Chapter 13: Aspen

Chapter Thirteen
~ Aspen ~

I marched into the room, practically seeing red. I don’t remember feeling this angry, ever. Five hours. I had been locked in that disgusting place for five fucking hours. I was proud of myself for finally getting out, yes, but my rage was much stronger. I didn’t stop until I was face to face with my father, the man I’d watched go crazy in front of my eyes. Or, rather, the man I watched finally unleash his crazy in front of me.
“That’s my girl.” He leaned back in his wheeled office chair, hands clasped against his stomach, a proud smirk on his face. I wanted nothing more than to punch that smirk right off. My hands clenched into tight fists. A girl can dream.
“You left me in there.” My nostrils flared and my eyes narrowed.
“I had every bit of confidence that you’d free yourself.” He sounded so casual, so carefree. It was as if he hadn’t just locked his daughter in a cage for five fucking hours.
“And if I didn’t?”
“No matter.” He waved a hand dismissively and leaned forward against his rich mahogany desk. “Are you in love with the boy?”
His question took me by surprise. My stomach turned at the thought of Will. With it, thoughts of E in the same position flashed through my mind. I shook my head to get rid of the troublesome memories.
“No.” I answered easily, honestly.
“Good. We’ll have to work on that soft spot of yours, however.” He nodded, mostly to himself. God, he thought helping Will meant I had a soft spot, when really it was just human decency.
“Go on and get some rest. We have a full day tomorrow.”
With that, I turned to leave his office. I couldn’t stand being near him for one second longer. I couldn’t believe the turn today had taken. I wasn’t prepared to see any of the things I’d seen, and I definitely wasn’t ready to be locked in one of those things. Part of me thought maybe he’d done it because he somehow knows that I’m sick too and wanted to test me. Or show me what my future holds. Either way, I want absolutely no part of whatever he has planned for tomorrow. At the sound of his voice I stopped, my hand resting on the doorknob that would grant me my escape.
“Oh, and Aspen?” His voice was serious. Final. “Don’t disappoint me.”

…..

“Knock, knock.” I tentatively moved the flap of fabric to the side, not wanting to walk in on anything I wasn’t supposed to see. He still managed to be surprised by my entrance, nearly jumping out of his skin at the sight of me.
“God, you scared the shit out of me.” Grey looked me over quickly before standing to his feet. He’d been sitting on the sleeping bag I’d slept in the other night, showing something to Gracelyn. “You look like hell, City Girl.”
I couldn’t find the energy to be offended by his words. Gracelyn jumped up from beside him and almost knocked me over with the force of her hug. I let out a surprised huff and squeezed her lightly. She perked back up and held out a hand to me in greeting.
“Hello.” She said, trying to sound grown up. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Hello, Gracelyn.” I placed my hand in hers and shook it gently.
“You can call me Gracie.” She exploded into a fit of giggles, and I almost wanted to join her.
“Gracelyn,” The familiar sounding hard edge had returned to Grey’s voice. “Go help pass out blankets.”
She rolled her eyes dramatically, just for me, and skipped out the door. Oh, to be a clueless child again. I watched her go and turned back to Grey, stiffening when I saw that he was already looking my way.
“Something happened.” He said matter-of-factly. “You’re back too soon.”
“I can’t stay long. I barely snuck away. This is probably the last thing he doesn’t know about, but that won’t last for long.” I’d said that last part to myself, mostly. I hoped that dad didn’t know about this, but I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
“Who?” Grey pried, sounding curious.
I was surprised by the question. Not because it was the first time he’d shown any interest in me, but because he could’ve easily figured that out by reading my mind if he wanted to. I ignored it and moved on to more important things. I shook my head in an effort to unscramble it.
“Everything is messed up. Lexa and Will were moved to a new building today and my chances of helping them have gone down significantly. My dad is down my throat and suspicious as hell. I have to play each of my cards exactly right, and it’s getting really tricky.”
He studied me for a moment, unmoving. At that moment, I wished that I could read his mind like he could mine. He wasn’t looking at me with outward hatred like usual, so maybe we were getting somewhere.
“Basically, I just came to tell you that I’m working on it. But I might not be able to get back here for a while. I need to keep a low profile if this is all going to work.”
Grey nodded almost absently, a faraway look in his eyes. He was conflicted, that much was obvious, but about what I had no idea. When it was clear he wasn’t going to respond, I turned to walk back out the way I’d come. To clear my conscious, I needed to come down here and let him know what had happened today. If I were in his shoes, I’d be worried sick. In my eyes, any information is better than just not knowing.
“Hey,” He stopped me with a gentle hand on my elbow. “Are you gonna be okay?”
I tried not to let the surprise I felt show on my face. Why did he care about that? The last time I checked, he wouldn’t be bothered if I never returned, as long as E and Will were safe. He’d practically treated me as an enemy up until this very strangely civil conversation.
“It’s not about me.” I sighed, pulling my arm free so I could move out into the campsite and start my journey home. “It never was.”