Washing the Devil From My Hands.

Aspen had always had an online presence, even when she was younger. Her parents hadn't been the most approving but they kept a close eye on what she did, at least they had in the beginning. As the years wore on, they had become less diligent in reading her messages and strict on what she did on the internet. Almost a year ago, she had started talking to Tyler, a 16 year old boy who lived an hour away from her. She had pretty much instantly gone head over heels for him - hazel eyed, dimpled boys made her knees weak. After months of talking about meeting each other, the day had finally arrived. Tyler's uncle, Jeffrey, had offered to drive him down so they could meet. She hadn't told anyone because she just knew everyone would get on her case that it was a bad idea. All the strange people on the internet, you had to be careful. Which was why she had chosen to meet them at the local mall - tons of people were around, nothing would happen to her.

She sat in the food court, nervously sipping at the smoothie she had bought herself. Aspen kept glancing at her phone, leg bouncing. They would be here any minute and she could finally meet Tyler! Aspen couldn't remember the last time that she had been so excited - nervous but excited.

Jeffrey sighed as he finished buttoning his shirt, he was a little nervous to meet Aspen, he knew he wasn't what she was expecting. However, he also knew he meant every word he ever said to her through their hours of endless talking. Not many girls caught his attention when he was online, but Aspen was smart, funny, she was wise beyond her years. He felt a true connection with her, and all he wanted to do was show her how much she meant to him. Sending her a quick message, he let her know that he would be at the mall soon. He had made it sound as though he lived an hour or two away from her, in reality he was maybe thirty minutes.

Walking through the mall, he went to the food court and scanned the area for the girl he had been admiring for months. Seeing her at a table off to the side by herself, he smiled and walked his way towards her. He cleared his throat, "Aspen?" Smiling brightly, he placed his hand on the back of the chair that sat across from her. "I'm Tyler's uncle, he's in the car. He ended up with a headache on the way here, and said he wanted to still hang out, just somewhere a little more quiet. I have a friends house not too far from here that you both are more than welcome to hang out at." His voice was genuine.

@ varkatzas.

Aspen was trying to keep herself entertained as she played with her phone, her heart beating a mile a minute as she waited for Tyler to show up. She was so nervous but she was sure that she was safe because she was at a mall so what could go wrong? She was positive that nothing could go wrong which was most of the reason that she hadn't bothered to tell anyone that she was meeting up with Tyler. Looking up when she heard someone clear their throat, Aspen offered a brilliant smile when Jeffrey introduced himself. "Thank you for bring Tyler, I can't thank you enough," she said as she stood, her smile morphing into a frown when Jeffrey explained about Tyler having a headache.

Not even thinking about the possibility of a trap, Aspen started to follow Jeffrey out to the vehicle. "I have some aleve in my purse so hopefully that'll help him," she said, chewing on the inside of her lip. Aspen looked up to Jeffrey, a strange feeling washing over her but she ignored it, thinking it was just nerves because she would be meeting Tyler for the first time. "I'm going to admit, I'm a little nervous... is Tyler?"

She was radiant. Her smile instantly set his heart a blaze. "Of course! It's my pleasure. My nephew means a lot to me, so I knew I had to help him meet you." She was kindhearted, as he already knew, but she was showing it to him first hand. He smiled as the two of them made their way to his vehicle. "Oh, he's very nervous about meeting you. All he could do was talk the entire ride, his hands were shaking too. Quite a sight to see, you must be a very special girl to have him so anxious." Jeffrey smiled, they finally made it to his car. "Well, this is mine."

He watched her look in the windows, "Tyler is actually at my friends house. I'm so sorry, it slipped my mind. He had me drop him off on the way here, it was really a terrible headache." He almost messed up his own lie. He wasn't sure how else he would get her in the car without force. He didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted to have the chance to be alone with her. Jeffrey made his way to the passenger side, he opened the door. "Please, it's only a few minutes away from here."

@ varkatzas.

{i'm about to eat supper but i'll be back right after }

Aspen's stomach twisted as she looked inside of Jeffrey's vehicle, not seeing anyone in the front or the back seat. Her face paled as she turned toward Jeffrey, the worst idea coming to mind. It wasn't until Jeffrey explained what was going on that she calmed, breathing.a sigh of relief that she hadn't even realized she had been holding in. Aspen swallowed, giving a small nod of her head. "Oh, okay. That's fine, I guess I just thought..." she trailed off, shaking her head. She didn't exactly want to admit to Jeffrey that she had thought that he was trying to kidnap her.

