All That's Left

Chapter 6 | Dorian

Present
2023
Seventeen years old

Aspen was a force to be reckoned with on the soccer field.

She knew every rule of the game by heart, and even though we were practicing for her upcoming game, we threw the rulebook out the window. Rules were reserved for her training sessions with her coach at school. Here, it was all about having fun and honing her skills, regardless of the technicalities.

When Aspen was on the field, her focus couldn't be broken, fueled by her intense passion for the sport, and her fierce determination to be the best at it.

So when she suddenly stopped, seconds away from scoring a goal, and turned her head towards the parking lot, I knew Vania had arrived.

Aspen had been really hurt when Vania left. They had been attached at the hip, and then Vania was just gone, for reasons two-year-old Aspen couldn't understand.

For days after Vania's departure, Aspen didn't respond to anyone. As little as she could talk back then, she kept to her room. There were days when she didn't want to eat, and weeks where we didn't see a single smile from her.

As the weeks passed by, Dad kept talking to her, and eventually, our Aspen was back. Not fully, since she still missed Vania, but she smiled again, and talked our ears off.

None of us held it against Vania. We understood that Aspen's behavior had taken a turn for the worse after Vania left, but we didn't blame her for it. We agreed not to tell Vania just how bad things had gotten with Aspen while she was gone, since we knew she would only blame herself further, and she had done enough of that since Uncle Brennan's funeral.

But Aspen didn't know how to act around Vania anymore, which is why she was watching Vania and Kian head towards us. When Vania looked in Aspen's direction, my little sister quickly continued on with the game as if nothing had happened.

A part of me still couldn't believe Vania was really back. After all this time, after everything that had happened, having her here, in the flesh, felt almost too good to be true. A tiny part of me was expecting her to leave again at any moment, but my heart told that part of me to shut it.

I didn't believe in that whole manifestation thing, but if it kept Vania here, then every part of me needed to believe that she would stay.

''You're breaking the rules, Aspen!'' Kian yelled, running after her with a determined expression on his face. Kian wasn't the sporty type, but when it came to Aspen, Vania, or anyone else he had allowed into his space, he would go all out to make sure he came out on top in whatever sport or game he needed to play.

''There are no rules!'' Aspen yelled before she kicked the ball into the net.

I looked at Vania as she came to stand next to me, and I spotted a very, very small smile trying to make its way onto her face. Not even a second later, it vanished as Vania watched my little siblings running around on the field.

Because we had spent nearly every waking moment with each other, I could easily figure out what was going on in that pretty head of hers.

She was thinking about how she had missed so much of their lives, even if it was only two years. As they saying went, they grew up too fast, and Vania had realized that when she looked at Aspen.

''Hey,'' I said, bumping her shoulder with mine, trying to get her out of her head. Vania looked up at me, her eyes carrying a weight I couldn't quite comprehend, and the sad looked that had seemed to take up permanent residence in her eyes made my heart hurt.

''You still remember how to play?'' I ask her, looking back at my siblings as Aspen scored another goal.

''It's been two years, Dorian, not ten.'' She said, kicking off her shoes. ''Besides, your mother would kill me if I so much as forgot a foot placement.''