She hung up the phone and walked to the diner across the street going inside to wait, it was safer then waiting out on the street. She sat down in a booth and ordered a cup of coffee in attempts to sober up before he arrived. He was there no more than 15 minutes later. She saw him walk through the door but couldn’t look up at him as he walked over and took a seat across from her.
“Should I even ask how you ended up in LA at 1 in the morning?” he finally spoke up after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Alex, I said no questions.” She mumbled still not looking up at him.
“My 15 year old sister calls me at 1 in the morning and asks me to pick her up on
Sunset after I get a frantic call from mom saying you’re missing and you expect me not to ask any questions? Are you really serious?” he tried to keep his voice down but she could hear his anger.
“I didn’t run away or anything. I was going back I just needed some time to think and clear my mind.”
“Oh and Sunset Boulevard is just the place for that.” He said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. “What were you thinking…how did you even end up in LA?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Can we just go back to your house or something?” she finally looked up at him.
“This conversation isn’t over by far. As soon as we go home you and I are having a long conversation.” He said getting up and dropping a few dollars on the table for the coffee.
They walked around the corner and got into AJ’s car and headed back towards his house. Ashley was glad he lived pretty far away, the more time she had to gather her thoughts the better. She knew once they got home he would lay into her and she knew she deserved it. As she stared out the window watching the cars speed by on the freeway she overheard AJ talking to Denise to let her know that he had found her and would bring her home in the morning.
“You know mom almost had a nervous breakdown when she couldn’t find you…and what’s this I hear about you getting into a fight at school?” he asked looking over at her after he hung up with his mom. He sighed as she proceeded to ignore him, letting it slide for the moment.
Ashley took a deep breath letting it out slowly as they pulled into AJ’s driveway. She slowly got out the car and made her way up the walkway to the door, waiting for him to let her in. Once inside he directed her to the living room. The two sat in silence for a few moments as AJ studied her face. He could see all the hurt and confusion in her eyes and wished he could just make all these troubles go away.
“Ash…” he started but she cut him off.
“I really don’t feel like discussing all of this right now…it’s been a long day.”
“Ashley we need to talk, whether you like it or not.” He looked at her sternly knowing he meant business. She sighed rolling her eyes and leaning back into the couch knowing it was a mistake to call him.
“Where were you all day?”
“Around…”
“Cut the bullshit and answer my question…where were you?”
“I got some dinner then I was at Club X…” she saw the look of disappointment on his face.
“Why would you go back there?” he asked.
“I had no where else to go.” She lied not wanting to tell him she had been with Adam.
“You have friends…you couldn’t have gone to one of their houses?”
“I guarantee the first people you called were Angel and Jared…” she sighed. “I said I needed time to think…I didn’t want to be found. Why would I go there knowing it’s the first place you’d look?”
“And where exactly were you planning on staying?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. He could tell she was lying. There was something she was hiding from him and he was determined to figure out what it was.
“How did you get out to LA?” he asked trying to think of who she could have been with all day.
“I had someone pick me up earlier.” She couldn’t look him in the eyes.
“Who?”
“Does it really matter?” She sighed wishing his questioning would stop.
“Who, Ashley?” he said more forcefully his anger more apparent.
“Do we really have to talk about this? Like I said it doesn’t matter anymore.” She was beginning to get aggravated with him.
He gave her a stern look and she sighed, answering reluctantly.
“Adam.” She mumbled afraid of what he would say.
“You can’t be serious! Please tell me your lying.” He said angrily throwing his arms up in frustration as he began pacing the room.
“I wish I was.” She mumbled.
“What would possess you to see that guy again…after what…” AJ stopped himself before he said too much. He knew she was too tense right now and if she found out he knew what happened with Adam she would close up.
“I had no one else to call ok? It’s that simple…I just needed to get out of the house and he was the only solution.”
“I want to know what happened today.” AJ said sternly. “From the time you got in the fight until I picked you up.”
“Alex it’s a long story.” She sighed.
“And we have all night…so start.”
She knew he meant business…if she had any desire to sleep at all tonight she was going to have to tell him. Taking a deep breath she began.
“There’s these girls at school and they pretty much have hated me ever since I got there…for no reason at all. They’re always bothering me and telling me how I don’t belong there and that my family pays my way into everything I want.” She looked over at him and saw he was listening intently. “When I got into the summer program this year I took the spot of one of the girls and that made them even more mad. Then yesterday we found out we’re doing a new play and I got the lead…I don’t know how they figured it out but I guess they saw it was none of them so they put it all together…”
“Continue…” AJ said when she paused for a few moments.
“Last night I was home doing some work and I started getting all these phone calls…” she stopped again and blinked back a few tears that wanted to fall. She still couldn’t get the image from the flyer out of her head no matter how hard she tried.
“What kind of phone calls?” AJ asked seeing her expression change and the hurt in her eyes become more apparent.
“Just random people…saying some really mean things.” She was too embarrassed to repeat any of it so she left it at that. “Jared called me after I got a few calls and told me to turn off my phone and that he had something to show me that would explain everything.”
She stared down at her lap not wanting to continue but she knew that he would make her.
“He came to house and had this flyer that he found at one of the places everyone from school hangs out in. He said they were posted all over the bathroom and stuff.” She quickly wiped away a few tears and continued. “They put my face on a picture of a naked girl and had my number on there saying to call me for a good time.”
“Did you tell mom?”
“No. I thought it would all blow over in a couple of days just like every other time, but when I got to school today they had covered my locker in the flyers and they even had one inside. When Meghan came up to me laughing about it and making jokes about me I tried to stay calm but then she openly admitted to doing it and I dunno…I just snapped.”
