Aspen Juniper Veata has only ever known Beacon Hills to be a quiet and dainty town. Herself, along with her best friends Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski, had gone unnoticed by their peers in high school for as long as they could remember. Aspen ha...
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They all saw it.
The evidence was undeniable.
Lydia didn't even flinch once the crystal was in her mouth. When the venom seeped down her throat, she ate the rest like a greedy child in a candy store.
Aspen's mind was in a buzz. She kept hearing a white noise like a voice telling her how stupid she was. Derek's words continued rolling in her mind, telling her what needed to be done to protect the ones she loves.
You need to learn control.
She knew that. Of course, she did. She was just too stubborn to admit it. It was like the first time she had to go to therapy from her odd dream about her mother.
Granda Sam swore it wasn't necessary, but Melissa had insisted. Melissa was the first person Sam called after the accident, and she remembered holding little Aspen when she woke up in the hospital. She was underwater for too long. Melissa knew Aspen should have died. It was a miracle. That's why every day when Melissa saw Aspen, she nearly wanted to cry, knowing she was close to feeling death's kiss.
"It was really cold." Aspen had said as she sat in miss Jane's office. She had gone to school with Aspen's father. She cried for a week hearing the news of his passing. They were high school sweethearts.
Jane nodded. "I bet you wish sweaters worked in water, huh?" she scrunched her nose playfully and had to hold in her shock when Aspen laughed.
How could a child smile so quickly after experiencing what she had? It's only been a month.
"Yeah," Aspen wiggles her feet on the velvety chair she sat on. Her feet didn't even reach the ground. "My floaty popped. Grandpa filled it too much."
Jane paused her movement as she was about to jot down a note. She looked at Aspen, her eyes glued to the glass coffee table between them. A glass jar of jellybeans. She had been waiting for the whole session to be polite enough and ask for one. "Floaty?" Jane asked gently, trying to catch the little girl's eyes.
Her brown hair bounced as she nodded and fought a laugh. " I was under for fifteen seconds! Pa said I was a big girl for holding my breath so long." Aspen tilted her head. "I like how you talk."
"I was raised in Puerto Rico."
Aspen gaped, and Jane nodded as if saying, I know, right.
Jane hummed to herself. She wondered if she was already trying to fill the tragedy with a sweet memory. Her eyes strayed down to Aspen's hands, closing again on themselves. Suppression.
"You know I always wanted straight hair like yours, Aspen," Jane said, bringing back a smile. "Mine is too curly to braid." she pulled on a tight coil of hair before letting go to let it bounce.
