Troian Bellisario: Just Me & My Girl

The Dreaded Question

Three Days Later
Troian's Pov

"Wake up, Aspen." I say "We're here." Her eyes flutter open, and for a second, she looks confused. Then, as she realizes where we are, her face lights up with excitement.

"Disneyland!" Aspen exclaims. I nod, undoing her seatbelt. On this mid-September day, I decided to take Aspen to Disneyland. We weren't filming Pretty Little Liars today, so it was the perfect opportunity. Plus, we have a year-round pass because we live so close, so why not use it?

I help Aspen out of the car as she rubs her eyes, just waking up from her nap on the drive here.

I walk hand-in-hand with my daughter toward the front entrance, excited to go to Disneyland again. I love spending mother-daughter time with Aspen.

***

"Splash Mountain! Splash Mountain!" Aspen calls as she points vigorously at the ride.

"Are you sure you want to go on Splash Mountain? It could be a little scary for you." I say to her. With her hand in mine, Aspen tugs on my arm, trying to get me to walk toward the ride.

"I wanna go mommy!" She begs "Please, I promise I'm not scared!" After looking at her adorable puppy dog eyes for a few moments, I give in. We were at Disneyland, and she wants to go on the ride. If she ends up hating it, then oh well. She's the one that wants to go on it. Well of course, I do too, but that's not the point.

We walk up to the ride and wait in the line, moving slowly.

"You know you're gonna get wet, right?" I ask my grinning daughter. She nods.

"Ashley told me about this ride." She replies. I sigh. Aspen probably only wants to go on Splash Mountain because Ashley did.

Before we know it, it's our turn to ride. Aspen and I sit down beside each other in the second seat, someone else getting to the front before we could. The ride begins to move, not that fast I might add. That is until we get to the top. I can see the huge hill where we will slide down, and exchange a glance with Aspen. She just looks excited.

My thoughts are interrupted by a huge splash of water in my face as we slide quickly down the best part of the ride. People start to scream and laugh, including Aspen. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a splash of water hit Aspen directly in the face.

The ride ends, and we all get off. I take Aspen's hand and look expectantly at her.

"What'd you think?" I ask. Grinning, she jumps up and down.

"I love it!" She says happily. I just laugh. It looks like I have a future adrenaline-junkie on my hands.

"Let's go on that one!" Aspen cries excitedly, pointing to the Tower of Terror. Or a current adrenaline-junkie.

***

After going on a few more rides, Aspen and I decide to get lunch. I order her a kids chicken strips and fries, and I get a burger and fries. We sit down at a table, taking a while to find one because of how busy it is here. Aspen's hair is still damp from Splash Mountain, and she keeps pushing the wet strands off of her face.

"Do you want me to braid your hair?" I ask her. She nods. I pull a hair elastic out of my shorts pocket, glad I put it there earlier. I brush Aspen's hair the best I can with my fingers, then start to French braid her long brown hair. I put the elastic at the end of the braid when I finish, then send her back to her seat so she can eat her lunch.

As Aspen eats, I take pictures of her, finding the background of tall rides and crowds of people a perfect representation of Disneyland. I smile as I snap a picture of Aspen holding up a fry, looking at it with wide eyes.