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Chapter two:nothing to give
tw: abuse
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It had been three days since the incident with Gary and the other security guard, but Aspen was still dreaming about Gary's car keys. It weirded her out. The last thing she needed was seeing the twinkie man in her dreams.
She rubbed her eyes, the small bit of mascara she still had left on her face from the previous day now smudged all over her face.
She had been sleeping on John B's pull out couch, her arms and legs sprawled out ungracefully as she laid on her back. She had been left alone at the Château because all the rest of her friends were working. Except for John B. He had gone out to talk to the DCS, who were threatening to take him away on the daily, pushing him—including his friends, closer and closer to a cliff that they didn't know how to climb down.
They had no idea what to do if he was taken away, but they agreed they'd cross that bridge when it came to it.
Ace had been doing shifts at Kie's parents' restaurant—The Wreck. It was a way for her to earn a bit of pocket money, but she had to keep her job a secret from her dad and his psychotic girlfriend. They wouldn't let her keep half of the money she made if they knew.
She tried not to think about her 'family', keeping herself busy and basically living at John B's, eating away at his food supply like a raccoon. But apparently he didn't mind it. Actually, he would rather have her there than let her go home. That's what he'd said, anyway.
At this point, Ace didn't even know if she could call it home anymore.
But unfortunately for her, her mind was forced to wander whenever she was alone. That's why she despised it. She tried to keep herself occupied every minute of every day. Sure, it was exhausting at times, but she was used to keeping her thoughts at bay. But now it was just her. Just her and her thoughts. And the awful memories she was keeping out were trying to push themselves in.
She knew she had to go home sooner or later. There was no avoiding it. The longer she waited, the harder it would be. Plus, she needed to get the rest of her things from her house. Now all she could do was beg that nobody was home.
She swung herself off John B's couch, going to see how filthy she looked in the bathroom mirror. To her surprise, she actually didn't look that bad.
She had long, brown, wavy locks and a few additional braids with colorful beads in them that Kie had put into her hair. Growing up she was often told people were jealous of her hair. She remembered her mother loving it, too. She would constantly fuss about how she needed to take care of it or it would fall out. The thought made her smile. Her mother always made her smile.
