Saturday came sooner than I expected it to, and I checked the hospital clock. It was already eight o'clock. The party would've started by now but I didn't want to leave so soon. The hospital used to be a place devoid of hope, echoing with groans of people in pain and sometimes silent with only their memories ringing through our minds as we remembered them. But my dad called it a place of second chances. He always told me there was more to a hospital than just depression. So every time I got sick and I had to stay here, he'd sing to me. My eyes went to the guitar in the corner of the room.
A few years ago, my mom was here. She and my dad had gotten into an unfortunate accident on their way from work. The cause of the accident was still unclear, but mom and dad had a lot of enemies. They were in the film industry. Mom was a producer and dad a director. It made sense to say that it was an accident but one night, that 'accident' became a homicide. The moment that my mom drew her last breath as I sat by her side and told her everything would be fine. Allison was crying in the hallway all night and she wouldn't sleep. She couldn't bear to stand there and watch the life drain from our mom's eyes.
Things got worse when she told me to take care of Ally and dad. She was furious. I guess she always hated me from then because she thought that mom had always seen her as the lesser twin. She could be immature, but so could I. We both made mistakes but I chose to try and understand that her misdirected bitterness was as a result of her being downgraded to my little sister. So I shut my mouth. Most of the time anyway.
What pained me was that Ally never bothered to visit dad after that. The doctors had said that he would never walk again but I knew better than to give up. Dad's lawyer had already presented the will to both of us and told us we could claim our inheritance once we were of age, but that meant that he believed that he was not going to get better. Becca had been paying for his physiotherapy the past two years but even her generosity was limited. Even if it came to her own big brother. So I worked my butt off at an Italian restaurant in town to scrounge up some cash to pay for his therapy myself.
"Hey Aspen," I heard someone call me.
I looked up at a friendly doctor who smiled down at me. Doctor Ramsey. He'd been taking care of my parents since they were both brought here. The last time I really saw him was at my mom's funeral four years ago. Usually, the nurses on duty caught me here when I decided to spend the night. He leaned on the door.
"You don't have to deny yourself some fun you know." He smiled warmly.
"What're you talking about?"
"Did I read your look wrong? It's not a go-to-the hospital get up."
Right. The party.
"If I throw on a lab coat, will that do the trick?" I joked.
He folded his arms and eyed me curiously. I had never really been good at hiding my conflict. Like right now, you could probably see the little angel and devil on either of my shoulders screaming at each other so I could make a choice. And it was all causing me a migraine.
"I…I was invited to a party," I told him. "But I really don't think I have anything to celebrate."
"Actually, you might." He said lifting his clipboard. "He's been stable past few days and from the looks of it, he's been steadily improving. Climbed up one flight of stairs on his own yesterday."
My eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"He'll be back on his feet 'fore you know it kid." He assured.
I turned to my dad and for the first time in days, my face twitched into a grateful smile.
"Thank you so much Doc."
He pushed himself off the mantel and turned to leave but mid-step in the hallway, he turned around. He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"Hey," he called. "I'm about to clock out for the evening. Need a ride?"
"Y…yeah, I'll be out in a few."
He gave a little nod and continued down the hallway.
I turned to dad and squeezed his hand tight.
"He says you're doing well dad and that is so much than I could hope for. Please be strong. I'll be strong too, for both of us."
He stirred a little bit and I felt his hand close around mine.
Doctor Ramsey dropped me off at the party about twenty minutes later and drove off after telling me to be careful. I waved goodbye and walked up the driveway to a large gleaming mansion. I could see shadows dancing in the windows upstairs and music blasting from the stereo. I walked in to the sight of neon lights sweeping across the room, some people dancing in the middle of the room, others on top of the kitchen island, clearly drunk beyond their wits, others lounging on the sofa either because they were tired and sweaty from the dancing, or because they had passed out already from drinking. It smelled raw and sweaty, like the entire week of stress and teenage drama had been rolled up in one grimy ball waiting to be released here, tonight.
