Chapter 17

Charlotte's POV

I don't know how or what to feel.

The visual of Megan driving straight into the woods and crashing her car has been haunting me for the past three hours.

They declared Megan dead at the scene.

Thank god.

But Aspen was barely hanging on.

She was breathing but it was shallow.

The ambulance arrived to the scene a couple seconds later, surprisingly.

I was too in shock to do anything in the moment.

I swear I could hear my heart breaking.

"I'm sure that she's fine, Charlotte" Avery says as she hands me a coffee I silently accept it from her as she takes a seat next to me.

"You don't know that for a fact, do you?" I question her emotionlessly as I take a sip of the coffee I notice a few adults in the waiting room continue to stare at me with a look of shock or recognition.

These are the moments when I wish I wasn't famous.

An adorable girl walks up to me, she seems to be either seven or eight year of age.

I plaster on a smile so that I don't scare her away.

I'm not going to let my emotions ruin her experience of meeting her favorite celebrity.

"Are you Bellisa?" She asks with a nervous facial expression I politely nod my head at the young girl which causes her smile to widen as she reveals a pen and notepad.

"May I have your autograph?" She asks "Of course," I reply as I take both the pen and notepad from her small hands I quickly write down a short message before scribbling down my signature underneath it.

"Here you go" I say as I return her pen and notepad back into her hands She briefly looks over it, making her smile widen.

"Thank you so much" she replies before going back over to her parents I take a deep breath as I put my head in my hands.

"Drink your coffee, your parents are on the way" Avery says quietly as she holds my coffee out for me to grab I glance up at her with furrowed brows.

"My parents?" I ask her with a tone of confusion "Your mom and Aspen's mom" she answers Great.

This is going to be wonderful to explain to not only my mom but Aspen's mom too.

I thought I was nervous when I explained it to them first time.

But I'm way more nervous now.

"Hey, I'm sure they'll understand" Avery says trying to calm me down I shake my head as I place it back in my hands.

I can feel tears of frustration begin to well up in my eyes.

No, No, No.

I will not cry.

I will not cry.

I will not cry.

"Charlotte?" Someone whispers to me I look up only to meet Ms. Bailey's worried eyes.

"Aww" she coos lightly with a small smile as she brings me in for a hug I instantly wrap my arms around her and allow the tears to fall.

There are multiple reasons why I am crying.

One, the possibility of Aspen not making it out alive.

Two, the fact that I have to explain the Megan situation to Aspen's mother, again.

Three, the possibility of Aspen forgetting her past entirely if she does wake up.

There are just so many factors and possibilities of bad things that can happen.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Ms. Bailey asks as she continues to rub circles on my back with her palm I continue to sniffle as my silent tears roll down my cheeks and land on her clothed shoulder "Megan did this" I whisper out breathlessly I feel her immediately tense under me as she pulls away to look me in the eyes.

"Are you sure?" She questions but it comes out more as a statement I nod my head which makes her hold her breath.

"Cassie, can I speak with your daughter for a moment?" Ms. Bailey asks my mom as she turns to face her "Yeah, I'll come get you both if they call us" my mother says with a sad smile Aspen's mom thanks her before leading us outside, past the relentless paparazzi.

They seriously never take a break.

She unlocks her car from her key chain and quickly helps me into the car so that the paparazzi don't trample me.

When she's safely inside the car she locks the doors and turns to face me.

"How are you feeling?" She decides to ask as she observes my messy state My hair is carelessly thrown into a bun, which probably looks horrible.

My face is bare of any make up since I chose not to wear any.

My eyes are most likely red from my small break down a couple of minutes ago.

Overall, I'm currently not in the best state.

"Honestly? Terrified." I tell her with an emotionless laugh She gives me a closed lip smile as she rubs my shoulder soothingly.

"Tell me everything" she says lightly since I'm currently not in the best state I nod my head as I quickly wipe my dried tears from under my eyes.

I hope she can handle this because I'm barely able to handle it myself.

-

As I finish telling Ms. Bailey the story of what happened to her daughter in the past five hours I look down at my hands.

The paparazzi are still standing outside of the car taking photos that'll probably be posted online and taken out of context.

"Putting myself in your shoes, I understand why you did what you did" she says calmly which completely shocks me I look up so that my eyes land on her face.

Her face is void of any emotion, but that's understandable given the situation.

Her eyes also hold an untamable amount of fury within them.

"I'm so sorry" I say guilty I feel so guilty.

If I would've allowed Aspen to come with us then maybe she wouldn't be laying in a hospital bed right now.

"Hey, it's not your fault," she says with a genuine tone of voice but I refuse to believe her "Megan hasn't been mentally okay for years now, it was only a matter of time before she did something this extreme" Ms. Bailey says as she pulls me in for a hug I hug her back just as tightly.

I don't know who needed this hug more but I'm glad that it was shared.

"I need you to promise me something" she says as she pulls away from the hug I settle back into my seat and stare at her with a confused facial expression. I end up nodding my head but the look of confusion remains on my facial features.

"Stop beating yourself up about this, try to think on the bright side" she says with a small smile but I notice the sadness in her eyes "I'll try" I say with a head nod I'm not going to give her a definite 'yes' or 'no' just in case I break it.

"Great, now let’s go back to the others" she says before she turns around and quickly opens her door, careful not to accidentally hit a paparazzi with it.

I need to charge my phone so that I can contact Bella.

I don't need the paparazzi here if Aspen ends up being released.

Especially the possibility of her having a concussion.

-

Due to the previous head injury that Aspen had, they decided that they were going to run a few more tests.

Therefore, we never got to see her today since visiting hours ended.

As we all walked out of the hospital, we quickly became surrounded by a group of paparazzi.

I blocked them out since all of them were asking the same three questions.

'Bellisa, why are you at Valley mount hospital? For a significant other I presume.'

'Bellisa, are you here for the mystery brunette you were photographed with?'

'Are you able to confirm or deny your relationship with the brunette girl that you were photographed with?'

"Please move" my mother demands firmly as she and Ms. Bailey help Avery and I through the crowd of restless paparazzi

The closer we get to the car, the louder they start to fire out their questions.

My breathing begins to pick up as my chest becomes tighter.

What is happening?!

Avery and I quickly jump into the back seat of the car as my mother closes the car door behind us.

"Is it always like this?" Avery asks I turn my head to look at her.

She is noticeably tired but I see the obvious worry in her eyes.

I give her a small smile as if silently telling her not to worry.

"Yes, but you learn to get used to it" I reply with a shrug Her facial expression doesn't change as she places her hand on my shoulder.

"Charlotte" she starts but I quickly cut her off "It's fine, I'll just call Bella to issue a press release if Aspen gets released" I say with a shrug "Charlotte, I know it's not my business, but I think you should take a real break" she says with a concerned tone "Real break?" I ask her with confusion evident on my facial features "As in no interviews or no photo shoots" she elaborates I carefully take in her facial expression.

She seems genuinely concerned.

"I will, soon" I decide to reply She's about to say something else but she's effectively cutoff by my mother.

"Charlotte, are you sure you want to do the press conference and photo shoot tomorrow?" My mom asks with a worried tone as Aspen's mom takes the seat beside her "Yes, why?" I ask her Avery quietly scoffs from beside me.

"I just don't think that it'll be good for your mental health, that's all" my mom replies I quietly laugh at that.

Why is everyone so worried about my mental health?

I'm completely fine.

"Mom, I'll be fine" Is all I say before I buckle my seat belt "Okay, if you say so" she replies I choose to lay my head on the cold glass of the window and let the world slip away from me as I fall into a much-needed sleep.