Alone sometimes did mean completely alone but he knew that was too much to ask for. He had broken what little trust Prince Avery had with him. The two were back to square one: Prince Avery acting cocky and superior because well, he is. And Aspen who was forever stuck in a loop of saying the wrong thing just when everything seemed to be going alright.

At least he got a moment that he was asking for, one body guard, the prince and him. He just didn't want to talk personal business around his little brother. It just didn't seem very fitting. Besides what was the worse the body guard could do? Make fun of him for being insecure?

"I shouldn't have assumed that you were joking with me just because of a job offer that seems way too great for me to earn," He sat down on the bench a respectful distance away from the other man. He crossed one leg over the other to guarantee that there was enough space between the two of them,"You have never given me a reason to believe that you would ever lie to me or joke around about a serious manner."

He paused, thinking over his words. His gaze had dropped down as he busied himself with fiddling his thumbs,"You shared one of your insecurities with me so I believe it's my turn. You see, I may keep myself well composed and I may have the slightest bit of a reputation of being a good painter and carpenter...but truth be honest, I live my days stressed out, scared, and worried that I'm not good at my job. That I'm going to end up being another homeless statistic in your kingdom. I'm constantly just waiting for the day I fail at my work or the day where I can't make payment on my apartment."

"I have insecurity within my own handiwork. I do not believe I am as good at my job to be given these job opportunities that I have been given. I may have expressed that insecurity in a way that was uncalled for and offended you, your Highness. For that, I am extremely sorry for and I understand if you never want me to work for your father again," He finished, keeping his gaze away from the prince.

His apology wasn't good enough. It was never good enough. It would never be good enough. He knew this before he even attempted but he owed the prince something. An apology was the first step.

Part of the reason why Cassandra and him went their separate ways related to things like that. It was okay for others to have insecurities but the moment he was open about his then he was all of a sudden the bad guy. Sighing in frustration, he put his palm to his forehead, pinching the bridge of his nose. He knew that wasn't the whole story. The truth of the matter was that he had never did a good job hiding his insecurities and when they shown it was always in the most brutal way imaginable.

Aspen remained on that bench for a very long time, watching the sun set into the sky. The day was over but it had been a complete disaster. Sighing again, he peeled himself off the bench and grabbed his abandoned supplies. He threw them into his pickup and started toward the drive back home. Back to his one bedroom apartment. Back to the reminder that he was a nobody and always will be.

Last minute, Aspen decided against going home. He was too frustrated and angry with himself to bare another night in that apartment. To have his normal peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He just couldn't do it so he drove away from his apartment instead.

He didn't know exactly how far he was going. Just drive was the only thing in mind. He just drove in complete silence with nothing but the sound of the old truck's motor. He heard his phone go off but ignored it. He wasn't working anymore job, even emergency ones. He wasn't doing it tonight. He couldn't do it tonight. Cities and towns passed and the night brought in heavy downpour rain. He continued driving until...until his truck ran out of gas and stalled to a halt on the side of a dirt road.

Aspen muttered a strand of curses and hit his steering wheel. Sighing, he got out of his truck into the pouring rain to try to see if he could get the truck to run on just a little ounce of gas or if he had a gas can in the back. Of course he didn't. Cursing again and now drenched, he grabbed his phone and began looking through his contact list and calling numbers. He saw he had an unread text message but ignored it.

Nobody answered the phone. Not even Cassandra. Well her number was old and she probably had a new one by now. He kept on looking until his thumb ran across a certain name. Prince Avery. Should he even dare? A rumble of thunder and lightning struck extremely close. Jumping a little, he accidentally hit call.

Aspen mentally cursed himself as soon as he heard the prince's voice on the other end of the line. The prince's voice was raspy and tired sounding. He wasn't sure what time of night it was, probably very very late. The prince was already mad at him for earlier and now he was calling in the middle of the night.

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, making the hair on the back of his arms stand up. He would never admit this to anybody but he was afraid of storms. Especially being alone in a car with storms. Sure tires were rubber but basically the rest of the body of his truck was metal. Metal attracted lightning.

"H-Hey it's me," He stuttered out, his breath was heavy and he dropped the formality. His heart was beating out of his chest and he was scared. Too scared to put up the formal lengthy tone. The more time he spent out there, the more of a chance he had of being struck by lightning.

"Please don't hang up. I-I need help and nobody else...well I barely know anybody else," That was true. His contact list consisted of Cassandra and former roommates. None of them had answered the phone and probably wouldn't,"My truck ran out of gas and I have no clue where I am."

He felt like a fool for calling the prince. He truly didn't have anybody else. The storm had scared him into calling the prince. It would be worse to call and just hang up. Especially with cell phones having caller ID.

"I'm on a gravel road so I must have went west instead of south into the city," He explained when Prince Avery asked him that he had no idea where he was. He knew this looked bad, speaking that he could have just as easily been arrested for distracted driving. He never before hadn't paid attention to his surroundings when he was driving. This was the first time and it didn't seem to end too well.

He fell silent, hearing muffled voices on the other side. He hoped to God that he wasn't telling the king what had happened. Although, it was late into the night and he highly doubted the king would be awake during this time.

"Lorenz keeps tabs on everyone who's been in the palace, so he can figure out where you are, and we'll come pick you up in the chopper. We can get your car tomorrow sometime, if that's alright."

He sighed with relief hearing that it was a body guard that the prince had been talking to. Although, he highly doubted this situation would be kept a secret. The worse of the storm seemed to pass while they were talking, or least the lightning and thunder parts.

"I think I might see a street marker up ahead," The rain had cleared some and in the distance, he could see a county road marker,"Give me one moment."

He took a deep breath and got out of his truck again. It was still raining heavily and as soon as he stepped out, he instantly got drenched. He ran to the road marker ahead and got a street name. He got back into the truck, shivering against the cold. The UK storms always seemed to be cold rainy showers.

"I'm about a couple miles down this gravel road. There's an intersection a few kilometers away that says this road is named Abbot Road," He panted out, catching his break and leaning his head back against the head rest. There were a couple of rumbles of thunder and lightning flashed in the distance.