Chapter Three-Hundred-Fifty-Two
“Now go make up with your sister,” Denise insisted after watching Angel walk out of the room. She got up with Bella and went over to Ashley. Ashley looked where her mom and daughter used to be and saw that Kori had gone somewhere.
“Why would I go and do a stupid thing like that?” Ashley asked moodily and she took hold of the little shot glass that Nick had just finished putting pucker in.
“Because,” Denise replied while smiling amusedly and she stepped closer to her daughter, wrapping an arm around her. “Life is too short to hold grudges against the ones you love. Something might happen and you might never get to take it back. Especially when those people are connected with Sean.” Ashley scowled.
“That is not fair,” She insisted. “Using my own advice against me.”
“Whats not fair is you giving Angel advice when you can’t even act on it.”
“I’m not mad at Kori, Kori is mad at me if I remember correctly.”
“Well, an apology goes both ways you know. It takes two people…so why don’t you be the bigger person and make the first move?”
“Because one, I don’t want to be the bigger person…I want to be the little person and stay here and do shots with Nick and two, if I don’t get a long with Wiley then I don’t get a relationship with my sister at all. And I’m never going to approve of Wiley taking my sister away from me, so I guess I don’t have a sister. He wins.” Denise opened her mouth to reason with her when Ashley cut her off. “She can’t force me to like someone that I don’t want to like. If I ever do learn to like him it will be in my own time and way but it’s not fair that she is cutting me out because of it. I don’t like this all or nothing bullshit – all I wanted was my sister but since I can’t have her without the other I choose nothing. And you know that nobody can change my mind when its set so please don’t push me.” When Denise didn’t reply Ashley continued. “So if you want things to be fixed, well then you are reasoning with the wrong daughter. Go find Kori…not that it will be any good because you can’t really reason with her either can you? She’s long gone and has been since we were kids.”
“Maybe the one you remember from your childhood is gone…but honey a lot has happened since then you both have grown up so much and have been through a lot. Maybe you just need to accept the fact that she’s changed. Let go of the Kori from your childhood and embrace the new. You can’t create a future if you keep clinging to the past.”
“Maybe I don’t want to create the future. I am perfectly comfortable in the past with my sister and the way she used to be. The way we used to be and so long as she plans on living hundreds of miles away from me when all I want is for her to be here then like I said, I choose nothing.”
“Ash…”
“I don’t want to argue about this anymore. I just want to forget all about it so can we please drop it?” Denise nodded and gently squeezed her shoulder and she went outside with Bella. Ashley turned to Nick then and after a few moments of fighting back tears and winning, she smiled at him the best she could.
“So lets do this,” She insisted.
“Are you sure? Ash you shouldn’t drink when you are upset.”
“I’m positive. I’m not upset I’m just fine. Lets do this.” Nick looked at her for a couple of moments and then picked up his shot glass. Wiley who had been hiding just outside the door listening to Denise and Ashley’s conversation turned and headed for Kori. Where does she get off on thinking that I’m taking Kori away from her? he thought quietly to himself. He knew she was uncomfortable with talking to him because she doesn’t know him, and he even knows that she favors Scott more because she’s known him longer. But this? He didn’t expect to find out that she feels this way. He thought he was just going to have to work hard on getting her to get to know him. But if she thinks he’s trying to take Kori from her, well then he has a lot of work cut out for him. He has to make her see that he isn’t…because that’s the last thing he wants to do. He knows how much Kori loves Ashley and how important it is for her to have a relationship with her and that makes it important to him too. If that means getting her to want to move out here…well then why not? She could run a diner here, if that’s what she wants to go back there for…and Isabelle and Chris could move to Florida as well. Wiley nodded his head to himself, deciding that would be his plan. To some how talk Kori into moving back to Florida for her sister. Feeling pretty confident about his plan, he made his way over to Kori when suddenly he realized she was talking to Scott. Scowling to himself, he continued to make his way toward her. And I really need to find a way to put him in his place too, he pondered.
~*~*~*~*~
The next day in the afternoon, Kevin walked into Ashley’s house with Elenore rested on his right hip only to find the house under complete chaos.
“DAKOTA ANN, YOU GIVE ME MY SHIRT BACK BEFORE I TELL DADDY AN’ HE MAKES YOU DO IT!” Sarah demanded as she chased Dakota down the stairs.
“NO, I WANTS TO WEAR IT!” Dakota insisted as she jumped off the last step onto the first floor and flew at top speed around the corner toward the kitchen. Sarah growled in frustration before turning the opposite way taking the long way around. She darted through the hallway, rounded the corner to the living room, and ran to the end of the counter just as Dakota was coming around from the other way thinking Sarah was behind her. She stopped short, screamed in horror, and turned and ran back the other way.
“GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIRT THEIF I’M GONNA GET YOU!” Sarah roared as she started after her.
