Mångata Bay

|10| secrets

|a n d r e w|
🌊

"Hey Aspen, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the art museum out of town? It's okay if you don't want to come, but I thought that we could hang out someplace other than work," I ramble into the phone, fidgeting with the hem of my t-shirt as I sit up on the couch. Rose smirks at me from the doorway to the kitchen, making kissing faces at me. I motion for her to leave me alone. Surprisingly, she rolls her eyes and listens.

"Huh?" Aspen's voice rasps on the other side of the phone. "Actually, I'm sorry, but I can't today."

My eyebrows crease together at the uneasy, somewhat scratchy tone of her voice. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Yelling erupts in the background of her voice, and then there's a deafening crash and the line goes dead. My heart stops.

Mom appears in front of me. "Come on, Andrew, we want to get to the museum before rush hour!"

I keep my phone dangling in my numb hands. My eyes peer up at my mother standing there in a sundress she no doubt got at some store here. "Actually, could you guys go without me? I have to...do something," I reply vaguely. Mom rolls her eyes in annoyance; nonetheless, she nods and steps toward the door. Her hand pauses above the doorknob.

"You're a responsible young man, so I can trust you'll make the right decisions?"

"Of course."

She sends me a tight lipped smile and heads out the door.

I race up to Aspen's small beach house on shaky legs and rasp my fingers against the door urgently. My eyes flicker to the side where no cars are parked in the driveway. After a minute of waiting I twist the doorknob to find it unlocked, so I go ahead and let myself in. "Aspen?" I call out, hearing my erratic heart beat thump in my ears.

I've never been in Aspen's house before, but it's exactly how I would imagine her house to look. Neat, but messy enough to tell that someone lives here.

"Andy?" a weak voice speaks up from down the hall. My legs carry me through the house and into the bathroom where the sun kissed auburn haired girl sits on the ground, trying to peel back the strips on a bandaid but proving itself harder with her shaking hands. Her deep hazel eyes turn up and meet mine. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asks.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" I counter, crouching to sit beside her and really study her. Her eyes are bloodshot and puffy like she's been crying. My eyes travel down to her leg, which has a huge gash on it seeping with blood. "Geez, Aspen, what happened to you?"

"It's nothing, just help me, will you?"

"Of course."

I help her stand up and sit on the counter beside the sink, which she sets her feet in while I wet a wash cloth.

"I got it," she says as I bring it to her wound.

I send her a pointed look. "Just accept help when someone offers it, alright?"

"I didn't realize you were this pushy or I wouldn't have saved you from drowning at the bay," she mutters, rolling her eyes with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I ask, ignoring her snarky comment.

She shrugs. "Just my pride."

I frown and wash away the blood dripping off the long cut winding down her leg. "What's really going on with you?" I look up and lock gazes with her.

Her alluring hazel eyes study mine severely. She opens her mouth several times, but closes it again like she's having an internal battle with herself. Finally, she decides on, "It's no big deal, it won't happen again." I raise my eyebrows at her. She sighs, "Will has a temper; a temper you don't want to ignite."

That's all she had to say before everything clicked into place. How uncomfortable she always was around him, how he was extremely possessive, why she wanted me to be her friend.

She continues awkwardly, not meeting my eyes, "It's never been this bad, but—"

"Hey," I interrupt, "I get it."

She smiles gratefully at me and wraps her arms around my neck, her nose pressed into my neck as she sighs in relief; meanwhile, I feel raw hate build up inside me for Aspen's boyfriend.

A/N:

So, short chapter. Thanks for reading anyways!