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By the time we made it down to the party, I was surprised at how packed the room was. Benefactors, press, some of Bristol's friends, and obviously me, Aspen, and Brecken made up only a small portion of the crowded room of attendees.
And it wasn't until I’d mingled with a few of the people who approached me that I finally found my voice.
“I don't know what I would do if you weren't here,” I whispered into Aspen’s ear, sliding my hand along her lower back.
“You're doing amazing,” she said, looking up at me. “Once this is all over, I'll be here. I know how hard this must be for you, so I'll be there when you need to let the mask down.”
“Aspen,” I breathed her name, leaning closer to her, my heart racing as the words I needed to say rose in my throat. “I?—”
“There's my daughter,” a crass masculine voice cut over my words, seconds before a man inserted himself between us.
Aspen’s eyes flared wide, fear and shock swirling together as she stepped away from him. A woman quickly followed, stepping up to his right side and wearing a saccharine grin as she looked at Aspen.
“Why do you look so surprised, sweetheart?” the woman asked. She reached toward Aspen, like she meant to push some of her hair back, but Aspen flinched away from the touch.
It took me seconds to put two and two together. The final piece of the puzzle clicking together the second Brecken gasped as she returned from the drink table. Aspen immediately put herself in front of her little sister.
I quickly stepped to Aspen's side instead of doing what my instincts were screaming at me to do, which was shield her entirely.
“You are not welcome here,” Aspen said, but her voice was a version of soft and shaky that I'd never heard before.
“Why wouldn't we be welcome here?” her father asked. He brought a champagne flute to his lips and downed the contents in one gulp. From the way he was slurring his words, he'd already had more than his fair share. Her mother too.
“It's an open party,” her mother said. “And to our surprise, when we saw the coverage on the event, who else would be on the arm of this man, butourdaughter?” She leaned closer to Aspen, and I could smell the alcohol on her breath. “Such a smart girl to put your hooks into someone like him. I always said you were.” Her eyes trailed to Aspen’s stomach. “Are you pregnant?” she asked, her eyes shining with hope that had nothing to do with the joys of potentially being a grandparent.
Jesus, these people.
“Leave,” Aspen said.
“No,” her father said loudly enough to draw the attention of the people closest to us. He snatched another champagne flute from a tray a server was carrying, nearly causing the young man to drop the rest of the drinks.
“If there's something we need to discuss,” I finally spoke up. “I would be happy to speak to both of you outside.”
Aspen’s father's eyes met mine, hazy with drink. “Oh, we do have things to discuss,” he said. “But right now, I'm trying to talk to my daughter.”
“You havenothingto discuss with him,” Aspen snapped. “You shouldn't even be here. I've told you every time you've ever come around, we want nothing to do with you.”
“You ungrateful little bitch,” her mother whispered. “Is that how you treat your family?”
“Careful,” I warned.
“Why?” Her father asked. “You afraid of us making a scene in your fancy ass party? That’s the least of what we’ll do.”
“Cross,” Aspen said, drawing my attention down to her. “We should call security.”
I nodded, making eye contact with the security details that had blended into the crowd across the room. One nod and they started making their way over.
“Security may throw us out,” her father said. “But we'll keep coming back. You know that, Aspen. And youoweit to us. We raised you. If you want us to leave you alone, your new boyfriend is going to have to pay.”
“Jesus Christ,” Aspen muttered under her breath, her hand trembling in mine.
Brecken was in tears behind her, but kept her spine straight as she stood behind her sister.
“That's right,” her father continued. “You finally didonesmart thing in your pathetic, idiotic life. You hooked yourself a good one here. We looked him up. And if you don't want us knocking on your door every day, all you have to do is write a check.”
“I'm not paying you anything,” I said calmly.
I worried about this situation happening since the moment Aspen told me about her parents. Honestly, I was surprised it’d taken them this long to find us.
