A few days later, Ashley felt terrible and even looked like one. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were swollen because of late night sleep. She spent hours reading and tried reaching Alex but it was to no avail. She didn't give up though. She checked her phone for any messages but she got none. She tried contacting Jonathan but his number was unavailable as well. She didn't know where he lived and she still felt the burden in her heart. She simply wanted to apologize and speak to him. Someone knocked on her door. "Cutie Pie, are you in there?" Her father asked. "Hmm." She groaned. "May I come in?" Brown asked again. "Hmm." She groaned louder and the door was unlocked from outside. Brown stepped into the room and gently closed the door. He found her sleeping upside down. Her whole room was a mess, something that never happened before. It was not as if the exams were fast approaching so why was this happening? "Ashley, are you fine?" Ashley shook her h
"What went wrong?" Sammie asked curiously as they decided to walk home. Ashley sighed, "I followed him to where he was working a few days ago." Sammie frowned, "And how is that a crime to neglect you?" "It is not just any working place. It's something that no one was supposed to know about especially me. Just like I followed him to the forest that day when we went on a short vacation, that was how I followed him this time around and that was because I was curious about the type of life he was living. In short, he is selling drugs." "Drugs? The good drugs or the bad ones?" "The bad ones. He buys them and goes to sell them to some thugs or bad People. I didn't know, okay? I just kept following until we arrived there and after getting there, I couldn't turn back again. I had come so far just to unravel the truth about him so I went in unnoticed. The place was terrible. Never would anyone have told me that such a place existed and I would believe. I had to bear
Ashley was standing closer to her window. It was weekend and she had no idea what to do on this very day. She tried calling Alex again but it didn't go through. He blocked her already. She remembered when she tried confronting him yesterday at school but she got the worst embarrassment of her life in public. [FLASHBACK.] Ashley had made sure to watch him closely so she would be able to approach him. When he was alone, she quickly seized the chance and did as she planned. Alex turned around to leave after seeing her but she blocked his path quickly, so she could at least have a reasonable discussion with him. "Please, don't go anywhere. Give me a chance to at least apologize. I tried calling your number but you didn't answer. You kept disregarding my call. I am truly sorry for..." "You are not truly sorry for anything, Ashley. You are far from being sorry for anything. You are that type of girl that proves to be persistent. Do you know the danger that you put yourse
"So, what is next? Are you finally going to give up on him?" Sammie asked, a little bit too excited as the three friends were on a video call. She hoped that her friend would be able to get a hang of herself at least but to her surprise, things took another unexpected turn. "No, I am not." Sammie's smile dried up after hearing this from Ashley. "Are you kidding me?" She threw her hands in the air as she was in disbelief. "I think you got a bit excited there, Sammie." Josh mocked her and laughed. Sammie frowned and faced Josh. "Wait until we meet in school on Monday, that laughing gas in you will finally be empty by the time I lay my hands on you." She hissed and faced Ashley. Josh kept his lips shut after getting the threat. "So, you are willing to go through the fire again, huh?" Sammie asked sarcastically. "I am not going to easily let go of him not when he needs a friend to speak with," Ashley responded. "And you consider yourself to be *the friend*
Josh was waiting at Amelia's locker somehow with a flower behind him - a rose to be precise. He seemed pretty nervous and the tip of his ears had turned red because of his EMBARRASSMENT. It was his first time asking a girl out and it just happened to be Amelia, the perfect one for him. He arrived earlier that morning even more than his friends because he realized that Amelia was also an early comer. He would love to ask her out before anyone would do. But surprisingly, this time around Amelia arrived late and almost half of the school was around. The Students' hall was already occupied and here he was standing awkwardly. He already got mysterious gazes and questionings from those around about what he was doing there to be precise. That wasn't his locker. Just then, Amelia made an appearance but she was alone. She had no friends to follow her because they were occupied with something. As soon as Josh saw her, he stood straight and cleared his throat. Amelia then arriv
Ashley was coming back from one of the teacher's offices as she had been assigned a job. Seeing a lot of students everywhere this time around made her feel uncomfortable because of the issue about her and Alex. Also, her friends did get into the dirty mud with Amelia so for a few days, they were the hot topic. The only person who didn't seem to mind their conversations and even threatened to beat a few dolly girls up was SAMMIE. Yeah, she was starting to reveal her true self. Just as she stepped out of the building, she sighted Daniel standing with his friends and this made her frown. She wanted to express her mind to him ever since Sammie told her about their relationship but she had been busy. However, she felt like this was the perfect time to speak with him. "Excuse me please." She said from behind and the boys turned their attention towards her. "Wow. If it ain't the beauty nerd." One of the guys joked and the rest laughed. Ashley smiled. "Yeah...yeah, t
Louis was giving Jennie a firm massage as they were both enjoying the ongoing movie on his laptop with snacks beside them. "Are you going home anytime soon?" He asked and Jennie looked at him. "Why? Do you want me to leave?" She questioned him back and Louis shook his head quickly with a charming smile. "No. I really don't want you to leave. I just wanted to know." Jennie scoffed and continued to eat. After she while she stopped him from doing his massage. Thinking that Jennie was angry with him regarding the question, his eyes widened and he wanted to say something but Jennie beat him to it. "Let me give you the massage. Thanks for mine." She said. Louis paused and licked his lips briefly before nodding. He slowly moved his butt and sat comfortably in front of Jennie while the latter took the position he was in. She started her professional work on his body which was quite a relief for him too. "How about your sister? Has she been able to get over him?"
