An Assassin's Death Wish

Fights and Overdoses

Eventually, I managed to convince myself to grab my skate bag and get out of the damn car. As much as I loved skating, it's hard work and I'm still bruised and sore from yesterday's practice. The moment I walked through the door I was greeted with screaming and chaos. There may have been only two people in the room but oh boy could they cause a person to go insane!

"YOU'RE A PSYCO, VARIAN!" The redhead yelled at the Varian as she threw an empty soda can at him. Before stepping into the mayhem I brought my attention to the screaming girl. It was Aspen. Something really bad clearly happened since Aspen was usually a bit shy and quiet. Not so much around Varian and me but around almost anyone else she was quieter than a ninja. 

She looked over at me when the door behind me closed. I looked at her heart shaped face and thinner than a beanstalk figure. Her straight auburn hair was tied half back and her widow's peak hairline perfectly framed her face. She was half Spanish from her dad's side and she was not as tan as he was but still tan. However her red hair and freckles seemed to come from her mom's Irish side. Her hazel eyes seemed to be one of the few features that merged her parents qualities. 

I waved, not caring that I clearly walked in on some big fight. They were my best friends and if they were in a really bad fight they would tell me, then I'd refuse to pick a side, they'd get made at me before returning back to their original fight. Eventually, and by that I mean usually less a day, they'd make up only to start a fight a few weeks later.

They both paused looking as if I wasn't suppose to be here. I slowly walked towards a blue padded bench. "So what are we fighting about now?"

Aspen looked ready to spill everything, but before she could, Varian threw the can back and it hit her straight on the head. She dramatically put the back of her hand onto the part of her forehead where it had stuck. She then slowly slunk to the ground while making choking noises. It's always odd how they could be pissed at each other but still joke around. I laughed while Varian slid over the bench I was now sitting on. He landed on the grey carpet and sat with his legs crossed as he looked up at me.

"Hi! Welcome to The Slip!" Varian greeted me as if I didn't come here almost everyday. He opened his arms showing me the room. I just stared at him as he opened my bag for me and pulled out my skates. He had dark brown hair that looked like a giant wave. The front flipped upwards while the rest stayed flat. His eyes were the same color as his hair, so dark that you almost couldn't tell where his iris ended and his pupil began. His voice was enthusiastic as he resumed speaking. "Please ignore the angry cherry behind the counter. The police haven't arrived yet to escort her from the premises. HEY! KNOCK IT OFF CHERRY!" He shouted as the can hit him once again. "CAN'T YOU SEE WE HAVE A CUSTOMER!"

Aspen popped her head back over the counter. Pretending as if she hadn't seem me walk in, she went on with Varian's skit. "Oh, so sorry miss. I'm afraid I didn't see you come in. What size skate shall it be for you?"

"Oh no thank you! I brought my own." I raised my skates that had a slight pink tint. We all broke down in giggles then before I asked again, "So why are you two mad?"

Varian glanced at both the chain on my neck and Aspen before he simply said, "I cannot tell you. You'll find out tonight though."

Was he talking about the note? Was he the one who left it or did he know who had? I was about to question him about it before his phone started ringing and he walked out of the building to take the call.

I glanced at inquisitively at Aspen. "You gonna tell me?"

She sighed before looking disappointed. "It's not my place to tell. It's a long story anyways and you'll know some enough."

Aspen clearly wasn't going to elaborate so I decided to let it go. For now at least. "Can you tell me something else at least?"

Her curiosity kicked in as she leaned across the counter, "I'll tell you if I know. Promise. Except for the previous thing." She looked kinda guilty.

"I have this flower and I was wondering if you could identify it for me since you're the only botanist I know. Let me just run out to my car and get it." I had thought about showing her the necklace but decide against it since she would ask where I got it.

I started to get up but she stopped me. "Just describe it." I laced up my skates as I told her every detail I could recall about this flower. Once I was done she fell to the floor once again, but this time with laughter instead of fake pain. 

"What's so funny?" I wobbled over to the counter and peered over. I couldn't see her but I saw her short-sleeved blue and black striped button down uniform shirt and her black shorts. 

She eventually got up onto her knees and looked at the door before she made direct eye contact and whispered, "I think it's a foxglove! Just like your last name!" She dissolved back into giggles on the floor.

Varian came in then and put his giant phone back in his bottomless pockets (not fair! I would use pockets like that if I had them). He heard Aspen and got a little worried. "What the hell did you do to her?" He was freaking out till her laughter died and she stood back up and jumped up onto the counter.

She swung her bare feet in the air and looked over at Varian with a extremely red face. "I'm okay, darling!" Aspen laughed so hard we had to hold her to keep her from falling off the counter.

I looked over at him wide-eyed as he put his hands on his head. Varian eventually removed them and looked at me. "Not dating. Nothing's changed, so chill with shipping." He turned his gaze back to Aspen and watched her with a bit of sadness as he waved his hands in front of her face. "Aspen, hey, look at me would you?" She violently shook her head and her hair flew everywhere. Realization of what had happened sunk into both of us as looked at her and then to one another with looks of horror. 

Varian wasn't very strong, but Aspen was very small, so he lifted her off the counter effortlessly. He carried her to one of the benches and laid her down on it. I looked at the giggling mess in front of me. "Aspen, look at me. Do you know who I am?"

"You're silly!" She poked my nose as she said so.

"What's my name though?"

She looked over at Varian. "Why are you worried about me? Morana forgot her own damn name! Quick! Call an ambulance!"

I looked over at Varian. "Can you call? I don't know how many she took, but it was clearly one too many."

He got up and ripped his phone out of his pocket. His hands were shaking as he dialed.

I returned my attention to Aspen. I pushed the hair out of her mouth as I questioned her. "How many did you take? Where's your mom?" I was getting more and more worried as she became more hysterical.

"Four or Five maybe?" She scrunched up her face for a second. "I don't really know anymore. Mamma is at the vet with Rigsy."

Varian came back saying that the ambulance will be outside soon. He picked Aspen back up and whispered to himself more than to Aspen. "It'll be okay, Cherry. Hang in there. Please don't pass out."

I opened the door for him. This wasn't the first time something like this happened; Aspen abused her meds quite frequently. They were meant to calm her since she had a history of cutting, but she preferred to use them as a way to forget her problems. I understood why she did it, but it always scared the shit out of Varian and I every time she did it.

As the ambulance pulled approached I glanced over at the two if them. They only allowed one person to accompany the patient and they didn't like it if you followed them in another car either. They were just really grumpy, but we followed their rules anyways since it's no fun to get kicked out of the emergency room.

Varian stopped watching the ambulance for a minute and looked back at me. "Do you mind if I go with her?" He was pleading and I looked between the two of them.

I patted his shoulder. "Call me once they fix her up. I'll be waiting for you guys back in here."

The vehicle pulled up and the EMTs took Aspen out of Varian's arms despite her protests. Varian mouthed "thank you" before climbing in with them and answering their questions. I waved at them till the ambulance was fully out of view.