“OH NO YOU WON’TS, CAUSE I’M FASTER!” Dakota informed her as she ran into the front room, rounded the corner where she started from again but instead of going up the stairs, she made a mad dash through the hallway, and back into the living room again with Sarah hot on her tail. Dakota jumped up onto the couch and ran across it and Sarah ran to the other side out smarting her once again. She reached out to swipe the shirt only to have Dakota scream, turn around and jump the short distance to the coffee table and land on her feet on top of it. She didn’t stay there for very long though, she flew off of it landing on her feet on the ground and took off running to the kitchen. When she got in there, she headed for the dining room entrance, bumping into the garbage cans on her way past making them crash to the floor. Ignoring them she sped off as if it didn’t happen and Sarah jumped over them and followed. Just as they rounded the corner Nick, Ashley, Marcus, and Laney walked in the front door where they were out discussing something to do with security. Dakota came to an abrupt stop right at Nick’s toes just before she could crash into him and Sarah flew into her back, fell backward and landed on her bottom with an oomph.
“What is all of the shouting about? We could hear you two all the way out by the tree!” Nick wanted to know as he placed his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes as he stared down at his girls. “And most importantly, Dakota Ann why are you running around in your underwear? I thought I told you girls to get dressed.”
“I got dressed like you asked me to daddy, I’m a good girl like that” Sarah bragged as she remained sitting on the floor behind Dakota who stood defiantly in front of her in nothing but her beauty and the beast underwear.
“That is still yet to be decided young lady, you still haven’t told me why you are chasing your sister around the house and screaming. It sounds like someone is being tortured in here!”
“And I was!” Dakota insisted indignantly.
“Dakota was going through my closet, daddy! An’ I told her that she couldn’t but she didn’t listen to me and she stole my favorite shirt!”
“I just wants to wear it its not that big of a deal! Why do you have to such a drama queen?” Dakota demanded, scowling at her sister.
“I am not a drama queen! Why do you have to be such a tom boy?!”
“Well why do you have to be such a girl?”
“It can’t be that bad me being a girl since you are always wanting to be me!”
“Why would I want to be like you?” Dakota snapped. “You’re a whiny girly girl with stuck up friends and you are too blind to see that they’re just USING YOU!”
“They’re NOT just using me, they’re my friends! They are only like that when YOU are around because you annoy them!”
“Good I’m glad I annoy them! At least I know my accomplishment for the day is being made! They’re fake an’ one of these days you’re gonna sees who they really are an’ you are NOTS allowed to come crying to me, GOT IT?”
“THEY’RE NOT FAKE!” Sarah shouted, really becoming angry again.
“YES they are! Why did Ashee have to practically force them to be nice to you when you wouldn’ts talk, HUH?”
“You’re just JEALOUS!”
“I am not! I could careless about you! Good Job Sarah, you wanted to get rid of me, well now I’m gone!” Dakota informed, throwing her shirt at her and she stormed up the stairs to her room slamming the door behind her.
“GOOD RIDDANCE!” Sarah shouted back. Nick sighed heavily and leaned over and gathered the angry six-year-old into his arms before turning and looking at Ashley who already had one foot on the stairs.
“Why don’t you go talk to Kota and I’ll deal with my girly girl?”
“Already ahead of you babe,” Ashley told him while smiling some and she headed upstairs to Dakota’s room. Nick turned and looked at Kevin.
“I can’t believe you just stood there and let them run around like that. I figured you of all people would have a cow.”
“Hey I’m just happy that for once it wasn’t my kid causing the trouble. And it’s not every day that you see trouble in paradise with the Olsen Twins here.” Nick chuckled.
“It’s not every day that you see it,” he corrected while going to the kitchen and Kevin followed.
“An’ we’re not twins!” Sarah insisted, still fuming over the situation. “I am nothing like her!” Kevin laughed.
“We should get Aje to video tape you two one day when you are actually getting a long and loving each other.”
“Sarah Lynn Carter!” Nick exclaimed in exasperation when he stepped into the kitchen and saw the garbage cans.
“Kota did it!”
“Well you weren’t exactly being the bigger person, now were you? Clean it up” Nick demanded while putting her down and lightly nudging her toward the garbage cans.
“But daddy it’s gross! I don’t wanna touch it!” Sarah insisted. “An’ Kota knocked it down, not me why do I have to clean it up?”
“Because you are the big sister you should’ve known better then to chase her around the house in the first place. If she was making you mad you should’ve came to me. You can clean up half of it and she’ll do the rest” Nick demanded while handing over rubber gloves. Sarah glared at him.
“Don’t give me that look or I’ll make you clean all of it up.” Sarah scoffed and whirled around and went to clean up her half of Dakota’s mess.
