Sorry I'm late! You should now be into chapters 10-16! How is everyone enjoying the story? Summaries for the next couple of chapters courtesy of Rachel!
Chapter 10: Ashton wakes up early and sits outside talking to her sister-in-law Nia (Kevin’s wife). They discuss the Richardson brothers visit to Nick. Ashton feels bad for Nick because of her brothers. Nia says Nick deserved it. They talk about Kevin’s reaction to the situation. He is calm and not taking sides because Ashton is his sister and Nick is like a brother. Ashton asks Nia how Kevin and her make their marriage work. Nia tells her that they work things out and communicate. They also go on dates and make time for each other. Ashton realizes her marriage wasn’t as peachy as she thought, and that she is partially to blame. All her and Nick talk about is kids or want and they never make time for one another. She runs into the house and cries about her situation with Nick. That afternoon all the Richardson clan is relaxing outside. The kids are swimming. The men are going to grill. Everyone is enjoying themselves. Nick walks into the yard in a bad mood at seeing everyone enjoying themselves. Ashton asks him why he is there. He replies it’s my house. She tells him until he decided to leave. Nick tells her that he still pays the mortgage. They argue. Nick pulls her into the house by her wrist. Ashton asks Nick what is so important that you had to pull me away from my family. He pulls her in for a kiss. She responds, but quickly breaks the kiss. She tells him that it isn’t fair that he waltzes back in and kisses her when he doesn’t love her anymore. Ashton tells him to leave her alone. He tells her that he won’t bother her again and calls her a bitch. Then he asks to see the kids the next day.
Chapter 11: The kids are eating breaking while waiting for Nick to pick them up for the day. Nick comes in and Ashton leaves the room. Nick watches his wife and thinks about how he misses touching her. Kevin comes in and shoos the kids out so he can have a chat with Nick. Kevin tells Nick if he sees him touch his sister the way he did yesterday, he’ll kick Nick’s ass. Nick said he didn’t mean to grab her like that, but mentions her temper. Kevin tells him to either divorce Ashton or work things out. It’s not fair to keep messing with her heart. Nick tells Kevin that he never expected this to happen and he’s hurting just as much. Kevin tells Nick to stop being selfish and work on his marriage. Then he walks out. At Nick’s house, Rachel is playing with dolls. She asks her daddy to play with her. Nick plays dolls with his daughter. Jackson plays video games. Meanwhile Ashton goes shopping with the women. She tries on a green sundress that everyone thinks will get Nick back. Ashton says she doesn’t care about pleasing Nick anymore. She isn’t going to play his game anymore.
Chapter 12: Ashton is hosting a barbecue at her house. All of the Backstreet Boys are invited, except Nick of course. Brian has a chat with her about Nick. She tries to convince him the she is fine and wishes everyone would stop hovering. Brian tries to tell her that Nick is hurting, too. Ashton doesn’t want to hear it. The barbecue is in full swing. The kids are playing, the men are hanging out, and the women were gossiping. Howie asks where Nick is. He doesn’t know about the separation. They talk about what an ass Nick is. AJ tells them that he is going to ask his girlfriend Arizona to marry him. They are all happy for him. Brian gets a phone call from Nick. Nick is not happy and is on his way over to the house. Ashton meets Nick in the front yard. She asks him what brings him to visit. He is mad because she is having a cookout with all of his friends. She reminds him that they are her friends, too and that she didn’t know she had to tell him what she did. He said that he is still her husband. She tells him he lost that right when he left her. He talks about how much she has changed. Ashton tells him that she changed when he fell out of love with her. She smacks him across the face when he says she has a split personality. They continue to fight until she tells him to leave. Nick tells her this isn’t over and not to ever hit him again. He gets into his car speeds out of the driveway hitting into the mailbox.
Chapter 13: Ashton meets Nick at his condo to talk about things. They both sit in the living room not saying a word to one another. She apologizes for hitting him. He tells her that he couldn’t believe that she would do such a thing. Ashton explains that she is angry with the situation and how the last few months have been hell. Nick gets upset because he thinks Ashton is blaming him for everything. He asks her, what if love isn’t enough. He tells her that he felt differently the after they made love the night of her friend’s wedding. He cared about Ashton, but wasn’t in love with her. Ashton thinks that the whole thing has to do with sex, but Nick disagrees. Nick tells her it has nothing to do with sex, but he can’t pinpoint what changed between the two of them. At that point in time nothing was about the two of them. Nick feels confused and walks out of the room. Ashton follows him. She tells him not to walk away when they are talking about their marriage. Nick yells at her and states the he doesn’t love her. He starts to cry and Ashton states that he is crying because he is lying. He says that he is crying for his kids and what this is doing to them. Nick tells Ashton that they need to end their marriage, and she pleads with him to work it out. She kisses him and reminds him what he is missing out on. Then she leaves his condo.
