Chapter 2
“Goodbye, loves,” My mother said, kissing my sister and I on the cheek. “Please be good. Oh, I’m going to miss you so much. Willow, I’ll call you after the premier to see how it goes. Aspen, please help Zayne and Perrie out. Also, please make sure the boys don’t tear the house down. Oh no. Did I forget-?”
“Relax, Alice,” Perrie instructed calmly. “I’m sure it’ll be Aspen and Willow watching the boys in a few weeks.”
“Hey!” Shouted Niall.
“They’ve got it under control, dear. Let’s go. We’ll call you when we get there, girls. Love you!” My dad called over his shoulder practically shoving my mom into the cab. Louis and Niall stopped throwing around their football just long enough to yell, “Bye, Cedric!” I rolled my eyes. This was pathetic.
“Alrighty, guys. Let’s head inside for lunch… Come here, you!” Liam declared, picking up Willow and throwing her over his shoulder.
“Liam!” She screeched in between fits of giggles. Wow. It didn’t take long for that to get old.
Eager to escape my problems, I ran upstairs to my room. I pulled out The Fault in Our Stars and re-read my favorite part for the millionth time.
“What else? She is so beautiful. You don’t get tired of looking at her. You never worry if she is smarter than you: You know she is. She is funny without ever being mean. I love her. I am so lucky to love her.”
I sighed and closed the book, tracing my fingers up and down the pages. Someone used to love me like that, I thought. I couldn’t help but wonder if he still did. No. I shut that thought down. How can you possibly trust someone if they keep the biggest part of their life from you?
Suddenly, my phone buzzed to life: it was Chris. I needed so badly to talk to him, so I picked up.
“Hello?” I asked, hoping deep down that no one would answer me.
“Aspen, we need to talk.” Chris stated in a stern voice.
“There is nothing to talk about,” I told him.
“Aspen,” I cringed when he said my name. I’d heard him say it so many times before, but now it was almost painful. “That’s bull shit and you know it. You can’t blame me for what happened. You’re the one who stuck your nose in my business.”
“And you can’t blame me for keeping a secret that big, Chris. I thought I could trust you.”
“That’s not fair. You didn’t even let me explain myself.”
“Not fair? Don’t tell me about not fair. After dating for a whole year, you tell me you have….” I trailed off. I couldn’t even bring myself to say it.
“Look, can we talk? Face to face? I hate being away from you.”
“I’m over it, Chris. We’re done. Don’t think you can come up with an excuse and have me crawling back to you, begging for forgiveness. I don’t need you anymore. I’ve moved on.” It was a complete lie.
“Please, Aspen.” He sounded truly desperate. “I just want to talk. You don’t have to make any decisions. I just want to talk. If you’re up for it, head down to the gym at Venice Beach in an hour. Just hear me out. Please.”
“Chris-” He hung up before I could say anything else. I huffed and fell back on my bed. I just wanted to stop talking to him and go our separate ways. But I couldn’t. Something deep inside me told me we had unfinished business. I had to see him… just one more time. Then I could be done with him for good.
I threw on my favorite jean shorts and my grey converse, and crept down the spiral staircase to the main floor. I had to get out unnoticed.
“Aspen, where are you going?” I spun around. Too Late. I’d been spotted. By Harry Styles.
“I’m going to meet a friend in Venice Beach,” I confessed to him without giving away any details.
“You wouldn’t, by any chance, be sneaking out to see Chris Nightingale, would you?” Dammit.
“How’d you figure out?”
“I’m a good guesser,” He replied with a devilish half smile creeping on his face.
“What do I have to do to get you to keep your mouth shut?” I asked tersely.
He walked close to me until our faces were nearly touching. He gently placed a hand on my neck and whispered ever so softly, “Let’s just agree that you now owe me.”
Whoa, that was intense, I thought as I grabbed my car keys and sunglasses. I giggled when I saw my car. My dad was eager to buy me anything I wanted- a Porsche, a BMW, a Maserati. But no. I asked for a 2007 2 door Jeep Wrangler. My dad’s face when I picked it out was priceless. I really do love this car, though. I took the doors off so I could feel the wind rushing past me as I rushed down the winding California roads and smell the salty ocean air beside them. Unfortunately, Venice Beach was just a short ways away from my house.
