Filling The Void | ✔️

Filling The Void | Chapter Twenty - One| Trying

On Sunday afternoon Sebastian found a way to get on Kaitlyn's nerves without even being there. With his grounding coming off early due to him paying for half the repairs on the floor he decided to take me to lunch.

Kaitlyn hadn't been too fond of his constant texts but she let them slide, along with a hard glare every now and then. It made me wonder if it was directed at my obvious push away from Ryder, or just the excitement jitters causing her to mess up a little.

In the past thirty minutes, Kaitlyn had been trying to perfect the perfect look to go with my dress. In her words not mine, she needed the combination of purple and silver to be 'purpect.'

I smile, the random memory of car karaoke with Bash entering my mind as the brush of purple eye shadow tickled me.

"What are you grinning about?" Kaitlyn grunts.

I twist my mouth in thought. I didn't know how to break it to her that I'd be leaving her. The rain had let up hours ago, the sky now peeking out. Sebastian had asked me to lunch a while ago. I could invite her, that would be a nice segway. However, Kaitlyn hated being the third wheel, especially to Bash and I. Her reasoning, we kiss too much.

"Hello? Earth to Aspen?!"

She waves the brush in my face and I cough, the fall out of purple chemicals swimming up my nose.

When she catches my eye again I sigh, "Bash is taking me burgers."

"Oh- that's great! When?"

I fall silent, twiddling my fingers in my lap as I mutter, "In ten minutes."

"What?!" She says, her eyes wide, "You promised!"

I stand up abruptly, unpinning my hair from the bun on top of my head, "I promised five hours Kaitlyn, it's been seven!"

She follows after me in a hurry, swiping at me in hopes to keep me from unzipping the dress.

I spin around, my hands on the last bobby pin as she says, "But we're having so much fun!"

My fingers slow as I slide it out and drop it on the dining table. Kaitlyn needed help and maybe I wasn't the person to do that but right now I needed to do my best.

She was obviously suffering from her parent's unannounced hiatus and I could tell that them being across the country from each other wasn't helping. She had always had a big imagination and I was sure that from all the movies we watch she had some ideas about what was really happening.

I sigh, finding her face sunken, "Kaitlyn, maybe you should take a break from all this. Just for a day or two. It's stressing you out."

Her eyes flicker up from the ground and understanding flashes across her face. When she plops down into the chair she'd been sitting in and pulls her knees up against her chest, worry pummels through me.

Knowing that this was one of those, stick by your friend times, I pull out the chair next to her. When she doesn't speak or look at me, I place my hand on her shoulder.

"They'll be fine. Your parents are strong and-"

"He's having an affair, Aspen."

Her voice is wobbly when she looks up at me. "I called him on Saturday to tell him about our fight and- and- she answered."

"Your mom?"

She shakes her head, "No! This women named Brianna." Disgust fills her voice and she scoffs, trying to cover up her vulnerable state.

"I asked her who she was and she told me she was his girlfriend!"

Her eyes widen, the tears thickening as she fights to hold them back. However, upon her next words, two come out at the same time.