To Heaven and Hell

Chapter 24

Aspen's Night

I lean back, draping my arm over the back of my chair. Andi isn't at the bar. She said that she was going to be at the bar getting another drink. I lick the taste of alcohol from my lips. I thought she would be back by now. She should be back by now. In fact, we should be back in her room right now, doing the unthinkable. I bite the inside of my cheek and take a deep breath. Patience. She said she would be back in a few minutes. That still doesn't keep me from worrying. The last time someone told me they were going to be back in a few minutes it was my little sister Liza. A cold pit arises in my stomach. The last time she told me that, I never saw her again. Not until I showed up here, in hell, with little Liza haunting my mind.

"Yeah, and you should learn to listen to me more often."

I jump from my chair, nearly knocking it over, when I hear her voice in my mind. No, no, no, no, no, not again. I look down and see the little girl. Red dress, white tights, and shiny, black shoes. Blonde hair so light, it looks nearly white, pulled into two pigtail braids. Her dark brown eyes peer up at me. Its always the same. I see a purple bruise along the right side of her neck. It's from the man that kidnapped her. I tear my eyes away. I can't look at her. Not when I still blame myself for her undoing.

"Why? Why do you always forget that I am inside your head?" She talks so maturely now...now that she is inside my head. It is a strange thought to think that she was only six when she...

"Stop blaming yourself Aspen," she reaches out and grabs my hand. I flinch back away from her.

You are not real.

"I know," she says. "But I'm real enough to you. In the back of your head. You know I only come when I am needed. And you, you are the one that summons me. Not anyone else."

My breathing quickens and I back away from her. Trouble. My back hits the wall. The little girl, my not-real-sister, my hell-found conscience, smirks at my trembling.

"Listen to me Aspen." Her voice comes out soft and small. "You know that there is something wrong."

Nothing is wrong.

"Why didn't you listen to your friends when they told you to be careful? They told you to be careful around her. Why haven't you been careful? Andi is dangerous, you know this. Especially now. You know something isn't right. She should be back by now."

I love her. I trust her.

Little or not-Liza cocks her head to the side. "But you don't trust her enough."

"Why does everyone make her out to be a villain?" I scream. People look over at me. I run my hands through my hair and look back at Liza. She is gone. No. I run, pushing through the people. No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I escape the crowd of people and stumble down a hallway. No, no, no, no, no. People are cruel. Too cruel. No one deserves cruelty.

I'm in you're head. Liza's voices rings through my head. You are pursuing her even though you won't admit it. Find her. Find her before it's too late. Stop her. You know you must.

My eyes close and I brace myself against the wall with my arms. I lean my head against the wall, lightly tapping the plaster with my forehead. I suck in three huge breaths through my lungs. Breathe Aspen, I tell myself. Think and breathe. But I can't. I can't think or breathe. Not with that smell. The smell...I know it well. I don't think it is something you could forget easily.

Blood.

I head down the hallway following the smell. It isn't that hard to follow. Anyone who knows the smell like I do would be able to follow it easily. I swallow hard turning the corner. No.

No, no, no, no, no.

I run to the end of the hallayw. She hears me before I reach her. Andi drops Nix's body to the ground behind her. "Andi, what the hell is going on here?" I ask trying to keep my eyes on hers and not on Nix's limp body. "Did you do this? What is going on? What happened?" Now I am shouting, I can't help it. Seeing the helpless girl, unconscious on the ground, reminds me of Liza's dead body.

Andi crosses her arms. And then she laughs. "I worried about you. I worried so much that I had picked the wrong person. The more that I got to know you the more I worried you would figure it out. I thought you were smart enough to see through me. But I guess you couldn't read the lies." She rolls her eyes.

"What lies? What the fuck are you talking about?" I can't help the shouting. Once it starts, I can't stop. "What are you talking about? What happened to Nix? We need to get her some help!"

"No!" Andi's shout catches me off guard.

"Andi! Come on! We need to get her some help!" I try to step around her, but Andi shoves me back.

"You don't get it, do you? I don't need you any more. You can go." She turns away from me and bends down toward Nix.

"Andi, babe," my voice is quiet. I bend down and grab her arm.

"Get off of me!" She shouts.

I stumble back, startled. "What is your problem?"

"Don't you get it? I said that I don't need you any more! I don't need to find out things about you or your little firends. I have no more use for you. I have what I need and I came here to finish what I started. We, this us thing, never was and never will be."

My eye brows knit together. "But...I--I love you. Andi, what are you talking about I thought--?"

"You thought wrong," she cuts me off. "I don't love you Aspen, now get the hell out of my way."

No. Nonononononono. NO!

I stumble back and hit a wall. My hand grab hold of my hair and tug at the roots. What the hell is going on? I faintly register screaming and shouting. This can't be happening. What is going on? My eyes flick up from the ground and I see Grey standing there. Yelling at Andi. My Andi.

I love her.

I see Greyson shouting, but I can't hear him. I watch. He is poised. Poised like a snake about to strike. He is going to hurt her. He is going to hurt Andi. My Andi.

I need to help her.

I push myself up off the ground. She has to by lying to me. She is drunk. She doesn't know what she is talking about. I stumble toward the first thing that I see. A decorative suite of armor. I yank the metal pole from its grasp. I spin around. Greyson is about to lunge at Andi. My Andi.

I love her, I have to help her.

A flash of silver registers in my mind and then I collapse on the ground with Greyson. I hear Andi's laughter and I look up at her. "Well," she says, "I guess I will always have you wrapped around my finger, not matter what I do."

My rapid breathing returns and my throat starts to tighten. I look down at Greyson, blood spilling across is gray hair.

He is your friend Aspen, why did you do that?

It's not Liza's voice I hear.

This time it's mine.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."