{Aspen's POV}
"No"
"No?" Jasper replies.
"No"
"No, what?"
"No, I don't care to explain!" I snap at Jasper.
"Oh you will, if not to me then to Caspian." He replies coldly.
"That's fine by me." I reply although I'm freaking out on the inside. My heart is out of my chest at the thought of having to explain to my brothers what happened at the mall. In a sense, Jasper might be the easier choice but I don't trust him for a second.
"Whatever little girl." Jasper says annoyed and I decide to ignore him.
After another 20 minutes, we dreadfully pull into the long driveway of my brother's mansion. Jasper drives into the garage unnecessarily fast and slams the break making me jump forward in my seat. I almost smash my head against the dashboard but I use my hands to stop the impact. Before I can yell at Jasper he is already out of the car and making his way inside. I give a glare to the back of his head.
I take a deep breath and mentally prepare for all the questions I'm about to be ambushed with.
I reluctantly step out of the car and rather than walking inside, I find myself walking to the door which I assume leads outside. I put my hand on the knob and turn it.
"I think you ought to rethink that decision Aspen."
I jump at the sudden noise and turn to see Caspian standing in the doorway on the other side of the garage. His hands are in the pockets of his million dollar suit and he's staring at me with his emotionless face. I sigh and take my hand off the doorknob. I walk towards Caspian painfully slow and when I finally reach him, he steps aside allowing me to enter. His giant self towers over me as I walk in and he closes the door behind us.
Caspian walks to his office with me trailing behind. When I walk in I see Ambrose sitting on one of the chairs across from Caspian's desk and Sorin leaning against the wall beside him. They stop talking when Sorin makes eye contact with me and Ambrose follows his line of sight. Caspian walks to his desk and takes his seat, leaving my awkward self standing by the door.
"You can sit Aspen." Caspian says.
"Right" I nod and sit down on the chair beside Ambrose.
"Can you tell me what happened today?" Caspian asks, although I can tell it's more of a demand than a question.
I go over in my head the extent I want to share. It would be smart for me to explain so that we can avoid incidents like this in the future. I just find it hard to open up to them.
"Erm I... well- at the mall there was too much noise. I don't know what it is but when I hear loud noises or even too much of a noise, it sends me to a panic." I answer truthfully.
Ambrose looks at me with a soft expression. Sorin's eyebrows are furrowed and he's looking at me like he is deep in thought. Caspian is, of course, looking at me emotionlessly.
"Can you give us some examples of noises that might be too much for you?" Ambrose asks, he seems genuinely curious which makes me want to open up to him, but I hold myself back to an extent.
"Well in the past it's been crowded spaces, yelling, and just loud noises in general. I haven't been to a mall in a long time so I don't really know- well, I just wasn't expecting so much noise. I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause a scene." I answer.
"It's alright Aspen, have you seen a doctor or a therapist for this?" Ambrose asks.
"No, and it's really not necessary." I reply anxiously.
"I think it is, how long have you been dealing with this?" Caspian inquires.
"When I was young noise simply bothered me, but as I've grown older it's become almost unbearable." I reply.
"I'll make appointments with both a doctor and a therapist to see if we can find the cause. Maybe we can get something to help you."
"Really Caspian that's not ne-" Caspian cuts me off.
"My decision is final." Caspian finalizes leaving no room for debate.
I don't know how to feel about this. I internally roll my eyes at Caspian's demandingness but nevertheless I'm fine with his decision. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to go, but I need to pick my battles wisely with these brothers of mine. They're not stupid and I cant give them any reasons to be suspicious of me. If I denied going to a doctor, they would press me for answers which I'm not ready to give them.
"The next thing I wanted to discuss is this." Caspian slides a phone across his desk.
"A phone?" I ask
"Your phone." He replies.
"I don't have a phone."
"You do now." I furrow my eyebrows at Caspian's words.
"I don't have a use for it." I reply.
"If your brothers or myself need to contact you it's important you have it. I don't care if you don't use it for anything else just carry it with you at all times." Caspian demands.
"Fine." I agree because I can finally call Edith or Ash without having to ask my brothers.
"All of our numbers are already in it. Call your brothers at anytime but my number is for emergencies only. I hope you understand." Caspian says.
"Sure..."
There is a long pause before Caspian finally lets me leave. I take my new phone and exit the office saying a quick thanks. I decide to head to the small kitchen and Call Edith. I wander a little, still being unfamiliar with the mansion, before finding my safe place in this house. I dial Edith's number and put it on speaker while setting it on the counter. After a few rings, she picks up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Edith, it's Aspen."
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Edith asks.
"Honestly, strange and uncomfortable, I haven't even gotten the chance to tell you that my brothers are freaking billionaires!" I say.
"No way" Edith says in disbelief.
"Yeah and by the way, this is my new number so save it." I tell her.
"Finally you got a phone! Hey make sure you turn the ringtone down or put it on vibrate. I don't want the noise to bother you because I'll be texting you 24/7"
"Thanks and whatever. Anyways can you send me Ash's number? Also, how's he doing?" I ask while gathering the ingredients I need to make lavender blackberry scones.
"Don't freak out but... he's gone off the grid. He hasn't talked to me since you left. When I told him your situation he got so angry the flames coming out of his ears almost burnt down 'nature squad's clubhouse'." Edith says with a humorless chuckle. "I'll send you his number but don't get your hopes up that he'll answer."