"Can I speak with you?" Ashley asked Jonathan softly. He stared at her for a while and nodded. He sat on the couch opposite her and relaxed on it. "It's about Alex." Well, he knew that it was going to be about him anyway. "Hmm." "Is there something I am supposed to know about him? I tried speaking with him but he only ignored me. I don't know what else to do." "I feel guilty for causing a mess the other night but since that time, he just stays as far as he can from me. Do you perhaps know why? Maybe it's my imagination or..." Jonathan cleared his throat, "Ashley, I don't want to say much about this because it's Alex's issue. But what I can tell you is that, at this point, I don't even know what to say. You are still young and...I just don't know, Ashley. Whatever your parents tell you or perhaps your sister tells you to do, you should hearken to that. It's probably for your safety." He concluded. Jonathan didn't want to tell her to leave Alex when he kne
Alex closed the door and looked around with a soft look. The breeze blew his hair gently and his eyes were squinted as well as if trying to figure out something due to its view. This was surprising even though he had expected something like this. It was already evening in H City and the atmosphere brought back memories. Unlike ten years ago when this place was so despicable and no one could come here because it was a gangster's home, it was now an abode to many people and life had become better now. Alex could see the cops dragging a teenager with tattoos all over his body down the road. The teenager was trying to escape but with so many cops, his energy was futile. Ashley watched him, carefully observing his facial expressions. She had brought him to H City without his knowledge but he seemed to be taking it quite well. "What are we doing here?" Alex finally landed his eyes on her as his two hands went straight into his pockets to prevent them from getting iced. Good enough
"What do you think I should do, huh? I don't know if I am reciprocating the feelings back to her?" Alex frowned as he discussed his problem with Jonathan. "But she doesn't seem to mind. She is totally in love with you." "That's not an excuse. I just need to know if I am doing well enough." Alex answered.Jonathan exchanged his leg position and sat down a bit comfortably to the right. "Well...to be truthful, you are far from doing well enough."It felt as if someone had thrown a glass into his mirror, shattering all. Well, he knew what the truth was but having someone affirm it was something he wasn't expecting to hold within. Jonathan could see the sadness wash through his face. His lips curled downwards as a result of his answer. "Okay...you know what? Listen to me. I don't want you to pressure yourself in this short journey that you two would be going on. Ashley totally understands you, this is what I can assure you of so you don't need to rush and you don't nee
"I am sorry." These were Alex's first words immediately after he healed up and could speak. Ashley smiled and hugged him gently so as not to cause him any harm. It was their moment and they were taking the most of it. Alex missed her scent, he missed holding her and it was great to have her back. Later on, she held his hand. "I know...I know you're sorry and so am I" "You are not mad at me anymore?" "Why would I? I have told you that I have no reason any more to stay mad at you." She answered. "Does this mean that you still love me?" Alex asked gently, his eyes boring into hers desperately expecting a positive answer. Ashley couldn't meet his gaze and just stared somewhere else, intentionally raising his hopes.When Alex couldn't see her approval, he became slightly disappointed...in himself. "Oh." He muttered. "I must have been thinking too much that you and I..."Ashley silenced him with a kiss and looked into his eyes. "I know we have been apart for
It's been three weeks since Ashley started coming over to Alex's place all thanks to Valerie. Jenny and her husband also were able to come once in a while. Ariana was not left out as well. Ashley felt more at peace and worked from home instead. She had no trouble with Rhae going anywhere because Jonathan told her that she was going to find absolutely nothing. It was funny how he said that and somehow, she was just glad that they were both on good terms now. Ashley smiled at herself in the mirror as she packed her hair up. She had a great feeling that things were going to be good again and now that this misunderstanding had been clear, she couldn't wait to see Alex's expression whenever he woke up. Would he be happy to see her? Their time together as teenagers wasn't that long but they had impacted each other deeply and it was taking a toll on them even after all these years. She cleaned herself up and walked out of the bathroom only to meet the biggest shock of her life. She almos