Chapter 14: Ashton is spending the day at home. Kevin’s family and her mom are still visiting. Kevin and his wife take the kids to Disney World. She gets the mail and finds an envelope from Nick’s lawyers. Inside were divorce papers. Nick was going to divorce her. Ashton gets upset because Nick doesn’t want to work on their marriage. She sobs and goes upstairs to the master bedroom. She walks into the closet and starts throwing Nick’s clothes all over the room. She was furious and angry. Ashton took Nick’s cologne and dumped it down the sink. Then she took her birth control and threw it out because she wouldn’t need it anymore. During her rampage, her mom came in to see what was wrong. She tells her mom about the divorce. Ann attempts to comfort her. Ashton tells her she doesn’t want her pity. She picks up the glass framed wedding photo and throws it across the room. It shatters into a million pieces. Ann pulls her daughter close to her and lets her cry. A few hours later the phone rings, Ashton makes no attempt to answer it. Ann answers the phone. It’s Nick and she tells him Ashton is in no condition to talk to him. He feels bad for hurting Ashton, but knows he’s making the right decision. Ann lectures Nick about the situation. Nick tells Ann to have Ashton call when she’s ready to talk.
Chapter 15: A few days passed. Nick is worried because he hasn’t heard from Ashton. Nick decides to visit Ashton. When he gets there he doesn’t know whether to knock or walk in. He wasn’t sure what divorced couples did. Ann lets Nick know that Ashton hasn’t left the bedroom, eaten since he filed for divorce. She was worried because the kids would be coming home from Disney. Nick runs upstairs to the bedroom feeling like a stranger in his own house. He was shocked at what he saw. Clothes, make-up, glass, and papers littered the floor. Ashton was the calmest person he knew unless she was mad. Then her temper got the best of her. She was worse than Kevin when he had pms. She had the covers over her head. He attempts to talk to Ashton, but she ignores him. She asks him why he cares now. Nick tells that he doesn’t want her falling apart over the divorce. She gets upset and rips into him about him expecting her to be happy about the situation. He tells her that he expects her to be upset, but that she needs to be mature about it and be able to take care of the kids. Ashton is upset that Nick thinks she won’t be able to take care of the kids. She lets him know she is more than capable of taking care of her children. Nick is frustrated because every time they talk the conversation goes in circles. Ashton buries her head in a pillow. Nick starts cleaning up the destruction left by Ashton’s tirade. This was the worst Nick has ever felt. He goes to the bar to drown his sorrows. An old man talks to Nick. He tells the older man he is getting a divorce. The man tells Nick how he’s been married for 60 years and how he loves his wife. The old man explains that real love isn’t Hallmark Cards and flowers. Real love is dealing with everyday life. It’s the person who knows you better than yourself and loves you anyway. It’s the person who you know has your back in the middle of a crisis. It’s the person who will take care you even when they are sick and don’t want to. Nick thanks the man, realizing he has a lot to think about. The old man tells him to think about why he got married and how his wife took care of him and how they handle the hard situations in life.
Chapter 16: The kids were coming home from Disney. Ashton cleaned the bedroom. She couldn’t believe she had destroyed Nick’s things. She had to get it together for the sake of the kids. The kids come home and tell her about Disney. Jackson asks if his dad has moved back home. Ashton tells him no. She sends the kids upstairs to unpack so she can talk to Kevin. Kevin lets her know that he knows about the divorce. She talks with Kevin about how she doesn’t know whether to fight Nick or just sign the papers. Kevin asks her what will be the best in the long run. If she fights it, her and Nick may never have a good relationship. If she signs the papers, they may have a good relationship for the sake of their kids. Ashton calls Nick when the kids are in bed. They discuss how to tell the kids about the divorce. They decide to do it together. Nick is worried about Jackson’s reaction. She reassures him that Jackson will always love him, but he will be mad at first and may blame him. Nick gets mad because he is always the one to be blame and Ashton is perfect. Nick says he doesn’t want to fight and brings up her wrecking the bedroom. She tells him she couldn’t help that she overreacted about her marriage being over. She was mad because Nick surprised her with the divorce and didn’t even have the decency to tell her that she was going to get the papers. Ashton hangs up on Nick. Nick was in shock. He couldn’t believe she hung up on him. When did Ashton become feisty and fiery? It was kind of hot. What was he thinking? He couldn’t be having those thought about his soon to be ex-wife. Why was his life falling apart? Why did he feel more confused about the whole situation? He needed a cold shower.
Author
Topic: FS for March: Life by colorguard_diva (Read 3968 times)