Aspen
Brain cancer. I back away from Bastian when he tells me this. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. He’s so young—just eight months older than I am….
He’s lying. He has to be, right? This is all some ploy to get me to feel worse than I already do. To feel like an even bigger idiot for having abandoned him.
For having wasted all of our time.
No. “I-I don’t believe you.”
Anger flashes in his eyes. But it’s gone as quickly it comes. “I’m not lying to you, Aspen.” He speaks in a low, measured tone. I can tell he’s trying to keep his cool. “Do you really think I’d lie about cancer considering what happened to my mom?”
I sit back down on my bed, shaking my head. “Of course not. I’m sorry. That was stupid.” Gosh, Aspen. I put myself in his place, telling someone I cared about that I was dying, only to have them call me a liar. I’d be more than furious.
He takes a seat beside me.
I can’t even look at him.
“Do you love him?” he asks.
“Huh?”
He nods toward my engagement ring. My first instinct is to cover it with my hand. The thought floods me guilt.
He waits for my answer.
“I do. Very much.”
He blinks and his jaw flexes. “Do you still love me?”
I think back to that kiss. How I felt when I saw him on that stage. I whisper, “You know I do.”
“I’m happy for you.”
I don’t answer. I have no idea what to say.
He takes in a deep breath. “Regardless of what you might think, I didn’t come here to bust your balls. Truth is, Avery told me about the wedding Saturday. And I decided enough was enough. I want the next two days, Tinkerbell. After that, I’ll drive you to the wedding myself. I’m not taking no for an answer. You owe me this much.” He crosses his arms.
“That’s not what you said before.” My voice is small and pitiful. “You said that if we did this, you’d go.” I don’t really want to send him away, especially after what he’s just shared with me, but his presence physically hurts. My chest aches.
“Crossed my fingers,” He smiles.
“Gosh, Bastian. How can you joke about this?”
He stands and cups my face in his hands, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “Because for all the bad that cancer means for me, it got me to stop being angry at you. Gave me the courage to come after you. It’s giving me the next two days with you.”
He doesn’t wait for a response; he just turns and starts for the door. “Pick you up in front of the sports bar in two hours.”
***
I’ve packed and unpacked at least a dozen times. Now I pace in front of the pink Hello Kitty duffel bag atop my bed, a bag as old as I am, biting my fingers raw. Under no circumstances is leaving with Bastian okay. I mean, who disappears with an ex two days before her wedding?
And yet, how can I not go? After what I’ve done, how can I abandon him a second time?
I let myself fall over into my bed and bury my head beneath the pillows.
“Going somewhere?” Lexi’s voice.
I lift my head and find her leaning against my dresser, smirking.
