𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐲𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 ~ 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫

After seeing Ward, I was a whirlwind of emotions and my cocaine cravings were worsening as a result of the stress, but I wasn't going to let that ruin Mike and Anna's anniversary. So, I put on a smile and entered the party with Sarah.

The celebration was held at The Wreck and was very nice. They had a live band, great food, and incredible decorations. I wanted to let my mind wander away from the drama and just enjoy the night, but Kie and eventually the others had to know about Ward.

"Hey, Kie," My sister greeted, approaching her. "Can we talk?"

She nodded. "Yeah, of course. What's up?"

"Ward's back on the island..." I informed, lowering my voice so the people around wouldn't hear.

"Are you kidding me? That doesn't even make sense," She replied. "Ward's on this island? Like, the same island we're on?"

Sarah sighed. "Yes, he's back,"

Kie scoffed. "The second I see him, I'm turning him in, I swear,"

"That's what we should've done," I said.

"I don't know how you guys do it," She continued. "I mean, every time I wanna complain about my dad, I just think about your dad,"

"Oh, glad to be of service," Sarah replied, chuckling.

Kiara nodded. "Works every time,"

"Well, glad we could help," I chimed in, giving a small laugh.

Sarah's gaze wandered the area before stopping. I turned to see what she was looking at and it was Topper.

She turned to Kie. "You didn't tell me Topper was going to be here,"

"Sorry. My mom invited, like, the whole island," Kiara responded, looking his way.

My sister sighed. "Shit,"

"It's not a big deal," Kie assured. "I'll keep him away,"

I glanced at Topper, seeing him navigate his way through the crowd to reach us. "God, he's coming over here,"

"Oh, great. Um, well, I'm gonna go over there," Kiara said.

Sarah gave her a pleading look. "Please don't,"

"I won't go far," She promised, stepping about ten feet away. "Just say the word,"

"If he tries anything fucked up, I'm right here," I reassured, not leaving her side.

She was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of him being around. I wasn't sure why, especially because she had been at Mase with him the day before, but I sure as hell wasn't going to leave her side when she felt uneasy.

"Hi," She greeted as Topper approached us.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" He asked.

"Good," Sarah answered. "How are you?"

"Good," He said. "Um, I don't wanna blow your cover or anything, so I'll just keep it low-key. I know we're not public or anything. You know what I mean?"

I furrowed my brows. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look, Aspyn, if you could just give us a minute that'd be great," He said.

I shook my head. "Nope,"

"Come on, A-"

"Nope," I repeated.

He clenched his jaw. "Fine,"

Glancing past my sister and I, he spotted Kiara. "Hey, Kie. How are you?"