{Aspen's POV}
"You're f*cking useless." I recognize Hudson's voice.
My eyes are closed. I'm laying on something soft, but not my cloud. I can feel a blanket on top of me. My eyelids are heavy when I try to open them.
"Right back at you." I hear a faint murmur, sounding like Jasper.
My arm is sore and things are feeling like they're on 10x the volume they should be.
"So much for watching her." Hudson speaks again, disturbing my sleep.
"Don't talk to me like that you child punter." Jasper replies.
"Let it go already." Hudson groans.
I don't want to get up. But I cant sleep either with their boombox voices keeping me awake.
"You punt children?" I speak up, still laying down on what I now recognize as the couch in the living room. "You're just a straight up psychopath aren't you?"
"I uhh-" I clearly caught Hudson off guard.
"Seems like an interesting hobby though. You better pay the medical bills." I tell him, making him give me a puzzled look.
Jasper gets up from the couch and walks over to me. He almost seems concerned, but I brush off that ridiculous thought. I look to the side and now see an iv attached to my arm, making me widen my eyes.
"Goodness, what happened? Am I dead?" I ask quickly, reaching for the iv to take it out. Jasper grabs my wrist before I can and holds it firm.
"Look at me Aspen." He says softly and I do. "You passed out, you've been out for almost 24 hours." Jasper looks towards Hudson. "What time is it?"
"Noon." Hudson replies.
"So 23 hours, close enough."
"Wow, a new record eh?" I say, slightly disappointed.
I thought I was making progress with this whole noise thing. I hadn't had any major panic attacks or faints in a few months. I cant help but feel a little sad.
"How are you feeling?" Jasper asks.
"Just dandy and yourself?" I reply.
"Seriously." Jasper deadpans.
"I have a headache, my mind is a bit hazy." I tell him, making him nod and let go of my wrists.
"We'll be right back, don't move." Jasper says while turning to leave the room with Hudson.
Don't move my ass. I need to pee so badly, words cant express.
I carefully lift the blanket off of me and slowly sit up. My head immediately spins, making me lift my hand to hold it. I squint a little bit and grab hold of the iv roller stick thing. I have no idea what it's called. I use the stick to pull myself off of the couch but a dizzy spell comes over me, causing me to stumble.
"Crap" I mumble, catching myself before I fall.
"Aspen?" I look up at Caspian like a deer in headlights.
"Hey there." I smile sheepishly at him, making him give me a disappointed look.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asks, coming further into the room.
"I need the washroom." I tell him, taking a step.
Caspian rushes beside me and grabs hold of my arm, helping me steady.
"You couldn't have waited?" He asks, helping me walk to the bathroom.
"You try not using the washroom in 24 hours and tell me if you can wait." I reply, earning a stern look.
"Try again." Caspian says.
"I couldn't have waited, no." I reply.
Caspian leads me to the bathroom and leaves me to do my business. I look in the mirror, still feeling disappointed in myself. I thought we had passed this already. I thought I was doing better. I grab hold of my ears and pinch them out of frustration. I cant believe this.
After a few minutes, I open the door expecting to see Caspian still there. Rather Ambrose is there with a soft smile.
"You are not Caspian." I say, grabbing hold of his outstretched hand.
"Nope not really." He replies with a soft chuckle. "How are you feeling?"
"Just dandy." I reply.
"I don't believe that." He replies, making me inhale sharply.
"Sadly, no one does." I mumble, "I'm fine, just a bit of a headache."
Ambrose leads me back to the living room and sits me down on the couch. He takes the iv out the doctor way. I don't see the issue in just ripping it out, it saves the time of having to be careful.
"You're upset." Ambrose states.
"Why do you think that?" I ask.
"I can see it."
I look at Ambrose who is crouched right in front of me. He has that look on his face. The look these Karieo brothers seem to be quite good at.
The one that makes me burst into tears.
Ambrose immediately pulls me into his arms. An act that should make me tense up, but I don't. I melt into his embrace and sob into his shoulder. No matter how much I hate physical contact, I find an unfamiliar amount of comfort in my older brothers arms. I fight the thoughts telling me to pull away and shut him out. I deserve this. I deserve to be comforted, to feel safe. I deserve to feel a little bit of pity for myself because for so long, I was derived of it.
"I hate this, I hate everything. My noise sensitivity, the secrets, the loneliness. I thought I was doing better, I thought I was stronger than this. But sometimes all I can think is I miss my mom, I miss Quest." I say through tears and hiccups. "I really miss Quest."
"I'm not supposed to tell you this." I feel the rumble of Ambrose talking. "But Caspian has everything ready for Quest to come here, he was just waiting for the right moment to surprise you. He wanted your reunion to be special."
"Is Quest still in Canada?" I ask him
"I believe he's on his way, Cas wanted to make you feel better after everything." Ambrose tells me. "Don't tell him I said this, but I think Cas is the softest of us all."
"I find that hard to believe." I reply with a small chuckle, now leaning on his shoulder. The tears are dying down.
"It's the truth, you just have to break down those stone cold walls." Ambrose says, "Same with Jasper. I think he was the most worried when you passed out. He even volunteered to watch over you until you woke up."
"Impossible." I reply.
"I speak nothing but the truth, dear sister." Ambrose starts. "And don't you ever, for a second think you are anything but strong. I admit, we put you through some sh*t that I will forever be sorry for. I don't even have any excuses anymore. But trust me when I say, you are the most protected and loved 15 year old girl on the planet."
