"Aspen please wait!" Pierce's voice called after me as I continued down the spiral staircase. The feeling of being on top of the world quickly disappeared, making me realize that I would never go back to being normal after what I went through in Washington-they had taken any positivity that was left and stole it from me, leaving nothing but nightmares behind.

As I stepped off the last step, I felt a hand grab at my wrist. The grip made me stop from continuing onward, making me turn around to face Pierce. I had felt humiliated, and I didn't want him to see me cry-I didn't want him to show how weak I had actually been. Sex had been on my mind since I got back from Washington, but not in the way you'd' think it would be on my mind.

Every time I had closed my eyes I could still feel their horrid touch on me, remembering the numbness that took over my body after not being able to fight for much longer. After Cayde had raped me when we dated, we broke up and I wouldn't even get close enough to a guy to hold hands. Only this time I had to face my boyfriend and try to explain that I was uncomfortable even though he was the one who had done nothing wrong.

"Pierce, I'm sorry- I just can't do it." I sniffled as I wiped the tears that dripped from my eyes. I tried to fight back the tears but it had been no use. Every time I closed my eyes I could picture their faces and how they were so proud after taking advantage of me- as if it was a game they needed to win.

"Hey, don't be sorry," Pierce spoke softly as he placed his hands on each side of my cheeks, cupping my face within his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come on that strong. I'm sorry baby, I didn't even think about it- it's just that we haven't in a while so my head was in a completely different space."

"I'm sorry." My words cracked as they left my lips, feeling more and more sorrowful. When I dated Cayde and I wasn't in the mood or didn't feel well, he would make me feel guilty-making me say sorry over and over again till his ears rang with the words. At a young age, that relationship had damaged me so much-making me think that I was supposed to be sorry if I didn't give the man the sex he had wanted.

"Why are you sorry Aspen?" Pierce's tone was still soft as he wiped away my tears with his thumb "You're not comfortable, you've been through a lot. I've always told you that I know no means no, I'm not going to push you. I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to make you upset-I will wait as long as you need, there is no rush."

That was one of the reasons I loved Pierce, he never pushed my boundaries and understood that if I said no, it meant no. Most teenage guys just assumed you were being an emotional wreck and guilt you into having sex with them, while consent was just a seven-letter word with no meaning behind it. Pierce understood what I had gone through on a first-hand letter, and while he numbed the pain of being raped with more sex- I numbed it by fearing the actions of sex. Even with how we handled it differently, we still understood the pain and trauma that had come with it.

Pierce pulled me closer to him, dropping his hands from my face and wrapping his arms around me tightly. I hugged him back, the side of my face being pressed up against his warm chest while I rested my palm flat on him. It was moments like these where I knew Pierce was my one, he understood me in ways that no one else did-and he knew how to read me perfectly in every single situation.

It was nice not to have to constantly explain what was wrong to him because most of the time I could find the words, but with him knowing how to read me-I never had to find the words to fill the gaps of what I was feeling.

"We have the rest of our lives to do anything we want, there is no need to rush it now," Pierce whispered quietly, pressing a kiss on the top of my head before we broke apart. It was good to know Pierce thought about a future together, making me feel more secure that I wasn't just one of his toys who he gets bored of before throwing away.

I nodded in agreement, forcing a small smile on my lips. "Come on, I want to show you something." Pierce took my hand in his as he nodded down the hallway that was off-limits to the rest of the party. Pushing past the velvet rope, we continued further down the long corridor before coming to two glass doors.

It was Xander's study, where he spent a lot of his time planning new ideas and business proposals for Crestmont. Pierce flicked on the lights, revealing the walls that were made out of glass windows along with the polished brown hardwood floors. The corner walls consisted of a built-in bookshelf that went to great lengths, so high you'd need a ladder to reach the top.