Climbing into the front seat, Aspen buckled her seatbelt before relaxing. She took a sip of her smoothie before placing it in the cup holder. "Maybe if he's not feeling that well, we should reschedule..." Aspen trailed off, frowning as she glanced toward Jeffrey. "I mean, I can't wait to meet him but I want him to get rest, you know?"

Jeffrey sighed softly to himself, he could tell she was on edge. He couldn't take a chance in losing her, he needed this girl in his life. There was much he wanted to show her, so much he wanted to teach her. He had learned everything he could about her, and now it was his turn to show her his true self. Smiling as she buckled herself in, he started the truck. "Oh no, it's honestly fine. He insisted, really. I tried to get him to reschedule, but he declined any interested in that whatsoever." With a deep laugh, Jeffrey turned out of the parking garage and down the road to his home. He wasn't too far outside of town, but just far enough. He turned on the radio, to the station she had mentioned was her favorite. "Tyler told me you liked this station."

The fields stretched beside them as they drove to their destination. He was hoping she would be calm once realizing that Tyler wasn't truly there, but he knew that was a far fetched hope. He began to think about different ways to keep her from trying to run, the last thing he wanted to do was use force. Aspen was his dream little, and he didn't want to harm her.

@ varkatzas.

In the back of her mind, Aspen knew that something wasn't quite right but she was just so excited to meet Tyler that she plain didn't care. She smiled, nodding as Jeffrey turned the radio to her favourite station. "I hope everything goes well today. I'll start mentioning him to my parents if it does," she said, knowing how silly she must sound to Jeffrey. "Oh! I don't mean that I'm ashamed of him or something like that either," she was quick to say, not wanting her last sentence to come off the wrong way. Clearing her throat as they pulled up to the house that Tyler was supposed to be at, Aspen hesitated for a moment before she climbed out of the house. She lingered by the front of the vehicle before heading toward the front door.

Jeffrey swung open the door and stepped out of the way to let Aspen step inside first. She hesitated for just a moment longer, her stomach twisted into a firm knot. "Tyler!" Aspen called as she stepped into the house. Her brows knit together in confusion when no one answered. It was something so minuscule in the grande scheme of things but somehow, the sound of the front door shutting was enough to click everything into place for Aspen. Her eyes widened as she whirled around, her eyes locking on Jeffrey. "Where... where is Tyler, Jeff?" Aspen asked, her voice cracking as she began to back away from him.

Jeffrey's breath caught slightly when she mentioned her parents; honestly he had forgotten about them existing. "No, you're fine. I completely understand. Not to sound odd, but when I've tried the whole 'online dating' thing, I've found it easier to not tell anyone until after I've met that person." Typically, Jeffrey didn't need to meet women online, he wanted to connect with her some though. Pulling up to his house, Jeffrey parked, and got out. He waited for Aspen to follow behind him before he continued up to the front door.

Walking in behind her, Jeff shut the door behind them. The door clicked shut, and his fingers twisted the lock. Aspen spun to Jeffrey, and his heart sank. She had caught on, and he wasn't sure what he was going to do next. He was hoping she would remain calm, but he wasn't even sure how to respond to her question. "Aspen, there's something we need to talk about." He started to move closer to the girl, his large figure casting a shadow over her.

@ varkatzas.

Aspen started to shake her head almost immediately when Jeffrey turned toward her, her heart sinking even further beneath her feet. She didn't want to admit to what she had just realized but the way that he looked at her and what he said, she couldn't ignore it any longer. She gave a shake of her head, slowly backing up. She didn't want Jeffrey any closer to her than he was already, not if her suspicions were right. Yelping in surprise as her back hit the wall beside the entrance to the kitchen, Aspen all but threw herself into the room to be able to continue moving away from Jeffrey.

She wasn't even thinking in terms of a weapon, just putting more space between herself and Jeffrey. Aspen had no clue what Jeffrey was planning for her but she was sure that whatever it was, it wouldn't be pleasant. Gulping, Aspen stepped around the small dining room table and was a bit relieved because at least she could move one way or another depending on where Jeffrey went. She thought she had a bit of an upper hand because of it. "S-Stay away from me! Stay right there!" Aspen all but screeched, pointing at him. "Tell me what's going on. Right now!"