Don't Do Anything Stupid

It's been two days since I've last seen sunlight.

Since I've last got out of bed.

Since I've made the biggest mistake of my life.

I hear a knock at the front door but I roll over and pretend that I didn't hear it.

Next thing I know they're banging at the door which makes me jolt up in shock.

"I know you're in there, Aspen" I hear Kayden yell from the other side of the door

I reluctantly get out of bed and drag myself down the stairs and towards the door.

I unlock the door and squint my eyes as the sun hits me in the face.

When my eyes adjust I see Kayden standing there with a bright smile on his face

"No offense, but what are you doing here?" I ask him as I cross my arms over my stomach

"Ouch," he says teasingly and places a hand over his chest

"And Carolina asked me to babysit you" he says with a shrug

Are you kidding me right now?!

They sent me a babysitter!

"Are you serious?" I ask him

"Yeah, she said it was an emergency" he says

"Come in" I say as I hold the door wider for him to enter.

When he's entered the house I close the door and lock it before quickly climbing the stairs.

I have adrenaline and fury running through my veins right now.

How could they send me a babysitter?!

They kept me constantly supervised at their house!

Was that not even for them?!

"Are you okay?" Kayden asks as he follows me into my bedroom and sits in my desk chair

"I'm fine" I reply quickly before grabbing my phone and groaning when I realize it's dead

Of course it is.

"Can I borrow your phone?" I ask Kayden as I turn to face him

He looks at me with a concerned expression and presses his lips together before standing up and walking towards me.

When he reaches me he places his hands gently on my shoulders before sitting me down on my bed.

"Aspen, I don't know what you're going through, but I'm worried about you" he says seriously as he kneels in front of me

"I told you, I'm fine" I say with a serious tone but he shakes his head

"No, you're not" he states

"No offense, but your eyes are red and bloodshot, you look like you haven't eaten in days, and you smell a little ripe" he says which makes me glare at him

I see him visibly flinch at my expression as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.

He hands me his phone which I grab with eager hands before standing up.

I quickly type in his password and go into his contacts. I click on Carolina's contact name and choose to FaceTime her.

As the phone rings I choose to pace the space beside of my bed as Kayden looks at me in confusion.

She picks up on the fourth ring. It looks like she's in the dining room.

When she looks at me she smiles guiltily.

"Hey, Aspen, What's up?" She asks calmly

Is she serious right now??

"Don't 'what's up' me" I say as I glare at her

"Why are you making Kayden babysit me?" I ask with a hard tone

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Kayden.

I hate the fact that Carolina sent him to watch over me as if I was incapable of taking care of myself.

"He wanted to do it" she says very unconvincingly

I turn to Kayden and glare at him coldly which makes his eyes widen.

He looks like he's about to break so I continue to glare at him.

"Okay, Carolina made me babysit you because she thinks that there's someone following you in a black van" he says quickly before places his hands over his mouth

"Kayden, I told you not to tell her!" Carolina screams through the phone

"You told him not to tell me that my life could possibly be in danger?!" I yell at her

Is she serious right now?!

"Aspen, it's for your own good. You wouldn't understand" she says was a sad tone

I'm getting tired of all these secrets.

I left their house so that I wouldn't be surrounded by secrets, but they somehow followed me.

"Try me" I command as I sit stiffly on my bed

I'm so furious that I can't even relax.

"I can't tell you, it's not my place to tell" she says apologetically

"Then who can tell me?" I ask with an annoyed voice

She presses her lips together and looks around the dining room before looking back at me. She hesitates a little bit before answering me.

"Your father" she says with an emotionless tone which causes Kayden to gasp as I clench my fist

"I'll call you back later" I say and go to end the call

"Aspen, don't do anything stupid" she says with a stern tone but I hang up on her and grab my phone

Wow, it only charged to ten percent.

I quickly dial my fathers number from my phone since he doesn't know Kayden's number.

My father answers on the second ring.

"Well isn't this a surprise" he says with an amused expression

"Cut the crap, Henry" I say with an acidic tone

"We need to talk" I say with an emotionless tone

You have to be careful with showing your emotions around my father.

