something, and I could tell it was weighing on her for ages.
I followed her slim form as she ran through the end of the trees and into the graveyard.
She was nineteen last I'd seen her, her birthday, which meant she was twenty-one now...
She was older now... she looked so grown up and womanly.
She was also very quiet as she ran through here, and I suspected she snuck around a lot even after our "activities."
Something was off. Something.
She was nervous in the house, yes, I could sense it. But when she looked down at her phone.
I could tell even in the darkness her entire face went pale.
I told the boys to stay and that I'd be back, but I didn't tell them I was following her.
I knew they'd follow me.
But with how soon I left after her, they probably already knew.
I felt confusion coil through me when I noticed she ran further in the graveyard.
Was she... going to...?
But I kept following her, keeping my eyes on her form in case I'd lose her.
She slowed her running after a moment, and I did, too.
She was. She was going there.
I followed her, hiding behind trees as she stepped carefully up to Tyce's grave.
But my breath caught when I saw a girl sitting on the grave, one I didn't recognize.
But I could tell that Aspen was shivering at the sight of Tyce.
She was guilty.
Then why wouldn't she tell us where the fuck the murder was?
But I found a spot behind a tree and watched them, wondering what was happening.
Jesus... the curiosity was killing me.
I was in for the show now.
Aspen kneeled by the girl on the grave, the girl who had brown, straight hair unlike Aspen's fiery red strands.
"You shouldn't be out here," I heard Aspen say, but her voice had a gentleness I had never known.
The girl suddenly tackled her, and I nearly went to help, but I realized it was a hug.
"Please!" the girl cried, burying her face in Aspen's shoulder. "Please, take me with you! Please!"
What... the fuck...?
"I can't..." Aspen whispered, "Summer...."
Who was... "Summer?"
What was happening?
"Please!" the girl named Summer begged. "Please!"
"Summer..." Aspen said, trying to soothe her, "you're seventeen."
"Take me!" she cried. "Please, take me with you!"
"They'll know..." Aspen said. "They'll know you're with me. I can't."
I stilled.
Who? Who's they?
Huh?
"I don't care!" Summer cried.
Who were they talking about?
"Your friends, Aspen," Summer whispered.
I watched her freeze.
This "Summer" girl was talking about us. Why? Who was she? How did she know?
"Your friends," Summer whispered almost painfully, and I looked to Aspen to find her completely frozen.
She shut down.
Why?
"You can't keep doing this," Summer told her. "You can't protect him. You're hurting yourself."
My interest peaked further.
"I have to..." Aspen said quietly, as if she was about to cry and was concealing it.
Summer glanced at the gravestone. "This isn't your fault."
"Yes, it is," Aspen said. "It is."
"It shouldn't be on your shoulders," Summer pressed.
"But it is," Aspen insisted. "And there's nothing we can do about it."
"Asp," Summer whispered, "stop shutting them out."
She was silent.
Were they talking about us again? Why was she shutting us out?
"Go back to hiding, Summer," Aspen said then, a sudden sternness in her tone. "They can't find you in there."
Hold up...
Hiding?
They? Who the fuck was they?
"He killed him on purpose, Aspen," Summer continued.
Something inside me pounded.
Talk. Continue. Explain. I needed to know.
"I know," Aspen said shortly. "Go now."
The girl named Summer stood while Aspen remained kneeling and scrambled off into the woods.
I watched Aspen for a moment after the girl vanished, wondering what she would do.
She collapsed on her knees by the grave, and my heart stilled at this sign of emotion.
What... the fuck was happening...?
I watched her press her forehead to the stone and whisper something.
I took a step to her, heat washing through me.
What did she say...? What did she say to him...?
But before I could go any further and alert her, she fell over, face colliding with the cold dirt.
"Shit."
Panic pulsed through me, and I immediately ran over to her, watching her remain still against the ground, unmoving.
She was out cold.
I rolled her over, so her face met me, and skimmed my hands down her arms as she remained unconscious.
Why was she so skinny...?
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, dialing Miles.
"Dude," he said while answering, "where the fuck are you? You've been gone for half-an-hour."
"I need the car," I told him then. "Tell Kylo to get the car, you and Nick get the fuck over to Tyce's grave."
"What the fuck are you doing there?" Miles said.
"GET THE FUCK OVER HERE," I snapped.
"Fine, fine," he said, and I heard him speak to the other two through the line before it went quiet.
I gazed down at Aspen, watching her pained expression as she remained limp under me.
I couldn't help but tuck some hair behind her ear.
I smiled.
Just like old times...39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3DElPwSEd
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*****
Miles and Nick came running toward me while I sat above Aspen, watching her expression carefully as she slept.
"Kylo's getting the car," Miles said, catching his breath. "What happened?"
I stared down at Aspen. "She's out cold. She was talking to some "Summer" girl and then that girl ran off into the woods, and then she passed out."
"Why did she pass out?" Nick questioned.
I pulled her jacket to the sides, lifting up her shirt to her stomach to show them.
"Look..." I whispered, skimming my fingers down her visible ribs, and I heard her moan softly in her sleep, "she hasn't eaten in days, maybe weeks."
Despite the clear sign of hunger, I noticed that her skin was still soft.
No... softer.
I absently stroked her navel, listening to her soothed moans.
"Shit..." Nick muttered.
"Where has she been all this time?" Miles questioned. "Seriously, no food? Is she broke or something?"
"She's running from something," I told them, watching her curiously. "Someone."
They gave me a knowing look.
"Yes," I responded, "I know. It might be him, but I'm not sure. Let's just take her to my townhome."
"Where does she live?" Miles questioned, gazing around.
"I don't know," I answered.
I just lifted her up and threw her over my shoulder when Kylo arrived with the car.
She didn't wake one bit.
Fuck, she needed to eat something. I'd have to get my nurse to examine her.
"You knock her out?" Kylo questioned as I plopped her in the backseat.
I shook my head as I pulled her on my lap, Miles getting in the passenger seat as Nick got in next to me.
"Something's wrong," I told them. "We'll figure it out, just drive back to my townhome."
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