Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t w o

Aspen hadn't exactly been expecting to hear from either of her two older brothers. She knew that the first week of school was exceptionally busy for the both of them, mostly because of hockey, but also because they were tasked with immediately making all of their teachers hate them. Although, Aspen wasn't sure if that was something they tried to do. It was more of a talent, really.

Taking that into consideration, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she shut her locker and found her oldest brother's smiling face on the other side. "Jesus, Joey," the younger girl fretted, pressing a hand her forehead, "creepy much?"

"Oh relax," Joey chuckled, leaning his side against the locker next to hers. He crossed his arms over his chest and allowed a small sigh to leave his lips. "Kinda still can't get over the fact that you're a freshman," he confessed.

Aspen shrugged, clutching her biology textbook closer to her chest. "Caine's only a year older than me. It's not that big of a deal," she pointed out dryly.

Joey considered her words for a moment before nodding. "True. But it's different. You're-"

"Disabled?" she interrupted lamely, giving her brother an annoyed glare. Joey was probably the worst in terms of people who babied her. She figured that he took some sort of responsibility in her injury, but she surely didn't see it that way. As far as she was concerned, she was a dumb kid who was goofing off. The past was the past. She wasn't beating herself up over it. So why was Joey?

Joey sighed, rubbing his sister's head affectionately. "The baby, Asp. You're the baby," he corrected, shaking his head lightly. After a moment, he added, "You know I just want to look out for you."

"I know," Aspen said quickly, her eyes darting to the watch on her brother's wrist. She definitely didn't want to be late to class, and she knew that she was... a slow walker. She gave her brother a small smile, "I love you, Joey, but I really have got to go."

Joey nodded understandingly. "Yeah, yeah, obviously," he hummed. He gave her a small hug, murmuring, "have a good day. I'll see you after school," before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Aspen didn't waste any time staring after the tall brunette. She made sure her locker was effectively locked before adjusting her backpack on her back. She pulled her class directory out of her back pocket to make sure she knew exactly what direction she was going on. With one last determined sigh, she began the downward slope of her day.

- -

"Don't push me."

"I didn't push you, you tripped."

"You definitely pushed me."

"Jay, I'm going to rip your head off."

With Caine and Joey at practice after school every day, and Elle at tryouts, Aspen was left walking home with just Jay. She loved her eccentric best friend with her whole entire heart, but sometimes she wanted to throw him in front of a moving train.

Jay's dad spent most afternoon in staff meetings or student tutoring, and his mom, similar to Aspen's father, worked a typical nine-to-five. That left the pair strolling through various Minnesota neighborhoods, their pace rendered a bit slow thanks to Aspen's short and staggered strides. Jay never seemed to mind much. Though he was a relatively overactive kid, he always had all the patience in the world when it came to Aspen. Even when she was impatient with herself.

"Are you in your dad's class, or do you have a different teacher?" Aspen chatted lightly as they rounded yet another corner, finally entering their neighborhood. The houses around there were relatively staggered thanks to their vast size, but Jay lived about as close as possible to the Folsom's. Other than being on the same peewee team, it was the reason why the pair had become so close.