A grand black piano sat in the middle of the room almost as a centerpiece for the room. Pierce led me over to the piano, pulling out the bench that had been tucked in beneath it. He had taken a seat on the bench, making me raise an eyebrow in response to what was about to happen. I had taken a seat next to him, lifting up the cover from the keys.

The keys looked like they had just been cleaned, not one speck of dust to be left behind. "My mom forced me to take lessons all my life up until I was 16." Pierce's gray eyes met mine before looking back at the keys "I hated every minute of it, but I guess it paid off."

I had known Pierce knew how to play piano, yet I had never seen him actually play in front of me. I had also played piano for a few years when I was a dancer- my mom believing they would go well together. Pierce rested his hands over the keys, his fingers lining up with the c position-which was the most common position on the piano.

Pierce started off slowly, pressing down on the right pedal below the piano to make the keys sustain for longer amounts of time. His fingers moved along the melody playing softly as nothing more than gentle background noise. I watched him as he played, Pierce's eyes glancing up from the keys to my eyes as a smile began to tug up at his lips.

His fingers began to pick up the pace as he moved his way down the piano, the song being Claire De Lune, a classic. I let out a small chuckle as the sound rang through my ears, placing my fingers above the keys as I joined in on the bass clef.

Pierce gave me an amused look as we both complimented each other well while playing. I remembered all the lessons I had taken when they were straight after school. I'd play for an hour while my mom sat in the room, waiting for the time to end. She'd then take me straight to dance class where I would tap my fingers on any surface to practice my chord progression.

I had stopped piano and dance once my mom died, two things that I loved-I had just become so depressed I wasn't able to go on. It felt as if the things I once loved were stolen away from me, no longer being able to find joy in the one place I always used to. Pierce pressed down harder on the keys as his cleft became the dominant one.

We both let out a chuckle as we continued, letting our fingers take us to the right keys as the memories came flooding back from all the sheet music and practice that had gone by in both of our lives. The piano was such a beautiful instrument, one that I had wished I had never given up.

We both stopped immediately when we heard clapping behind us. Turning around behind us I had seen Mrs. Gunner and my mother standing at the entrance of the study. "Well aren't you two magnificent." Mrs. Gunner said cheerfully "Ashlynn and I just came by to drop off decorations for Reese's party this weekend."

Looking over to my mom, she couldn't hide the smile on her face. Mrs. Gunner and my mom both dropped off all the decorations they had by the corner wall, leaving them to be set up for a later time. Pierce and I both stood up from the piano bench, walking closer to them as we helped organize everything.

"I am so glad you two found each other." Mrs. Gunner gave me a grinny smile as she looked between and Pierce "When I found out you were coming to New York Aspen, I couldn't tell you how excited I was to finally meet you. It was like seeing an old friend again."

Mrs. Gunner looked over to my mom, sending her a wink, and nudging her in the side. "Aspen, I'm heading home now-did you want to come with me?" My mother offered, knowing it was getting late. I looked over to Pierce who shrugged in response letting me do whatever I had wanted.

"Ok, I guess I'll go home- I am getting tired anyway," I admitted honestly, not knowing how much longer I could take of being out. My mom told me she'd wait outside in the car for me, not of them leaving Pierce and me in the study alone. Turning to face him, he wrapped his arms loosely around my waist as his body pressed against mine.

"Just text me when you get home, ok?" Pierce's eyes narrowed at mine, making me nod in agreement. "Well, when are you going to go home?" I asked curiously, not liking the idea of Pierce being here later and not knowing when he'd make it home-the protective side in me coming out.

"I'm probably going to crash here, no point in driving home." Pierce shrugged before leaning closer and pressing his lips to mine. His lips were so soft and I loved the feeling of every time that he had kissed me, the butterflies not disappearing once. I responded back to his kiss as I placed my palms flat on his chest, not wanting to break my lips away from his.

I pulled away after a few moments, Pierce pressing his forehead to mine. "Goodnight baby, get home safe." Pierce typically would always be the one to drive me, never trusting anyone else but knew I'd be okay with my mom-after all she was a mom to him for a period of time.

