Aspen
Damnit. Cliff had come up to me after school, to tell me when tennis tryouts were. I didn't even realize that he was staring at Linden. Damn. Was I going have to tell her now? She seemed violated by the whole thing. She was very quiet, which wasn't uncommon for her, but her posture had changed. She was kinda holding herself. Damnit.
I pulled up to the house and heard her gasp. Shit. I forgot about my split house. Yep. I was gonna have to do two of one things. I was either going to: 1) kill her or 2) explain everything about the Caster world to her.
"Wow. How did you pull off that paint job?"she asked. Good. She thought that it was a paint job. But, how was I going to explain the inside of the house?
"Ummm...who are they?"Linden asked, nodding to the porch. I groaned and beat my head against the steering wheel, parking the car and turning it off.
"They are my parents."I told her, helping her out of my Mustang. Mom and dad stood on the porch, watching us, mom with her gold eyes and dad with his green eyes. I could tell that they were pissed. But, with Linden here, they had to stay on their best behavior.
"Hi. You must be Mrs and Mr Falaise. I'm Linden."Linden said cheerfully. Dad smiled and shook her hand. Mom looked her up and down, but with a smile.
"Nice to meet you Linden. Are you Asher's tutor?"dad asked.
"Yes sir. I am."she said.
"About damn time that asshole of a principal decided to do something."mom said, lighting a cigarette. Linden faltered and then looked at me.
"Mom, this is Linden Mariage, Principal Mariage's daughter."I told her. Mom became very red and she apologized as she left. Dad smiled at Linden and escorted her into the house. Linden had everything set up when Asher finally came down from his room.
"What subject do you want to start with?"she asked. He looked at her then at me then at dad. He sighed and sat down.
"I guess Algebra 2."he said. Dad smiled and turned a couple of moms beers into Dr. Peppers.
"Aspen, can I talk to you?"mom called from Asher's side. I looked at Asher and then went to mom.
"I know what you're thinking and it's a bad idea."she whispered. I sighed. I hated my mother hit me on the arm for thinking that. I chuckled.
"Aspen, she's a Mortal. You have to realize how much you would hurt her if you tried anything."she whispered.
"Mom, she may not be a Mortal."I told her.
"She would've sensed her powers if she was a Caster. She would have been incredibility powerful if she was an Incubus. Unless she's a Seer or a Wayward, she's Mortal."she whispered, intensely. I looked at Linden. She was trying her best but Asher was having a hard time. He flipped me off as Linden went to question two.
"It's not her Sixteenth Moon yet. She may be half Caster."I told her. Mother groaned and dropped the subject. I hugged her but she pushed me away. I sighed. A Dark Caster mother was never fun.
It was five hours later and everyone was frustrated. Linden was trying to be a lady but Asher was really pissing her off. Mom retreated to her room and Dad was fixing the house, reinstating some Casts, including Cook and Asher's Dissipa cast, which scattered the sunlight that touched him. Asher and I had to distract Linden so she wouldn't notice.
"Who's hungry?"dad asked. We all gave some sort of response and he chuckled. I helped Linden put her books up and Asher retreated to his room.
"I'm sorry he gave you a hard time."I told her.
"It's fine. I just need a break from his stupidity."she said.
"I heard that!"Asher yelled from his room. We all laughed and Linden was red as a tomato.
"You have a beautiful house Mr. Falaise."she told dad as he served dinner, shrimp alfredo and breadsticks.
"Thank you Linden. It is very different."he said.
"Yes. Very."she said, waiting on us to get our food. I could tell that she was waiting for us to say a prayer. I shook my head and started eating. She started eating too.
"Now, Linden, what's your family like?"dad asked as Asher and mom came to sit down. Uh oh.
"Well, it's just me and my dad. My mother died when I was very little."she said quickly.
"Oh. What about your grandparents?"dad asked. I tried to kick him under the table.
"Oh ummm what do you want to know?"she asked in return.
"Like their names and what they do."dad said. I could tell what he was doing. He was gauging if she was a quarter Caster or something.
"Well, my grandma Harper is a retired school teacher and my grandfather Quinn works with computers."she said. I could tell that dad was mentally trying to see if he's heard that name and if they were Caster.
"And, your mother?"mom said. Great. More investigating. This time, mom was reading her thoughts. Asher chuckled. The first time I bring a girl home, they start bombarding her with questions.
"Ummmm she was a policewoman. Her names was Anna."she said, trying to eat her dinner.
"What was her maiden name?"mom asked. I looked at her. Was it possible?
"Anna Branton, I think."she said, putting her fork down. She excused herself and went to the bathroom.
"What the hell? Seriously?"I said to them .
"Anna Branton...that sounds familiar."mom said. Dad nodded.
"Mom, dad, you probably just made her cry."I told them.
"We didn't mean anything by it. We just wanted to know more about her."dad said. I sighed and Linden came back.
"I'm sorry that was so awkward."I told her as we got out of the car.
"It's okay."she said. She tried to get through to Asher for another hour but then, he yelled at her and I took her home.
"No. Seriously. I'm sorry."I said as we stood in front of her door.
"And, seriously, it's okay."she said with a smile. I smiled back and we stood there. I felt that I should do something. Hug her or something. Or...a kiss. I wanted that. I wanted that a lot. But, just as soon as I was stepping closer to her, her dad opened the door. He was drunk.
"Oh! Hi Aspen!"he said, swinging around half a bottle of Jack Daniels. Linden ducked to avoid getting hit and I pulled her close to me. She must have felt something in when I touched her because she gasped and looked up at me. For a moment, it was just me and her. I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and I could tell she wasn't breathing.
"Alright. That's enough Linden. Come on in."her dad said.
"Yes sir."she whispered, leaving my arms and going into the house. Her dad closed the door and I got in the car. Wow.
