Aspen Falls

HDE -- December 27th

I watched Aspen crawl right on up in the hospital bed with Beau. I was silently pleading with God for this whole night to not be what landed her back in a bed of her own. This night alone was pure chaos...I could NOT handle seeing her in another one of these beds again.

I saw her clench her fists together when Chris and I were trying to get facts out of her. I knew what she wanted to do. After seeing her scars two years ago... I had the whole arrangement with Grant and the tattoos were supposed to be the alternative to Aspen cutting herself. She had outsmarted me though because she had Grant do her left arm and he had more than one time let me know that there were no scars or cuts on that arm. It wasn't a coincidence she made sure he stayed away from her right. She thought she had me in the dark but I knew damn well there was tattoo cover up makeup that would most likely cover scars if you applied it right.

She was going to take this 'accident' and her brain was going to convince itself that by handling her own with the guy at the bar, by threatening him...it was her fault that Beau got stabbed. There was no reasoning with her brain when those demons took over.

I let my head fall into my hands...somehow I was failing my baby sister. She came to me with absolutely everything else on this earth. I had heard more about Beau Brighton the last two years than I had in my entire life. There was a point that, no matter him being my unblood brother, I wanted to kill him myself. He really did catch a lucky streak when Jason decided to take matters into his own hands, because had it landed to me? We both would have had some serious reprimands, maybe lost a stripe or two and he probably would have been in a different hospital.

I didn't know how to fix this. How to get Aspen to talk to me...ask for me...it had to be on her own terms. I needed her to see that I was her strongest ally.

A brief noise at the door got my attention. I drug my eyes from the floor and looked over to see Trenton standing there. I got out of the chair and went to where he and Jason were...waiting to know my assessment of our sister. One last look over my shoulder let me know that she had fallen asleep tucked into Beau's good side. I didn't know how he did it. Ghosted her for two fucking years but still hung the damn moon in her eyes. I would always hate him for that.

"Mom and Dad are getting ready to head out. Momma Rose.' Trent shrugged a little and had that sad smile. Rosalyn Brighton was much of our mom as our own...but the cancer was doing a number on her and that hurt us to watch. "Think we should wake her?" I knew they both were thinking that Aspen would be better off being with Mom and Dad for the night. If she broke down and had another round of uncontrollable sobs, Dad would be able to fix it. When she fell asleep in her bed and whatever nightmares happened, Dad would fix it. When her true rage finally seeped in and she fell off onto a murder spree...Dad would be able to fix it. All three of us brothers knew that there were certain things only Dad could fix with Aspen. Tonight would be one.

I looked at both of them, wondering if they had any suspicions that she was still cutting. If they did, they hadn't told me either. I squeezed my eyes tight and breathed in deep. Sometimes being the oldest weighed you down hard. "I think she'd be better here." I honestly didn't know. Would she be better off with Mom and Dad? Would she cut there? There was no way in hell she was going back to her own house. That would end with her in a bed on the sixth floor.

Both of them stared at me in confusion. "There's more eyes here." That was all the explanation Trent and Jason needed. "It's probably the safest place?"

"You think she is?" Jason questioned. Him standing next to me now...his scared tone and worried face made him look more like the 21 year old he was when we went through the first round of self harm with Aspen.