Before the Fall

Chapter One - Before The Fall

Aster Penelope Miller.

That is my name. It means nothing special. My parents just liked it. Something about a great-great-grandmother or something. I never cared for it much. My nickname in school was Ass. Kids are the worst.

I grew up in Tinytown, USA. Of course that wasn't it's name, it was actually Smallerton. I couldn't see a difference growing up. My life was idyllic. I grew up on a quiet street, lined with blossoming dogwoods, interspersed with towering maples and oak trees.

The summers were hot, the winters were cold, and the people were boring.

There was nothing special about Smallerton.

Life was perfect. I had both parents, I was an only child, and I had a dog.

An Australian shepherd named Cookie. He was my best friend and confidant when my teenage self got too wrapped up in my own angst to handle the outside world.

I graduated high school, along with forty other kids. I was good with classes, but my grades were never good enough to get me the title of valedictorian or even salutatorian. I was just average.

Which was okay with me. I never liked being in the spotlight. If there was a play, I volunteered for anything behind the scenes. I could sing, even dance a bit, I was great with dramatics, (just ask my mother) but I never wanted to be in front of people where they could focus on me. That was terrifying.

After graduation, I attended the state community college in a bigger town near to Smallerton. Smallerton's population was about five thousand, but Hickoryville boasted a population of twenty thousand, so they got the state school. It was only a fifteen minute drive from home, so I commuted. Saved money by not having to get an apartment.

I got along well with my parents and they never pestered me about my social life, probably because I was an open book to them. They knew when I started having a crush on a guy that was in the same major as me. We were both studying journalism.

His name was Xander Presley. No, he was wasn't related to the famous Presley's. He got asked that often. He was from a bigger city north of Hickoryville. He was a big time city-kid.

How we ended up talking is still a mystery to me. However, we kicked off a great friendship, bonding over our love for dogs and quietness. He was almost as introverted as I was, but he wasn't actually scared to be in front of people.

I was happy to be his supporting cast member. We avoided parties and simply hung out together or watched movies on the weekends. I made jokes and he laughed at them, no matter how lame. He encouraged me to live up to my full potential, and I made sure people knew about his.

Xander was my world.

My first love.

He had dark brown hair and big brown eyes that reflected every emotion he was feeling at the moment. His voice was deep and rich, his laugh low and rumbly. His hands were large and strong and I felt safe when I held them. I felt secure in his embraces.

We dated all four years of college. We both finished at the top of our class, a first for me, normal for him. He proposed after graduation, kneeling down, his motar board cap still on his head.

"Be mine, Aster, forever," he said, eyes glistening, lips trembling. It was such a simple and cheesy statement, but it was so him. He was so abnormally emotional when he proposed that it made me cry as I nodded my head like an idiot and let him slide the ring on my finger.

We kissed. We hugged. Our families celebrated.

Four months later we married.

A fall wedding was something I had always dreamed of. I loved Fall. The colors, the crispness of the air, the festivals. It was my favorite. Xander loved winter and would have loved to have a snowy wedding, but he differed to me and I loved him more for it.

We moved to the Big Apple after our wedding. That was terrifying to me. He was excited because he had gotten a job at a new firm, writing small op-Ed posts, but also working with an investigative team. I applied as well and got a job working on the same team. We were young and excited.

But that was all before we discovered H-Corp.

H-Corp ruined everything it came in contact with.

The news firm.

The city.

Our lives.

Even, the entire world.

Nothing was ever the same after H-Corp.

Nothing.