Depending on his mood he could manipulate you just by using your emotions.

It's a disgusting thing.

"Yes, we do. Where shall I meet you?" He asks

"The museum. One hour. Be there" I command before hanging up

"The museum? One hour?" Kayden asks

Shit, I forgot he was here.

"I wanted to choose a place that was quiet and civil," I say and he nods

"One hour because I have to take a shower and change" I say

If I wore what I was wearing now my dad would figure out what happened and trigger my emotions. From there he'd manipulate me into doing whatever he wanted.

And because I feel gross right now.

"Wait, what am I going to do?" He asks with a confused tone

"You're going to spy on us. If he tries something you could easily call for help" I say

"Aspen, I'm not so sure this is a good idea" he says with a worried tone

"He's my dad, my own flesh and blood, he won't kill me" I say confidently

The only reason why he won't is because he's terrified of what my mother would do to him.

He still thinks that I don't know his weakness.

His weakness is my mom.

-

"Why are you dressed so formal?" Kayden asks as I walk out of the bathroom

"I don't feel like being scolded about not fitting into his lifestyle" I say with an eye roll as I remember the memory.

I'm wearing a silk black camisole that's tucked into my black skinny jeans. I chose a burgundy business jacket to throw over it.

I paired that with black stilettos and a black purse.

Since my dad obviously has his gang and drug business he's always dressed in business attire.

He thinks that it makes him powerful.

One time I met him in public while wearing pajamas and he scolded me for a year straight.

I'm not going through that shit again.

"You guys barely seem like family" he says as I clasp a gold necklace around my neck

"He wanted other things while I wanted to live a normal life" is all I reply as I part my hair in the middle and brush it into a low ponytail

He nods his head but looks like he wants to ask more.

I sigh as I turn to face him and lean against my wall.

"What do you want to know?" I ask seriously

"You seem so annoyed whenever you mention him as your father, is there a reason?" He questions which makes my breath hitch

I didn't expect him to ask that question.

"Yes," I say as I walk into my bathroom and open one of my drawers. I grab the 'Kay Jewelers' box and close the drawer.

I walk up to him and place the box in his hands before grabbing my makeup bag so that I could cover up the fact that I've barely been sleeping.

He opens it and gasps when he sees the necklace.

Beautiful isn't it?

It's a family heirloom.

Apparently it used to be his mother's necklace.

He never gave it to my mom because she's always busy with her baking business.

"That used to be my grandmothers," I start off as I do my makeup

"I love my grandmother but she moved away years ago for reasons we're not going to talk about" I say as I feel my eyes start to tear up up but I push them down

"Anyways, Henry gave that to me as a bribe" I say which causes Kayden to look at me in confusion

"Why would he bribe his only daughter with a family heirloom?" He asks

"He is involved with some serious shit, at one point he came really close to death" I say and turn to face Kayden since I'm finished with my makeup

"He gave me that necklace to persuade me not to tell my mom," I say which makes his eyes widen as he listens to me intently

"He told me that if he were to die then I'd have to take over his businesses since I'm his only child," I say with an emotionless tone

"The best part was that I was only six" I say sarcastically

If anything that was the worst part of the whole ordeal.

"Aspen, I'm so sorry" he says but I wave my hand

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault" I say before I walk up to him and grab the necklace

This necklace is the only thing I have left of my grandmother.

I place it back in its drawer before grabbing my purse and stuffing it with random essentials.

"Let's go, he's probably already there" I say as I look at my phone

"It's only been fifty minutes" he says with a confused tone

"A true business person is never late, only early" I say quoting my father.

"Aspen" Kayden stops me on the stairs which makes me turn around to face him

"Yeah?" I respond

"If you ever need someone to talk to I'll always be ready to listen" he says with a sweet smile

I smile at him and give him a hug.

"Thanks, Kayden, I appreciate it" I say before continuing to go down the stairs.

As we make our way to our cars I can't help but think...

Am I doing the right thing by meeting him.