Eighteen
Aspen
Strong hands catch my arms - not Kaiden’s - and I whirl around to see my mother’s worried face.
Relief floods through me that it’s not Kai, swiftly replaced by apprehension at how she’s going to take this.
“Aspen?”
Her eyes flick to Kaiden, and she immediately sizes up the situation, her expression shifting from concern to something harder in an instant.
“Helene,” Kaiden says, his voice carefully neutral. “It’s been a while.”
“Not long enough, apparently.” My mother’s grip on my arms tightens protectively before she releases me, stepping partially in front of me like a human shield. “What are you doing here?”
“Mamma, it’s fine…”
“Is it?” She doesn’t take her eyes off Kaiden. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re upsetting my daughter. Again.”
I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. This is another thing I wanted to avoid. As with Kai, I would have preferred to break the news of Kaiden’s return on my own terms. “We were just talking.”
“Looked like more than talking to me.” Her tone is ice, and I see Kaiden’s jaw clench.
“I should go,” he says, but his eyes find mine over my mother’s shoulder. There’s a question in them, a plea maybe, and I hate that I can read him so easily still. “I’ll text you.”
Before I can respond, my mother steps forward, positioning herself fully between us. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“With all due respect, Helene, that’s not your decision to make.” Kaiden’s voice cuts through the tension, and I watch my mother’s spine stiffen. “Aspen is an adult. She can decide who she wants in her life.”
The words hang in the air, and I feel caught between them like I’m eighteen again, trying to navigate my mother’s protective instincts and Kaiden’s stubborn determination.
“You’re right,” my mother says, her voice deceptively calm. “She is an adult. An adult who’s built a good life after you destroyed it. So forgive me if I’m not thrilled to see you back here trying to tear it all down again.”
“Mamma, please.” I step around her, positioning myself between them because this is spiraling out of control fast, and Kai could appear at any moment. “This isn’t helping.”
“Neither is him being here.” She crosses her arms, and I recognize that stance. It’s the same one she used when dealing with difficult situations during my childhood, the one that says she’s prepared to go to war if necessary.
“Kaiden was just leaving,” I tell her, tugging on the back of her shirt as I try to get my message across that she needs to back off and close the damn door before we have a bigger problem to deal with.
She cuts me a look, and I widen my eyes, speaking to her without words.
Thankfully, she catches on. Her expression shifts, understanding dawning in her eyes, followed immediately by something that looks like panic.
She glances back at the house, then at Kaiden, then at me, and I can practically see her recalculating.
“Fine,” she says tightly, stepping back. “But this conversation isn’t over.” She looks at me pointedly before retreating inside, pulling the door closed but not quite shutting it all the way. A clear message that she’s listening.
I know I’ll be getting an earful as soon as I go in the house, and suddenly it’s all too much, and I just feel drained.
I turn back to Kaiden, my emotions completely jumbled. Only one thing is clear. “You need to go. Now.”
“Aspen…”
“Please.” The word comes out more desperate than I intend. “Just... go.”
He studies my face, and I know he sees the fear there. I just hope he doesn’t understand what I’m really afraid of. After a moment, he nods slowly.
“Okay. But I meant what I said. I’m not giving up.” He takes a step backwards, then another, his eyes never leaving mine. “Like I said, I’ll text you.”
I watch him walk down the path to the street, my heart hammering so hard I feel lightheaded. He doesn’t look back, which I’m grateful for, because I’m not sure what my face might reveal right now.
The second he’s out of sight, I turn and slip inside, closing the door behind me and leaning against it.