All That's Left

Chapter 11 | Dorian

Present
2023
Seventeen years old

I knew Brielle Ainsley would give Vania the job, because Brielle had kept it just for her. Uncle Brennan used to work for Irene, and it had been clear to everyone that Vania would be following in her father's footsteps.

Technically, Irene was my grandmother, since she adopted Dad when he was thirteen, but she had never wanted us to call her grandma.

When Uncle Brennan was nineteen, he accidentally got Vania's mother pregnant with Paisley. Neither of their parents were happy, and kept telling them that they had to get rid of the baby. They weren't going to do that, so they took what they had, and they came to Penasco, where Brielle let them stay at her house until they could afford to buy their own and support their new little family. Uncle Brennan had worked at the bakery since the first day he showed up in Penasco, and he had never missed one day of work.

Until he died.

I park in front of Brielle's bakery, watching the realization dawn on Vania's face. She seemed frozen in her spot, staring at the building through the windshield.

''Come on, she'll be glad you're back.''

We head into the bakery, and we can hear Brielle busy in the back, probably completing another order, since the smell of something amazing was coming from the kitchen. She had never appointed anyone else since Vania's dad, and has been doing all the work herself apart from the days my family and I came to help out. She was getting old, nearing her eighty-second birthday, and it worries us, because she was working like she was still in her thirties.

I ring the little bell on the counter and wait. ''Just a moment,'' Brielle calls, before I hear her washing her hands in the back. She emerges from the kitchen, stopping in her tracks when she sees Vania.

''About dam time,'' she breathes, hurrying around the counter to hug Vania.

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It was nearing ten at night when I said goodbye to my grandmother and Vania, since Vania was helping Brielle finish up her orders. Meaning, she had the job.

But no matter how bad I wanted to stay and help, I had school tomorrow, and I needed my sleep.

After showering, doing my homework and getting my bag ready for school tomorrow, I climb into bed, pulling up Vania's contact on my phone like I had every night for the past two years. The urge to call her, to text her had been there the whole time she was away. I had just wanted to hear her voice-just wanted to know that she was okay wherever she and Paisley went to.

But I never did.

On the one hand, I knew she needed time to process what had happened and try to move on. She certainly didn't need me reminding her of the town where she lost her father. On the other hand, the fear that she wouldn't want me in her life anymore was a prominent one. The thought that she had made new friends bothered me every night while she was away. Not that there was anything wrong with Vania making new friends-she was her own person who could do anything she wanted to, but I didn't want to be replaced. Especially not without talking things out with Vania first.

I check the time in the corner of my phone's screen. 23:30. Vania had to be home by now. Brielle would never let her work until this late. My finger hovers over the dial button on Vania's number. Should I call her? Will we still be able to talk for hours on the phone about anything and everything like we used to do almost every night?

A soft knock in my bedroom door makes me jump, and I drop my phone, feeling as though I've been caught doing something I shouldn't have. My door opens, and Aspen pokes her head into my room, squinting against light my desk lamp was producing.

''You should be asleep,'' I whisper as Aspen climbs onto my bed. I didn't question why she was here-ever since Vania left two years ago, Aspen had started getting nightmares, and when she went in search for our parents and found me awake instead, she crawled onto my bed beside me and fell asleep a minute later. Most of the time, she came to me, but every now and then, she'd go to Kian. Neither one of us was bothered by it. Her nightmares had been subsiding the past few weeks, so she was getting better, and that was all that mattered.

''You should be sleeping too,'' she whispers back, stealing half of my pillow. ''No I don't. I don't have a bedtime anymore. Perks of being a senior in high school.''

''Are you going to leave for college next year?'' Aspen wonders, and I turn my head to meet her eyes. ''You know I don't want to go to college, 'Spen.''

''You could have changed your mind,'' she mumbles.

''I promise that you'll be the first to know if I ever change my mind.''

''Pinky promise?'' She asks, holding out her pinky. I interlock mine with hers, smiling at her.

''Will Vania leave again?'' She asks softly. I sigh, turning onto my side so that I could face her. ''I don't know, Aspen. I don't think she will, but this town reminds her of everything she lost. It would only make sense if she didn't want to stay here.''

I could see the tears gathering in Aspen's eyes, and I knew that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

''Look Aspen, I know she hurt you when she left. She hurt me too, but it's not her fault, okay? I know you're starting to accept that, but you can't keep avoiding or ignoring her. I'm not undermining your feelings, but you've got to be prepared. Because maybe she decides to leave again, and then you're going to regret all the time you wasted because of this animosity towards her. And the likelihood of her leaving again is big, I'm not going to lie to you, okay? She's an adult now, with adult responsibilities and duties, and she has to take care of herself and put her feelings and needs first.

''But here's what I know for sure, 'Spen. I'm going to do everything in my power to convince Vania to stay, because I sure as hell don't want her to leave again. And I know you don't want her to leave again, and that you're only acting this way towards her because you're scared to get to close to her if she's going to just leave again. And I know it hurts, because I feel the same, kiddo. But tomorrow is never guaranteed, you know? So why don't we take it day by day? Enjoy her company while she's still here, okay?''

''Okay,'' she mumbles.

''Now go to sleep, 'Spen, before we both get in trouble.''

''Only if you admit you love her,'' Aspen whispers, and I hear the laughter bubbling up inside of her. Even though I've always turned a blind eye to my feelings for Vania, my entire family has always known about it. Heck, my two siblings figured it out as soon as they reached preschool.

''Never.''