Aspen Heights, Book 2: Forgotten

Cassie

I stared down at the complicated math sheet on the table in front of me and sighed. How on earth was I supposed to concentrate on math when Elita might not even be Elita? Most likely Sophia was just jumping to conclusions, but what if she's right? Elita does seem different. Sophia, who was sitting across from me looked just as distracted by her thoughts. The library was deserted and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. "Cassie... We need to talk, about Elita," she said, her arms crossed. "No, we don't, she's fine. She's just tired, that's all," I replied, hoping that by saying the words enough times I would trick my brain into believing them. "I know you don't want to think there's anything wrong, and neither do I, but ever since she got here she's been totally different. It's like a different Elita," she said, fiddling with a sequin on her pink, butterfly embellished shirt. "She hasn't even been here an entire day yet," I said, hoping that Sophia would just drop it. "That's my point! There's been such a difference in her and it hasn't even been a day," Sophia insisted, looking me dead in the eye now. "Look, she was down there for three days. Don't you think something happened?" she asked, cupping her chin in her hands. "Look, we probably shouldn't bug her about this," I said. "I know that, it's just...what if Elita's not really Elita?" she asked. "Oh yeah, and who would she be?" I asked, rolling my eyes impatiently. A voice came from behind us, making us both jump in surprise. "What are you guys talking about?" Oh great, it was Elita. "Elita! Hi!" I greeted her, hoping my smile looked genuine. "We're just studying." said Sophia, looking down. "Yeah! Do you want to join us?" I asked, trying my best to treat her like normal, because things were normal now...kind of. "Sure, but you do know I've missed 4 weeks of school right?" she asked, biting her nails. Since when did Elita bite her nails? "Well then, you have a lot to catch up on!" I replied, cocking my head to the side. "Here, take my seat," I offered, standing up. "Thanks," she replied, sitting down. I was about to sit down next to Sophia when she whispered to me. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Hopefully, sitting," I replied, avoiding eye contact. "Just remember what I said," she replied, glaring at me. "Yeah yeah, ok," I responded, giving a dismissive wave of my hand. "So..." I said awkwardly, looking at Elita. "You guys know that you don't have to walk on egg shells around me, I'm still Elita," she replied. "Of corse you are!" said Sophia, a little too quickly. "Uh...we're not walking on eggshells," I lied, trying my best to sound sincere. "Good. You guys know you can ask me about it, right? You guys are my best friends. I will tell you the truth," Elita said. "We don't have any questions," Sophia replied, laughing awkwardly. "We're just here for the math..." She trailed off, not sure what else to say. "Actually, I do have a question," I admitted. "No you don't," Sophia replied, nudging me in the side with her elbow. "Yes I do," I persisted. "She doesn't. So back to the math..." Sophia said, annoyed with me."I just wanna know where you went," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Oh, here we go," Sophia sighed, hiding behind her hands. "Oh," Elita replied, surprised. "You don't have to answer. We obviously know that you either went to the Hiats or the Aspens," said Sophia. "Well...yeah, I did. You see, after you told me to go hide...I just, I wanted them to stop. And I thought if I turned myself in, if I went down to them, they would stop, they would leave everyone alone and no one would get hurt. And when I got down there...I met him," Elita explained. "The Abadon?" asked Sophia, her eyes wide. "Yeah. He kept telling me that he wasn't some awful ruler guy, that I was getting the wrong information about him and that he was just my grandpa, that maybe I shouldn't trust whoever was telling me all this stuff about him," Elita said, staring at Sophia. "That's you," I whispered to her. "I'm aware, thank you," she whispered back, rolling her eyes. "I never told you any lies. You know that, right?" Sophia asked, shuffling her feet. "I...I think, I think I do. I mean, of corse I do!" she stuttered, shifting in her seat. "Elita, you know I'd never lie to you! We're family..." said Sophia. "Well, he's my family too! I mean he's my grandpa, why shouldn't I believe him? If I'm gonna believe you I might as well believe him too, I might as well believe anything anyone ever tells me!" she shouted. She looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown. "Elita," I said, quietly, trying to calm her down. "I mean, you're a Hiat, he's a Hiat and I'm supposed to trust Hiats so..." she trailed off, crossing her arms defiantly. "But you know I'm not like them! I was disowned! Cause my mom was helping Aspens! I'm helping Aspens! I'm helping you!" Sophia shouted, shaking with anger. "Um, I should just go," said Elita, standing up and speed walking away. "Elita! You have to tell us what happened back there!" I shouted after her. Elita spoke without turning around, her back to us. "I don't know how many times I have to tell everyone, I don't remember what happened!" I could hear the tears in her voice. Sophia and I just sat there, stunned, watching Elita run away crying. I whipped my head around to face Sophia. "Great! Look what you did!" I shouted, I too was loosing my cool. "Elita wait!" I called, running after her. "I'm not a bad person. I never lied," I heard Sophia say to herself as I ran out the door. Everything was going wrong; everyone was mad at each other. Would things ever go back to how they used to be? Before all this drama even started? I was usually so optimistic, but now, even I was beginning to lose hope.