But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to do whatever it takes to let her know I’m sorry. As a matter of fact, I need to try harder to make up for being the Asshole of All Assholes.
–Me: Where are you? We need to talk. Please.
She’s not going to respond. I know that, even as I send the text.
I head toward her place, rather than waiting for her to come to her shift at the bar later. And that’s assuming that she’ll even show up after walking out yesterday. Christ, I screwed up everything. I call myself every name in the book. How can I have this IQ and not even be able to keep the only woman I ever loved happy?
When I reach her apartment, I knock. Then bang when she doesn’t respond.
“Aspen! I know you’re in there!” I start pounding. “Come on! I have to talk to you! I spoke to Heath!” I’m hitting the door hard enough that it rattles.
The door next to hers opens again, and the same Asian lady sticks her head out. “Can you be quiet? I can’t hear my drama.” Then she stops. “Oh, it’s you again.”
“Yes. Do you have any information about Aspen?” Like why she’s not answering her door or my texts.
“You’re wasting your time. She’s probably visiting her grandfather.”
“Did you see her leave?” I ask, hopeful.
“No, but she always visits her grandfather on weekends. She’s a good girl. Anyway, trust me. She’s not home.”
I squint at her. “Are you saying that to get rid of me so you can watch your drama?”
“I would never lie about her grandfather.” She seems sincere.
Besides, if Aspen’s at the Orange Care Center, it’ll be easier to talk to her. She won’t want to make a scene or run out, lest she upset Kenny. I hate to use that as leverage, but wehaveto talk.
“Okay,” I say to the neighbor lady. “Thanks.”
So I drive out to the Orange Care Center. Gi-Hoon greets me again.
“Is Aspen here to see Kenny?” I ask.
“No. Actually, she hasn’t come by at all.” Gi-Hoon frowns. “She’s probably working.”
“She does work a lot.” Maybe I can get him talking. I suspect Gi-Hoon knows a great deal about Aspen’s life.
“She does. That poor kid. She’s been taking care of her grandfather all by herself.”
“What about Kat?” I can’t picture her letting Aspen shoulder everything, even if it hurts her to see her husband not remembering her.
Gi-Hoon gives me a blank look. “Kat?”
“Her grandmother. Kenny’s wife.”
“Oh.” His expression clouds. “Didn’t she tell you?”
My belly tightens instinctively to brace for pain, like it just knows whatever he’s going to say is going to be bad.
“She passed away quite a while back. A brain aneurysm, I think? It was very sudden, from what I heard. Apparently, Kenny took it hard.”
He would have. Kenny and Kat were so in love. But Aspen would’ve taken it just as hard. She was incredibly close to her grandparents. That explains why she’s working so hard, why she took all sorts of abuse from me to keep her job. She’s the only one who can provide for Kenny.
I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment. Every time I learn something new about Aspen’s situation, I wonder if I can ever recover from all my blunders. Why couldn’t I have been just a little bit nicer? Why couldn’t I have at least treated her the way I treated Renée? But no. I did everything in my power to let her know how much I despised her, how little I think of her.
I got a second chance, and I blew it like an idiot.
“Anyway, why don’t you sign in so you can see Kenny?” Gi-Hoon says, obviously assuming I’m here to see him.
