Let Me Open Your Eyes

Chapter 17- The Swing Set

{"I knew that something was wrong 

                                     I just did not want to admit it to myself"}

I held my breath as the phone rang, every single beep causing me to chew on my lower lip harder. Aspen had been ignoring my calls for days after he had left and every time I had texted him, he had made up some kind of excuse not to see me. Deep down it bothered me that I cared so much, confused and hurt underneath everything that he was ignoring me. After all of his work to get me to trust him, part of me felt betrayed that he was almost making me feel abandoned.

My heart dropped when the line cut short, a quick breath on the other side before he took a deep sigh. "Aspen?" my voice sounded slightly desperate and it made me cringe.

"Paisley" he sighed gently, his voice a low murmur as if he was whispering into the phone. "I'm kind of busy right now, I'll talk to you later."

I huffed. "That isn't good enough, Aspen. You have been ignoring me for days and refusing to answer my calls. For god's sake, just tell me what I have done..." my heart dropped slightly, my voice lowering to a whisper. "...was it because of what I said-"

He interrupted me with a drawn out groan. "I really can't do this right now, I'm sorry. Just calm down and I'll come round later to explain. I am in the middle of something-"

"A-Aspen, this isn't fair-" tears began to strict my eyes, my voice cracking slightly.

"Look, I promise I'll-"

Another voice boomed over the phone making me flinch slightly, pulling my phone away from the receiver as an argument brewed. They sounded angry and I could tell that I was not supposed to be listening by how he had covered up the microphone slightly so that the voice was quieter.

"What do you think you're doing? We are all waiting here for you, Aspen!" the voice hissed.

"I told you it is none of your business!" Aspen threw back angrily, "I told you I will be there in a second, just go!"

"You're talking to her now, aren't you?" the voice chuckled darkly and my blood ran cold, confusion sinking into my features. "Do you really think that is wise after everything?"

"A-Aspen?..." my voice came through as a timid question as he cursed under his breath, whispering for the person with him to back off.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I told you I don't have time for this, just stop calling me" he groaned before putting the phone down, shattering my heart at the same time.

My chin wobbled as I turned off my phone, wondering what I could have done to make him react in such a way. There was no denying that Aspen had been working his way into my heart, and that it was now practically impossible to try and force him out. Every bone in my body wanted me to run to him and tell him how I felt, apologizing for always refusing to properly try. But despite how far I had come, part of me was holding back.

It hurt to know that after everything he had tried to teach me, Aspen just no longer seemed to care.

...

Megan walked into my room with a smile, looking around fondly as if remembering all of the times we used to have, becoming closer over the years. She sat down next to me gently, studying my features carefully.

"Thanks for letting me in, Paise" she smiled, squeezing my arm affectionately and I smiled awkwardly, letting her hold on gently. "I just really wanted to spend some time with you. I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

I shrugged and her eyes turned concerned.

"Is everything okay?" she persisted and I nodded eagerly, "you just don't seem yourself. You have been edging around all of the time as if you are hiding something..."