"I love you."

"I love you too." I broke away from him, his hand squeezing mine three times. He placed a peck on my lips before I began to head out of the study, my stomach flipping. At times I couldn't believe my life was real and that Pierce was actually mine. I expected to wake up from this dream at any moment but it was my reality.

I headed out of the house, pushing past strangers who I had never seen. I headed down towards Aster's truck that my mom had borrowed for a while. Getting into the passenger seat, I buckled up and looked over to my mom who had a grinny smile across her face.

"What?" I was confused as to why she was so grinny, raising an eyebrow at her as we sat in the driveway. She looked over at me, her blue eyes meeting mine as the smile continued to hold across her lips.

"He's your one, Aspen."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. I knew what she had meant but I had no idea why my mom would even comment on that. Most parents hated seeing their kids get serious in a relationship at such a young age-and most parents being my dad.

"Have you seen the way he looks at you?" She scoffed a laugh "I always knew you and Pierce would get along so well if you had met. He brings the better out in you and you bring the better out in him. I'm just so glad to see you finally happy after everything you had been through. I was talking to Devon today and she said Pierce has changed so much since you had come around."

Looking down at my phone I had seen Pierce's name pop up on my screen. I unlocked my phone and opened the text message, a smile tugging up at the corner of my lips.

Pierce Gunner: Want to go look for apartments tomorrow?

The thought made my heart flutter that this was all real. It felt like Pierce and I had just met this yesterday and now we were going to be moving in with each other. As excited as I was to begin to start this future with Pierce right at my side, I couldn't help but be nervous. I mean we were young and weren't dating very long, but for some reason, it felt like we had been together for years. It was the way we had just clicked.

I quickly typed back sure before locking the screen of my phone and setting it on my lap. My eyes snapped up to the window, taking in the dark night sky as we drove down the uncrowded roads of New York. It was so calm out, almost unsettling for how calm it had been but I assured myself I just needed to adjust back to it.

"Mom," I spoke up, parting my lips as I looked over to her. She glanced from the road to me, raising an eyebrow at me as she waited for me to continue. "Are you and dad ever going to get back to normal?"

My mom's face had fallen as the words left my lips. It was a question I hated to ask but I couldn't help but wonder. Most people would think we would all be one big happy family again, and that finding my non-dead mother would be a miracle but it felt the opposite. Our life was thrown upside down when we thought we lost her, and the entire time we stopped looking we should've continued.

It was never a homicide case, it was always a missing person's case-but the police pushed the idea of death too fast on us so they could move on to the next case. My dad had a hard time dealing with the idea of the gang world, he hated that my mother had lied about 50% of her life, even leaving him to go visit Crestmont.

"You were always the one to have questions." She forced a small smile at me before turning her attention back to the road "I don't know Aspen...your dad is adjusting to a lot-he feels hurt, resentful, and confused. I can't push him in any direction other than the one he wants to go in. All we can do is be there for each other, while you, Aster, and I are adapting again it's a lot harder for dad-he never knew about the gangs."

She was 100 percent right, which is what I had been scared of. I wanted her to lie to me and tell me one day we'd go back to normal but there was never any guarantee. For the rest of the car ride, I kept my thoughts to myself, thinking about what the next step would be for all of us as reality began to creep in faster and faster every single day.

It was not long before we arrived back at the house. My mom parked Aster's truck in the driveway before we both continued up to the door. My mom joined me at the side, slinging one of her arms around my shoulders as she pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to the side of my head. I glanced back at the yard as we walked up to the porch, looking over the attempt my dad had made to paint burned words out of the grass.

We both entered through the front door, taking off our jackets before going our separate ways. "Night Aspen." My mom called after me as I began to walk up the steps. "Night mom," I answered back as I continued up my room. I couldn't help but think of what my life would've been with my mom there the entire time.