“You are the oldest I expect you to be the bigger person. If you don’t want to clean up after your sister then come to me when she is being ornery instead of making the situation worse.” As soon as she finished cleaning up her half of the mess Ashley came around the corner holding Dakota who was now dressed in her own clothes – denim overalls, a red shirt, and red converse shoes and Ashley had even braided her hair in pigtails.
“Oh good, now that you are down here Kota you can help Sarah clean up your mess.”
“Buts daddy!”
“Don’t but daddy me. You’ll do it or you wont go to lunch with Ellie and you’ll sit up in your room the whole day with Laney as your baby sitter while Sarah, Ashley, Bella, and I go to the orphanage.” Ashley set her down then and Nick handed Dakota gloves. Dakota put the gloves on and she went over and cleaned up the rest of the mess.
“Thanks a lot you spoiled brat, daddy made me clean up your mess.”
“Well don’t worry Sarah,” Dakota told her grumpily. “Soon as I’m off at lunch with Ellie you can go be with your fake friends who would never love you the way I do an’ be the fake brat that I know you really aren’t.” When Dakota finished cleaning she took the gloves off and tossed them into the garbage can and she looked at her sister one last time. “When you finally sees them for who they are, you’ll knows where to find your real friends.” And with that she turned and stormed out of the kitchen to the front room, opened the front door, and walked out slamming the door behind her not caring that she doesn’t have grownup supervision like she is supposed to.
“Well I better go after her before she learns how to hotwire the car and drive off without us,” Kevin informed. Nick chuckled.
“That’s a good idea,” he agreed.
“I’ll have her back in a few hours,” Kevin promised and he turned and started for the door.
“Kevy,” Elenore spoke up.
“Yeah sweetie?”
“Don’t ever gives me a brother or sister okay?”
“Are you kidding me?” Kevin laughed. “You alone is like having five kids all together. I’m good don’t worry.” Elenore giggled and rested her head against his shoulder and he carried her out of the house, went to the car, and saw Dakota already sitting in her carseat in the back – buckled in and all. Kevin chuckled but otherwise didn’t say a word allowing his niece to cool off. He leaned in and placed Elenore in the carseat beside Dakota, buckled her up, closed the door, and went and got in the driver’s seat before heading off to pick up Summer.
“Now do you see why I really want a boy?” Nick asked as he and Ashley stood in the doorway and watched them leave.
“Nicky,” Ashley spoke up while gently pressing his back up against the doorframe and looking up at him.
“Baby?”
“You know how you’ve been really patient with me about this whole waiting until I’m eighteen before we have sex thing?”
“Oh yeah I know it, believe me. It’s not something I can easily forget.”
“And you know how respectful and loving you’ve been with me about it and everything?”
“Mhm,” Nick answered while gently caressing her cheek with his thumb and gazing into her brown eyes lovingly.
“I really need you to do that for me about this having a boy idea, okay?”
“I knew that was coming…I knew it,” Nick sighed.
“I know you want a boy baby, okay? Believe me I get it and I want to give that to you more then anything. But with you pressuring me about it last night has really made me want to jump in bed with you and get pregnant the moment we’re legally allowed just because I don’t want to die before I give you what you really want.”
“I’m sorry sweetheart, I didn’t mean to pressure you,” Nick insisted while sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her near. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. “I do want a baby boy but when you are good and ready okay? No sooner then that. I don’t want you to feel like you have to give me that right away and I most certainly don’t want you to worry about dying either. It’s just not going to happen.”
“Yeah well…that’s all I ever do worry about, and I don’t know how to turn it off” Ashley informed while pulling back gently and she walked in the house. “My biggest fear is that next time Sean will succeed in killing me and I wont get the chance to do all that I want to do.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Nick insisted.
“How can you say that and be so sure Nicky? You don’t know what’s going to happen in the future…that’s why it scares me so much.” Nick slid his arms around her and reeled her to him before cupping her cheek in his hand and lightly forcing her to look up into his gorgeous blue eyes. Ashley melted in his arms at the sight.
“I don’t know for sure baby, but I have to believe everything is going to be okay because it would kill me to lose you and the thought of accepting that the inevitable could happen, I would rather have faith that it won’t. I’m scared too okay? More then you can even imagine because I love you so much, the girls love you, the rest of the gang loves you…and everything falls apart when we’re without you. But I’m trying very hard to hold it together for you and our girls.” Ashley rested her head against his chest and he enveloped her protectively in her arms. “I would rather feel like I have the power to keep you safe during the storm…so can you let me have that sense of comfort? Please?”
“I feel like with every minute that we sit here the storm is moving dangerously closer Nicky…I cant help but feel like something really bad is about to happen.” Nick tightened his protective hold on her and he buried his face in her neck as hers was hidden in his chest and she held onto him as if her life depended on it.
“The storm can rage all it once outside but its not getting hold of you.”
“What if it does?”
“Then I’m going on a killing spree, one baddie at a time.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Enjoy =)
