ASPEN | DAVID MAZOUZ

e i g h t

MESSAGES BETWEEN aspen's love AND lily

what's wrong with Aspen
she isn't posting or replying to me
i've called and texted her so many times i've lost count
read 11:53 am

lily?
read 11:54 am

lily please answer me
is aspen okay
read 11:55 am

fuck it i'm calling aspen again
delivered 11:58 am

CALL BETWEEN bat-boy AND savage queen

h-hello?
aspen's voice cracked. on the verge of sobbing again
aspen? oh thank god you're okay
david feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders
not really
tears began falling down aspen's face once more. the young girl was currently locked in Lily Jacob's bathroom slumped against the cabinets
aspen?
silence
aspen please
all david can hear is aspen attempting to silence her sobs
babe please tell me what's wrong
david's heart begins racing. the sound of aspen crying causes his own tears to crystallize his eyes
it's my dad
her voice is just over a whisper
you've never talked to me about him
that's because i didn't know how you'd react
talk to me. tell me what happened.
aspen takes a deep breath
my mom died when i was eight. for five years, my dad was so amazing. but on my thirteenth birthday--almost three years ago--he kinda lost it. he wasn't there when i woke up and was gone the entire day. i had no clue where he had gone. he wasn't back till well after midnight. he was drunk when he came home and
tears began streaming down Aspen's face once more. David's tears threatened to spill over.
babe?
i-i'm okay. and he started screaming at me. you see, my mom, she didn't exactly die of natural causes. she um, she hung herself. of course, i didn't know that at eight so my dad said she went with the angels in heaven. anyways, he kept telling me that i was the reason why my mom killed herself. he told me, 'you killed her.' it's been going on for a while now. about two-three times a week, he'd come home drunk and start screaming. i never had the courage to leave because some days he'd be the best dad imagined. until tonight. it kinda got out of hand. he was drunk like usual. but tonight he was...aggressive. usually i just stay up in my room and he leaves me alone. he came up to my room and starting screaming again. i got fed up and yelled back. i told him, "i'm not the reason mom left us! i'm not the reason that you constantly drunk! i'm not the reason that the person we loved the most left us!" and he slapped me. i only stayed at that house for a week and a half because i had texted snuck over to Lily's and we planned for me to move in with her. i finally packed up everything valuable and some clothes into a suitcase and left. i'm staying at Lily's for now. i don't know if i'm ever gonna leave.
silence. david is processing everything. the girl he really likes--the girl he loves--was mentally and physically abused by the person who was supposed to love her the most
where do you live?
aspen is taken back by this abrupt question
wha-what?
where do you live? i'm booking the next flight there and flying over to hug you.
you don't have to do that.
why not? i've been dying to meet you and this just proves my opinion on you?
what opinion?
that you are the strongest person i've ever known. you have been through so much and yet you still remain so happy and so amazing.
david?
yes?
what would i do without you?