As much as I loved my dad, it was not easy not having a mom around. Events like my first period, first time shopping for bras, having the talk but with women, my first relationship, wanting to go on birth control, my first heartbreak. There were so many things I just wished my mom would've been there for-but I could never blame her for that.

Texting Pierce, I got home, I let my phone drop onto my nightstand table and took off my leather jacket. I quickly changed out of my clothes and into shorts with a band tee that was stuffed into one of my dresser drawers. I whipped around when I heard a knock at the door, only to see Aster leaning against the doorframe.

"Can I come in?" He asked, making me nod in response. We both took a seat on the edge of my bed, not saying a word as the silence passed out for a few moments.

"Look, Aspen, I'm sorry. You've been going through a lot lately and I feel as if I haven't been the best big brother lately. I lay in bed at night, tossing and turning, and thinking about what would've happened if you would've just stayed with dad. I never should have introduced you to the gang world and I'm sorry if I robbed you of the little innocence you had left." Aster began to ramble on, apologizing for everything that wasn't his fault.

"It's not your fault Aster-none of it is." I stopped him before he could say anything else "None of us knew what was going to happen. but what's important now is what's going to happen next. And I needed Crestmont, I'd be lost without it and everybody in it....I just wish dad would see that too."

"Doubtful that he ever will." Aster let out a deep sigh "He just doesn't get it, Aspen. To him the only gangs there are, are the bloods and crips-like he sees on TV. Dad will never see why we or mom would take part in such a thing."

"I guess that big happy family is never really going to happen again." I let out the same sigh, mine filled with frustration. I couldn't believe I had told myself we'd be normal again, I guess I just hadn't wanted to face the reality until now.

"You just have to give it time, don't lose hope too soon."

Hope. The word I kept hearing over and over again, but the more I heard it the harder it was to keep hanging onto it.

The silence began to creep in again, none of us having anything more to say. It was times like this that I was glad I had Aster, he was someone in the same family position as me and he didn't sugarcoat anything. There wasn't much Aster wouldn't say to me, he always told me like it was but never didn't have a plan to back it up.

"Aspen."

"Yeah?" I asked, looking over to Aster as he broke the silence between us. He continued to stare ahead at the ground, not looking over at me.

"I want to marry Evangeline."

"What? Seriously?!" My eyes lit up as I looked over to Aster, his eyes finally turning to face me as a smile tugged up at his lips. "Oh my god, Aster-that's amazing." I couldn't help but share my brother's joy.

Aster was never the type to have girlfriends even as a teenager. He went from girl to girl, using them for nothing more than casual sex. I was stunned to hear Aster wanted to settle down at the age of 20, and couldn't be happier that it was with Evangeline.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a ring case before propping the top open. The ring was beautiful, it was a square cut ring with 3cts in it along with a diamond-covered band. It would sparkle in any type of light.

"She will love it, Aster." I looked up from the ring and to him, sharing a big smile across my face. I was thrilled with Aster, I knew he loved her and I knew Evangeline loved him. When I first got here, Aster didn't want to call Evangeline his girlfriend but after time they grew closer together. They had been there for each other through everything, including losing their entire gang in the fire-each other being all they had left.

I just hoped I'd be lucky enough to have the same proposal experience one day.

* * * * *

Hi! Happy Wednesday!
What'd you guys think of this chapter? Start off sad and ended on a happier note.

Did you expect Pierce to react the way he did about Aspen freaking out?

What did you think about their piano duet?

What do you think Devon (Mrs. Gunner) thinks of Pierce being with Aspen?

What do you think Ashlynn (Mrs. Ambrosia) thinks of Aspen being with Pierce?

Do you think Aspen knows Pierce is her one or is it too early on for her to know?

Do you think the Ambrosia family will ever go back to normal?

What do you think about Aster wanting to propose to Evangeline?

Guesses for the next chapter?

~ Ash