"Ambrose?"
"Hm?" He responds.
"I love you."
Silence.
He stopped breathing.
His grip relaxed.
Did I just kill him?
Oh snap.
I'm suddenly squeezed to death.
Ambrose is squeezing me to the point I feel like I'll die.
"Dude" I breathe in dramatically, "You've got to chill."
"Sh*t sorry." He loosens his grip and pulls back, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eye. "I love you too Aspen."
We smile at each other for a moment and I feel happy.
"Leave me the f*ck alone." I hear Jasper coming closer to the room and Ambrose turns around to see who's there.
"Not until you forgive me." Hudson says stubbornly.
"It's not going to happen." Jasper says, finally appearing at the door along with Hudson.
"C'mon dude." Hudson raises his voice slightly, making my face scrunch in discomfort.
The noise shouldn't feel like this.
"I think something's wrong." I say, catching everyone's attention.
"What is it?" Ambrose asks from his newfound seat, beside me on the couch.
"It's not usually this loud, it sounds different than usual." I tell him.
"The doctor said you might be set back a little with the noise." Ambrose words make my eyes water again. I hate this. "But you can build back up. You'll be back to where you were in no time."
"Okay." I reply quietly, looking through the window of the living room.
"Is she still going to be going to the competition?" Hudson asks.
"I believe so, if you feel up for it, As." Ambrose says.
The competition is in less than a week. Everything in me is telling me not to go. But I want to. I mean realistically, if curiosity really killed the cat, it has nine lives so it'll bounce back. I believe the same logic applies to myself.
"I would like to go." A disappointed look comes across Hudson's face, but he nods nonetheless.
"Are you ready, do you know what you're going to make?" Ambrose asks.
"That, dear brother, is something I cannot tell you until the competition."
"Oh dear sister, I cannot wait to throw up whatever monstrosity you create." Jasper comments.
"Oh really?" I test him "Maybe I'll never make those brown butter chocolate chip cookies again."
"The ooey gooey ones?" Jasper asks.
"The ooey gooey ones." I confirm.
"Gee, I absolutely cannot wait to eat whatever delis- you know what? I just cant." Jasper says and walks out of the room.
At least he tried.
And I will never make those cookies again. The process is a b-word.
A buzz in my pocket catches my attention. I pull out my phone to see many missed calls and unread messages from the elegant chicken wing. I put the phone back in my pocket and get up from the couch.
"I'm going to my room for a while to relax." I tell Ambrose, to which he nods.
"Do you need help?" He asks.
"No I'm fine, thank you."
"I'll have Raini bring up some food in a bit." He replies.
I walk out of the living room, get my daily workout in from the stairs, and arrive at my bedroom. I walk in and close the door behind me, being sure to lock it. Not that the lock even does anything since I'm pretty sure they all have a copy of the key. It gives me a false sense of security.
I pull out my phone again and collapse on my cloud, cuddling in the soft blankets. I dial Arlo's number.
"Aspen?"
"Hey Arlo."
"Hey? That's all you have to say? You worried the sh*t out of me. We haven't spoken in a day and I didn't even get a goodnight or good morning message."
"Calm down Arlo, I was at Fay's and left my phone at home on accident. I'm totally fine." I lie.
"Are you sure you're alright? You said you would update me on your situation which I have gotten no updates on by the way. Did something happen?"
"No, nothing happened and I know, I'm sorry." I whisper the next part. "It's like another Edith."
"What?"
"Things are fine, my brothers and their guests are having trouble getting along but they are nice. I honestly haven't seen much of them" Ya know, from fainting and all.
"Okay, I'm glad." He pauses, "Are you sure everything's okay?"
"Yes Arlo, I just got home now and I have to clean some stuff up. I'll call or text later." I tell him.
"Okay, talk to you later."
I hang up the phone and feel slightly guilty at my lie. I don't want Arlo to know about this. It makes me feel weak. Not even Fay knows. I'm sure they wouldn't even care, but I do. I don't even know how to explain this, I would probably sound crazy to them.
Explaining it to Edith and Ash was a task in itself. I was nervous to tell them but I had to since they always yelled at each other in front of me.
Explaining it to my brothers was hardly a choice.
I occupy my mind with my Rubik's cube for the next few hours. I have been SO CLOSE to beating my record, it's infuriating.
5.4 seconds.
6.3 seconds.
8.4 seconds.
5.5 seconds.
5.1 seconds.
4.8 seconds.
FOUR POINT EIGHT FREKING SECONDS.
I think I'm about to have a heart attack.
Out of joy.
A freaking joy attack.
I jump out of bed and rush out of my room. I have to find someone to tell. I rush down the stairs, earning my second exercise of the day. I look through all the rooms but find them empty. Maybe they're all in the west wing?
I go into the living room and look outside the window only to drop my Rubik's cube. It hits the ground with a thud I don't pay attention to. My only focus is what my brothers, Ash, Yarrow and Hudson are doing outside.
Bark
Cue joy attack #2
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I'm scared of your reactions to this chapter lol. I think it'll have mixed reactions.
VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION- PLEASE ANSER FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES.
Who do you ship Aspen with and why?
Bonus=ship names.
Also sorry for the no-named chapter 33. I had a name for it and it didn't save but I'll fix that.
Thank you all for the support, please let me know any suggestions you have <3
Until next time :)