A Royal Mess

Chapter Twenty-Two

Julian's POV

(I recommend listening to the song attached.)

My head pounds as I continue to flip through the mounds of paperwork that my father has left me to go through. Ari sits adjacent to me, going through his own stack. He looks just as aggravated as I feel right now. This task is pointless. Our fathers don't even do this shit. They have people do it for them. Besides, all I can think about is Aspen, and what happened in the Royal's library less than a few hours ago. I don't think I will ever be able to think straight again.

Ari blows out a breath. "This shit is stupid as hell."

"I agree." I throw another piece of paper on top of my 'no good' pile. "It blows."

"You having any luck finding anything worth our time?"

"I found one cas-."

Ari's phone starts ringing, cutting me off. "Hello?" He answers it on the third ring. I watch his body language immediately change. Every muscle in his body tenses. "What? When? Where?" The Serpents are probably up to something. That always gets us all on edge. "Taytum, if you are joking, this is a fucking sick joke. I will fucking kill you." He pushes his chair back and stands to his feet. "Tell me where she is. I will meet you there."

"What happened?" I question. My mind drifts to Aspen. Ari stumbles on his words as tears form in his eyes. He starts raking his hands through his already messy hair. "Arington! What the hell is going on? Is Aspen okay?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." He starts running towards the door. I am hot on his trail.

If Aspen is involved, I am too. "The Serpents better not have laid a fucking finger to her. I will burn them all to the ground."

"Tayt said that she was in a wreck." Ari explains. We are already in a car and pulling out of the garage. Two other cars are missing, which means Tayt and Mr. Royal have already left. "Someone rear ended Elliot's car and he lost control. The car hit a culvert and flipped down a hill. That's all Tayt has found out."

My heart lurches in my chest. Just the thought of Aspen being hurt physically pains me. I urge Ari to drive faster. I am desperate to get to get to her. I need to know that she is okay. If something were to happen to her,  I don't think I would be able to recover from it. Not after losing my mom last year. I couldn't take it.

At the hospital, I run right alongside my best friend down the twisting corridors of the Emergency floor. Tayt is leaning against a wall with past hospital staff murals hanging above his head. His eyes are red and blotchy like he has been crying. Mr. Royal rubs his oldest sons back with one hand and uses the other one to wipe tears from his cheeks. My heart drops into stomach and I suddenly feel sick.

"Where is she?" Ari asks. "Is she okay?"

Mr. Royal clears his throat. "She is right through there." He points to a door right across from us. Ari makes a move for the door. "Wait son. The doctors think Aspen may have bleeding on her brain. Something showed up on her MRI. They want to have another MRI done to determine what their next step will be. If it is bleeding, they have to take her into surgery immediately." He sighs. "Just know that she is in and out of consciousness right now. She may or may not be awake."

"Okay."

I turn to Tayt and Mr. Royal once Ari goes into Aspen's room. "How bad is this? On a scale from one to ten." Both men exchange a funny look. "Don't fucking lie to me either. You may not think I can take it, but I can. I want the truth. How bad is this?"

"If there is bleeding on the brain...it's very bad." Tayt whispers. "Very, very bad."

My throat tightens as I struggle to comprehend that any of this is real at all. I wish I could close my eyes, open them again, and this all be some kind of sick, twisted dream that my fucked up mind decided to play on me.

Within minutes, the hallway in front of Aspen's room is filled with all of our friends. Paisley makes a beeline for me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. I hug her back. She needs me just as much as I need her right now. Pax and Val pat my back and then pay their respects to Tayt and Mr. Royal. Val even goes as far as bowing his head and starts praying ninety miles to nothing in Spanish. I have no clue what he is saying, but I know that whatever he is praying, it has something to do with Aspen. That's why we are all here after all - for Aspen.

"When will we know more?" Paisley sniffles. At that time, Ari walks out with tears falling down his face. He does something that I haven't seen him do in a very long time...he seeks comfort in my cousin. She seems just as surprised as the rest of us when he buries his face into the crook of her neck and starts sobbing. "Aspen's a fighter, Ari. She will be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

I make eye contact with Tayt. "Do you mind if I go in and see her?"

"Not at all." Tayt shakes his head. "She needs you here."

With shaking hands, I push the door open and step into her room. The first thing I notice are all the machines hooked up to her and the beeping noises they are making. I notice that even with the blue and purple bruises all over her face and arms, she still looks like an angel. Her blonde hair is scattered on her pillow like a halo above her head.

"Hey Asp." I take her hand in mine. "I told you that I couldn't be kept away." My voice is shaky as I fight back tears. "I remember when Ari first told me that he had a twin sister. We were like six, or seven years old. I didn't believe him. I actually stayed away from him for a whole week because I thought he had imaginary friends or something." I chuckle. "I thought he was crazy. When he told me you were coming to live with him, I thought he was borderline insane. But then I saw you by the Koi pond...and wow...you took my breath away.

I've never been the one to believe in love at first or soulmates or any of that crap, but I can honestly say that from the moment I laid my eyes on you, that I fell in love with you. You were going to be mine one way or another. If it meant waiting my entire life, I was willing to do just that for you. I knew you were special and I couldn't lose that.

After I kissed you after Denmark's party, I felt a part of myself come to life that had been dead for a long time. I was an idiot to let you go the first time. I won't do it again. I won't lose you. I can't. You are stuck with me forever whether you like it or not. I need you to be the girl with the fire in her soul and come back to me. I need you to come back to me. I...I love you, Aspen Rose. I love you so damn much that it hurts."