Savin' Me from Me

Mission Possible pt. 3

Aiden pulls into the parking lot and Spencer looks around in confusion.

"Aiden, what are we doing here?"

Aiden just smiles and pulls out an envelope from his jacket pocket. He hands it over to the blonde without a word before hopping out of the car, rounding to the passenger's side to help Spencer out.

"Aiden. Seriously, why are we at the beach? Are the girls gonna meet us here?" The same, soft, reassuring smile stays on the teen's face as he gives the girl a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"My job here is done. Now it's up to you." He says simply as he gestures to the envelope in the girl's hands. A skeptical look crosses Spencer's face as she stares at him before looking down at the envelope in her hand. She turns it over, not recognizing the handwriting on the front. Frowning, she hesitates as she turns the letter in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she flips the tab open and pulls out the letter. Written on the paper are three simple words:

Follow the petals

Spencer's brows furrow in confusion. She looks up from the paper to find Aiden gone. Looking around, she spots the start of petals at the entrance and slowly makes her way over to it. On closer inspection she sees that the petals are red rose petals. She follows the trail with her eyes as far out as she can. She pulls her heels off before stepping onto the sand, slowly following the trail.

Spencer's P.O.V

What the hell am I doing? I know I promised to enjoy myself but I'm not sure I'm having fun anymore.

I shake my head as I continue to follow the path of petals, the jetty coming into view. I remember it from the last time I was here. It's pretty unique actually because it comes out pretty far out onto the shore, nearly dividing the beach. It gives a lot of privacy. Funny, because that's where the petals lead. Ughh, I have no clue why I'm here. The last time I was here was.... with... Ash...ley...

I come to a complete halt as I round the jetty. Fire torches light the path to a tall canopy a little distance away from where I stand, thin flowing white curtains draped along the four posts. Housed under it is a table with two chairs on either side but I'm too far away to see what decorates the table minus the small lantern and bouquet of red and purple flowers. But what really catches my attention is the person standing to the side a little ways from me.

"Ashley..?" I murmur quietly. The shadows hide her face but I know it's her. Her white fitted suit stands out starkly to the shadows hiding her and now everything that happened today is starting to make sense. I was never going to be hanging out with the girls. They planned this. I see her take a cautious few steps closer, shifting the shadows on her face.

"Hi." The word is shaky and nervous as it hits my ears and despite my conflicting emotions right now I can't help the small smile that crosses my face, realizing how much I've missed her voice.

"Hey. I take it this was your doing?" I question her, tilting my head a little in curiosity. Ashley fidgets as she gets closer, stopping a few feet in front of me, nodding her head.

"Uh, yeah. It um.. It's a surprise I planned." She mumbles quietly. I hum a little in reply, really taking a moment to look at my girlfriend. It's been about a week or so since we've seen each other. I think we've both been avoiding one another. Though I think I was doing much more to avoid her than she of me. She tried to talk to me the day after our fight but I avoided her like the plague. I don't think she tried again after that. I can feel how nervous she is. It comes off her in waves. She hasn't looked me in the eye since I've gotten here either. I thought I would have been angrier when I finally saw her but seeing her now, I'm not as upset as I thought I would be. And regardless of how angry and hurt and upset I was, I realize I've missed her. God, how I've missed her. I watch as she takes a deep breath before moving closer to me. She stops right in front of me, finally gathering her courage as she looks into my eyes for the first time and what I see in them just about bring me to tears as I fight an audible gasp. At first glance, her nervousness is easy to spot. And to a stranger that's all they'd see. But if you take the time to look deeper as I am, the intensity of what's going on inside her is overwhelming. The horridly haunted look in her eyes breaks my heart. The deep rooted pain in them is screaming at me. It's a wonder that I catch the guilt mixed in there. God, she's lost weight too. I can see it in her face. Her face is drawn and the dark circles that the makeup failed to hide makes it obvious how she's been sleeping. If in fact she has been sleeping at all. Or eating. Foregoing everything that's happened, the heels fall out of my hand as I close the few feet between us. Reaching up, I gently take her face between my hands. Jeez, she's shaking.