“So they’ve done stuff like this before?” he asked handing her a tissue to wipe her eyes.
“Not just her a few other people too, but nothing ever like this. I couldn’t help it I just got so angry so I hit her.” She sniffled a little as she wiped her eyes with the tissue.
“Why didn’t you tell mom? She could have talked to someone and made it stop.”
“That would just make it even worse…” she sighed wiping her eyes again. “I tried to explain to her what happened today but she wouldn’t listen to me she said I threw the first punch so it was my fault.”
“Well I think mom’s pretty aware of what’s going on now…” he shook his head and took a deep breath knowing he still had to find out more about what happened after she left. “So she didn’t believe you and you got upset…is that why you left?”
“I guess. I just couldn’t be locked up in that house anymore. I figured since I was grounded for the rest of life anyway, leaving wouldn’t hurt much.” Ashley just shrugged.
“What made you call Adam?”
“I dunno.” She took a minute trying to think back to earlier when she had picked up her phone to call him. “I guess I just figured he was the last person anyone would think to call when looking for me and he had a car. I really wasn’t thinking logically at the moment, I just wanted to leave.” She admitted.
“As much as you wanted to get out of the house I just can’t comprehend why you would call Adam of all people after all the trouble it caused last time. He isn’t the type of guy you want to be involved with.” AJ sighed.
“It was a mistake…don’t you think I know that? Why else would I have called you to come get me if I didn’t want to get away from him?” She fought hard to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall again. She hated crying and lately that’s all she seemed to be doing.
“Was this the first time you called him since you got grounded?”
Ashley just nodded yes.
“So what made you change your mind and call me?” he knew he was getting close to the answer he was looking for. He needed to make sure that Adam hadn’t hurt her again.
“I was ready to go home and he didn’t want to leave.” She lied, shifting her eyes away from his glance.
“Lets try the truth this time…what made you call me?”
“Alex it’s no big deal. It’s done and over with now, ok? Let’s just forget about it and get some sleep.” She couldn’t lie to him, he could read her too well and she knew if she told him about the drugs his strangely calm disposition would be gone in the blink of an eye.
“What happened?” he asked again. “ Did he do something to you? I’ll fricken kill him if he touched you.”
“No, it’s nothing like that. We haven’t even done anything. He’s just an asshole ok? Can we drop it please?”
“No we cant…because something is obviously upsetting you so spill it.”
“Fine. He knew I had a really bad day at school and he wanted me to relax…” she swallowed the lump in her throat before she continued. “So he bought me some coke.”
“He what?” AJ looked ready to explode.
“Look Alex. It’s no big deal. He tried to get me to use coke I flipped out on him and he called me a bitch and told me that if I couldn’t play with the big boys then leave and that’s just what I did.”
AJ took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself down. He was ready to kill Adam and that’s exactly what he planed on doing when he found him, but for right now he had to focus on Ashley.
“Although I don’t condone all of your recent activities I’m really proud you stood up to him like that.” He pulled her into a hug.
Ashley pulled away and looked at him as if he had 6 heads. She just told him that someone tried to get her to use drugs and he didn’t flip out…something was going on and now it was her turn to ask the questions.
“Ok what the hell is going on with you? I should be six feet under by now with all this I’m telling you and you’re sitting here hugging me and telling me your proud?” She raised a brow in question.
“Yelling at you doesn’t work so I’m trying a new approach.” He lied.
“You’re just as bad of a liar as I am…spill it. What the hell is going on?”
He knew he would eventually have to tell her what he knew about Adam, but he wasn’t sure if he was prepared for it. Taking a deep breath he turned towards her, looking her in the eyes.
“I know what happened.” He took her hand in his. “I know what he did to you.”
“What are you talking about…he didn’t do anything to me.” She could feel the tears building up as he looked at her.
“Ash, it’s ok you can talk to me about it.” He reassured her.
“Nothing happened!” she yelled as the tears fell from her eyes. She jumped from the couch and ran upstairs locking herself in one of the guest bedrooms.
AJ sighed as he watched her run off. He knew she would be upset that he found out but he thought it would be a relief to her to be able to open up to someone else, apparently he was wrong. He retreated to his bedroom not wanting to upset her anymore then he already had.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AJ tossed and turned in his sleep unable to fully rest. He had been trying to fall asleep for the past two hours but couldn’t get everything he and Ashley had talked about out of his head. Groaning he looked over at the clock and saw it was four in the morning. He sat up and stretched a little pulling on a pair of sweatpants as he got out of bed. He made his way up to the kitchen to get something to drink. As he walked into the room he noticed the door leading to the balcony slightly open. Grabbing a bottle of water he made his way over to the door peaking his head out. Ashley was sitting on one of the loungers staring up at the early morning sky. He made his way out on the balcony and took a seat next to her. Glancing over at her he could see her tear streaked face and her eyes still ready to water over.
“Ash…” she looked over at him her eyes filled with nothing but pain and tears.
She couldn’t hold it in anymore as she looked over at him she broke down, finally letting the tears out.
AJ sighed and pulled her into a comforting hug letting her cry for as long as she needed.
“Everything’s going to be alright…we’ll figure this all out, I promise.” He comforted her as she continued to cry.
Author's Chapter Notes:
sorry it took so long for this but i have a few hectic weeks at school right now so updates might be slow but I will be updating again later this week...this chapter is complete brother sister time so enjoy! and let me know what you think :)