I stop what I'm doing to think for a moment, why would he get so angry? Shouldn't he be happy or relieved I'm out of that situation? Before I can respond to Edith, I hear a faint crash in the hallway.
"Hey, parler en français, les murs ont des oreilles" I say quickly. (talk in French, the walls have ears)
"tes frères?" She asks. (Your brothers)
"Oui, je vous ai sur le haut-parleur. Je cuisine." I reply. (Yes, I have you on speaker. I'm baking)
"Ooooo que cuisinez-vous?" Edith asks. (What are you baking)
"Remember when you found lavender once and we used blueberries to make those scones?" I ask in English.
"Yeah, dang those were good."
"Yeah, I just had to talk to my brothers about my noise sensitivity thing and I need to relax a bit. They're sending me to a therapist and a doctor." I say defeatedly.
"Maybe that's not such a bad thing, wouldn't it be better if it was fixed?" Edith asks.
"I guess" I mumble loud enough for her to hear.
"Have you told them about your old situation?" Edith asks.
"No, si vous voulez évoquer mon passé, parlez en français. Je ne peux pas risquer qu'ils découvrent comme ça." I say. (if you want mention my past, talk in French. I cant risk them finding out like this)
"vas-tu leur dire" Edith asks. (are you going to tell them)
"I don't know yet. Je ne leur fais toujours pas confiance." I reply (I still don't trust them)
Edith and I catch up on life while I continue making the scones. She tells me how much Quest misses me and I tell her about life with my strange and mysterious brothers.
After about an hour, I brew some tea to enjoy my scones with and Edith tells me she has to go. When she hangs up, I sit at the island munching on my scone and sipping my tea in silence.
Sorin suddenly walks in the kitchen and we make eye contact. If it were any of my other brothers, I would be annoyed but for some reason I feel fine with Sorin. It's weird because he has such a cold personality but it almost seems like he's trying to make an effort to get to know me.
"What did you make today?" He asks, making his way to the scones.
"Lavender blackberry scones. There is some tea as well." I gesture to the kettle on the counter.
"Why don't you want the others to know you can bake?" He asks picking at a scone.
"I don't really care if they know." I shrug while Sorin pours himself some tea and grabs a scone.
"So why did you lie about the cookies then?" He asks while sitting beside me.
"Honestly, I don't feel comfortable enough to open up to them yet." I reply.
"But you feel comfortable with me?" Sorin asks.
"I mean you just walked in while I was baking." I state and he seems disappointed by my answer. "But yeah, for some reason I'm more comfortable with you." For a moment he gives me a smile. A genuine smile. But a second later he's back to his emotionless demeanor.
Sorin and I finish our scones in silence. He seems to understand that I'm more comfortable when it's quiet. I think he's similar in that way because he never bothers with small or useless talk. I think this is why I'm more comfortable with him than the others.
My phone buzzes and It's Edith sending me Ash's number. I get up from my seat and put away my dishes. I tell Sorin I'll see him later wile leaving the kitchen. Instead of going back to my room I go to the back door and step outside. The cool breeze on this warm summer day is refreshing. I start to walk. I wander away farther and farther from the house until I'm on the edge of the garden. I glance over at the lush forest which is a few hundred feet away. It's tempting to go inside, but I decide not to go against Caspian's rules... yet.
As I take a seat on the tall grass, I take out my phone and dial Ash's number.
No answer
I dial it again.
No answer
I frown at my phone. One more time.
No answer
I sigh and drag my fingers through the blades of grass. I miss nature. I miss the tranquility of the forest. I miss Quest being by my side. I miss the feeling of a gun in my hand. I miss the thrill of taking your shot. I miss eating my own food by the fire. I miss Ash and Edith.
Although I miss all those things, they came at a cost. They came at the price of living with stepfather. That's something I would never willingly go back to. I'm safe here, as far as I know. I have family, no matter how strange they are. I have a kitchen to cook in. I have food to eat without catching it myself. I have people who care for me... I think?
{Sorin's POV}
Aspen left the kitchen a few minutes ago leaving me alone. I clean up my dishes and I decide to head outside for a smoke. When I step out onto my balcony I light the cigarette and get lost in thought.
Aspen doesn't seem like the average teenage girl. She has many secrets that she's hiding from her brothers. I cant say I'm not doing the same thing but I want her to be comfortable here. We're a house full of cold, intimidating, emotionless men so I know it will be hard for her to learn to trust us. When she told me she feels comfortable around me it made me happy. I didn't know what to say or how to react so I just smiled at her. I hope it got the message across.
The stuff she bakes is f*cking amazing. I'm kinda glad I'm the only one who knows about her skills because that leaves more for me. I want to ask her questions about where she learned to bake but I don't want to press her. I can also tell she doesn't like to talk much. I can only hope that when she gets more comfortable she'll open up. My thoughts are interrupted when Alani, my right hand and best friend calls me. I quickly pick it up.
"What's up man" I ask.
"Hey I got some news." He says timidly. I can tell I wont like this.
"What is it?" I demand.
"Donne's missing."
"F*CK"
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you all so much for the support!!! I am really enjoying writing this so I'm glad so many people are enjoying it :) We have over 1.4k views which is crazy!! Thank you also for the votes and comments <3
Question- Which POV(s) do you want to see?
Also here is the aesthetic for Alani
Lastly I've been wanting to change the cover for the story and I would like your opinions! I made a few new ones so comment on which on you like the best or we can keep it the same :)
OR keep the cover the way it is
Thank you so much for reading!! :)