Beyond the Aspen Trees

1

"You're late, Dork."

"Only five minutes, Nerd!" Theo said as he leaped into the backseat of Aspen's beat up sedan. It took Theo two tries to get the door shut because his young arms were too weak to force the sticky hinge to close.

Glancing at the rear-view mirror, Aspen smiled when she saw Theo was in a good mood. His light brown hair, the same shade as her own, was tousled and his cheeks were rosy. For once he looked like a happy child, and Aspen fooled herself into believing that the only things on her brother's mind were the silly new games he and his friends played and the newest toy he just had to have.

"All buckled up, Dork?" Theo nodded affirmatively. Aspen switched the car into drive.

Aspen and her brother often called each other nicknames such as Dork, Nerd, and Einstein. Aspen had started this habit after their father passed away, a couple years back. She hoped teasing Theo in this way, giving a positive association to these names, would spark his interest for knowledge, and that one day he would escape the one horse town where they lived, just like she had.

Aspen was the only college graduate residing in the small town. She'd graduated with a degree in applied animal biology, putting her one step closer to her dream of becoming a veterinarian.

It was during childhood that Aspen discovered she wanted to spend the rest of her life helping animals. This was what she had told her mother and father all those years ago, and with her parents' love and support, anything seemed possible.

But her mother died shortly after giving birth to Theo, and what was for a brief period a household of three soon became a household of four when Aspen and Theo's father married The Stepmother.

Aspen wondered if her father truly loved this new woman. She often found her father sitting on the edge of his bed, a picture of aspen and Theo's biological mother in hand, crying. But Aspen always acted ignorant in front of her father, never questioning his love for The Stepmother, up until the day her father died.

"Hey—" The voice belonged to Marley, Aspen's best friend from college. "Next exit's yours, I think."

She was right. "Thanks," Aspen said, shoulder checking, then switching lanes.

In the backseat, Theo remarked that he was excited. He began listing off artists who would be at the country music festival the three were headed to. Marley shared in his enthusiasm, while Aspen simply smiled.

Aspen was nervous about Theo going to the festival, where there would undoubtedly be lots of drunks and highs by sunset. The original plan had been for the two girls to go, but The Stepmother had called the night before to ask, in her passive aggressive way, for Aspen to watch Theo for the day.

When Aspen phoned Marley that evening to let her know she had to look after Theo, Marley convinced her friend to bring Theo with them to the festival, saying it would be an experience. There would be two pairs of eyes to watch over him and they could leave before sundown since the best performances always happened on the last two days anyway. Aspen reluctantly agreed.

The three were among the first to arrive at the festival, beating even the campers. It was pretty awesome being in the front row, and Theo loved it when his sister hoisted him up onto her shoulders, giving him an even better view of the stage.

It was nearing dusk when Aspen told her brother they could stay for one for performer.

When Aspen saw the unfamiliar blond-haired singer take his position on stage, she guessed right away that within the next year he'd make it big and girls across the world would be swooning over him. He just had everything going for him: large green eyes, soft blonde hair, musical ability—