My first stop, was the backyard because I hadn't spotted either Trisha or Kye anywhere. Unfortunately, they weren't here so I just sank into an empty bench and whipped out my phone. Figures that at my first party here, I'd end up all alone.
"Hey,"
I looked up.
It was Mr.Golfer, though he'd traded his white shorts and polo neck for a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt. His hair was in a pompadour so he still carried about with him that rich-kid aura.
"Mind if I sit down?"
"Knock yourself out." I told him and shifted my attention back to my phone.
A few drunk girls stumbled out the door giggling mad arms strewn over each other's shoulders. They were aiming for the bench I was sitting on, but they tripped over each other and fell in a heap. One guy I recognized from my AP English class chugged on a can of beer as his friends cheered him on and with one swift motion whipped off his shirt and jumped into the pool. I flinched nearly caught in the splash. He surfaced a few moments later and raised his fists victoriously.
"You know too much screen time isn't good for you."
"What're you, my mom?" I snapped.
"I don't have to be to tell you it's a party." He chuckled lightly. He gestured to the back door still open. People inside were dancing; swaying around to the beat of some dance hall music. The house bounced with each beat, windows rattling from the bass.
Admittedly, it looked fun.
"So what, you want me to drink or smoke pot or something?"
"Or something," he sat up. "Why don't we start over? I'm Marcus Worthington, yes that Worthington." He smiled wide as if I was supposed to know him. I really didn't. I blinked a few times. He looked taken aback as he registered I had never heard the name before.
"So you don't know who I am?"
"…Am I supposed to?" I laughed. "I'm sorry. I really don't."
He chuckled.
"I'm Aspen."
He explained that his dad owned a chain of hotels across the world and he was a world-famous chef. It still didn't impress me but I feigned it just to be polite. It turns out this Marcus guy was actually a good guy. He was nice and he listened to what I had to say. He liked Star Wars and anime and he was a huge EDM fan. We didn't have much in common but that didn't seem to bother him.
"Join me on the dance floor?" he asked standing up and extending a hand.
"Sure, why not?"
Kye and Trish watched the game go on. Jocks stood around the pool table as one lanky, freckled guy from the AP's dominated beer pong. It was actually pretty awesome. Everyone thought he'd be out after five minutes but he was still standing.
"Have you heard anything from Aspen yet?" Kye asked over the music.
"What?"
"Have! You! Heard anything from-" she started.
"Kye, I'm right next to you but I can't hear a thing! I think we should look for Aspen! It's getting super late!" she yelled back.
She rolled her eyes. At least they were thinking the same thing. The went up the stairs of the basement, dodging littered beer cans on the treads. Trish stepped around the overflowing trashcan as they made their way into the packed, humid, living room. It didn't take them long to spot Aspen dancing with some of the other populars.
"Hey Aspen," she called over the music. "We want to head out! You coming?"
She ignored her and continued dancing with her friends.
"Aspen!" Trish called. "Earth to Aspen!"
She took her by the arm.
She swerved around and shot them a glare.
"Who the hell are you losers? Get away from me!" she yanked her arm away and moved farther into the crowd with the other cheerleaders following closely behind.
"What's her problem?" Trish asked as they walked away from them.
A vase crashed onto the floor and from a distance the ringing of the house phone could be heard though it was faint on the count of the music. Someone pounded on the closet door mid-game of seven minutes in heaven and there was the occasional drunken whooping. The smell of cigars flooded Trish's nostrils before she could stop it and she pegged her nose.
"That's not Aspen, Trish." Kye suddenly perked up.
"How do you know that?"
She pointed to the staircase leading to the first floor where Marcus was leading a drunk Aspen up the stairs.
"Shoot," Kye started weaving her way through the dancing partiers.
"What does Marcus think he's doing?"
"I don't know but it can't be anything good." She said more to herself than anyone else.