When I arrived at the gym, Chris wasn’t there. Surprise, Surprise. I assumed he was running late, so I hopped on the giant swings and took in the view. It was a beautiful day. A ways to the left, a few boys were skateboarding and I saw a lot of fit Californian joggers pass them by. To my right, the huge Ferris wheel sat on the end of the pier, rotating in a perfect rhythm.
Chris’s POV
Aspen looked truly beautiful. The lips I’d kissed so many times were smiling subtly in a way only I would have noticed. With each swing, the Los Angeles sun shone through her dark hair. I knew that in that moment, she was happy. Whether or not it was about me, I had no idea.
“Aspen!” I called to her. She turned to look at me, and used her feet to slow herself down before walking over.
“Hey,” She said in a shy tone.
“Look,” I said getting straight to the point. I hated the awkward ‘breakup Smalltalk.’ “I know I should have told you about Molly earlier, but I just think it takes some serious commitment to introduce somebody to their-”
“Save it. We dated for over a year. That sounds like serious commitment to me.” She was fuming.
“I know. I’m sorry. I was scared that you would see me differently, and I didn’t want anything to ruin us.”
“I knew this was a waste of time,” Aspen retorted.
“Aspen wait.” I grabbed her arm, and she jerked it away.
“Don’t touch me. And now that I think about it, don’t call me, don’t text me, don’t think about me. I don’t want to hear from you ever again. You’re a real dick sometimes, Chris.” That really stung. I ran my hands through my hair and started walking back to my car.
When I got home, I plopped down on the couch. “Molly?” I called. She came out from the small kitchen in the apartment.
“Hi, Daddy,” Molly cooed before jumping on the couch to sit with me, snuggling into my side. I pulled her on my lap and kissed the top of her head. I thought about everything that brought her here. I had a one night stand with some girl without using protection. I didn’t think much of it until she rang my doorbell three months later. I’d gotten her pregnant. My parents found out and kicked me out of the house. I thought my life was over until I laid eyes on her for the first time. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Her mom however didn’t think so. She told me she couldn’t be a mother and offered to give me full custody. I accepted. I never thought I would let another girl into my life. Then I met Aspen. She was so different. So strong-willed. So unique. We had sex for the first time after being together for six months. Throughout the whole relationship, I respected her and moved at the pace she wanted. It was the first time I’d ever seriously dated someone. I thought we’d last forever. I guess I was wrong.
“Can I go color, Daddy?” Molly asked.
“Sure.” I had to let Aspen go and focus on being Molly’s father. Raising a three- year old is no easy task.
But I missed Aspen already.
Aspen’s POV
I couldn’t believe Chris. I always thought it was us, and only us. When I figure out that he has a three year old daughter, he expects me to be jumping for joy. And then he tells me that she has priority? I get it. He has a kid that he has to provide for. But he can’t just make me feel important and then assume that he can just drop me after I know what’s going on. If he thought I was going to play ‘mommy’ at eighteen, he was dead wrong.
I walked in the door and there was Harry. Had he been waiting this whole time?
“How was your date?” he asked a little too loudly.
“Shhh!” I said pulling him into the coat closet beside us. “It wasn’t a date. Far from it actually. I just had to work out a few…things.”
"Like what?"
"Breakup things." Why was I even telling him this?
“So you’re single, then.”
“Yes, I’m single. Why do you ask?”
He leaned in and placed a peck on my cheek.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, feeling very confused.
“You owed me, remember? Now we’re even.” He smirked and stepped out of the coat closet, leaving me red in the face and my mind racing. There was one weird part about what had just happened.
I think I liked it.

Notes

So Chris is a dad, and Aspen just got kissed. This is just the beginning:)
Thanks so much for reading this! It really means a lot.
I'm sure some of you guys got bored in the last chapter with so little mention of One Direction. I was just setting the scene. There will be more of your five favorite boys to come;) As you could imagine, Harry will soon start putting the moves on Aspen, so don't worry.
Just in case some of you were confused, there really is an outdoor gym at Venice Beach in Los Angeles. It's got some super stall swings, and some climbing ropes as well as a few balance beams. When you sit on the swings, it's literally one of the most beautiful things you will see in your entire life. Believe me, I've been.
It would be AH MAZING if you would comment your thoughts below. Thanks! Also, it would be pretty cool if you would rate, vote and/or subscribe.
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed:)
-lovetowrite13