A MONTH LATER,Ashley had just finished her therapy session with her female therapist. Her phone had been confiscated for a few days now because Ariana feared that things wouldn't improve but her phone was given back to her a day ago. She hadn't been to work as well.Ashley laid on the couch and crossed her legs against each other. She turned on the phone, only to meet a series of text messages inquiring about her health and how things were going. Sammie and Josh were also not excluded. Where they were was a bit far so it denied them the chance of visiting frequently like they would always do when they were still teenagers.So with the little amount of strength in her, she replied to all messages until she got to a particular one that caught her attention. She clicked on it so she could view the entire message. "Hey there, this is Valerie, Alex's sister. If you still want to speak with Alex and also to know where he is, contact me back." This message was sent just a MONTH ago as
Jonathan was already ushered in and was sitting down with the rest of the family but on the other side. His hands were clasped together with his head bowed. His right leg kept tapping against the ground as he prepared his mind to speak. He suddenly raised his head at once to speak, his eyes were on Ashley who he considered the oppressor. "Valerie told me what happened and I think you know what you have done so there is no need for me to start explaining. I hope your family is also aware this time. We don't need you to keep useless secrets that we would be blamed for again. Who do you think you are?" His tone started rising at the end of his sentence. "Tell me! Who do you think you are to do all this trash? How dare you approach my brother only to insult him and say trash to him, you b*tch...?"Ashley became angered and stood up fiercely. "How dare you call me a b*tch when you and that psycho brother of yours are the real d*ck, huh? Oh...so he ran out of the cafe and went
Ashley closed the door of the sitting room, looking soaked up and terrible at the same time. Her face was pale and at that point, even though it was deadly cold, it felt as if she was immune to the weather: 's circumstances. She leaned against the door and slid down to the ground which she sat upon, bawling her eyes out. Jenny who woke up due to the sound of the door being unlocked appeared with a knife and her husband behind her as well. She was scared that it was probably a thief or an attacker. Their minds didn't go through to the thought of it being Ashley because she would have called. But they were both stunned at the situation in front of them. "Ashley?" Jenny called in surprise and then looked at her husband. She gave him the knife and quickly approached her sister. When she got to her side, she knelt and touched her wet hair with a little bit of confusion. Her hands kept moving from one part of her body to another, purposely checking for any physical injuries while being
"Are you sure it's not something that you need my help with?" Philip asked as he looked at the cafe and turned off the car's engine. This was the third time he had brought Ashley over to this place. Was she now obsessed with it that she wouldn't stop coming or there was just another reason for it? "No, thank you. I am fine. You can go home now. We will discuss it tomorrow." Ashley answered with a brief smile and came out of the car with her things. She stood to watch Philip leave first before proceeding.The latter quickly reversed and took the other route. The hand Ashley was waving vigorously halted and her smile was wiped off. She exhaled silently as her eyes ran across the surroundings. She turned to face the cafe.Yeah, she had been coming here for a while with the hope of having a proper conversation with Alex regarding her pending questions. She was so much curious and there was no way she would let this slide but her first attempt in speaking with him landed in failur
"And this counts as the end of your story, Alyssa," Loius said and kisses his daughter's forehead. Jennie glanced back at them and smiled. She had also been listening to the father-daughter discussion while preparing Alyssa's things for school. Louis was a good reader and his voice was smooth which could make the listener not get tired of listening to him speak multiple times. That was the major score he used in winning her over finally. "Thank you, Daddy." Alyssa chuckled after Louis shook her head playfully. "Get to sleep. You don't want to go to school very late."Alyssa then closed her eyes and Louis stood up. He approached his wife and hugged her from the back. "You got a free concert." "I didn't know reading was now some form of concert." Jennie teased back and Louis bit her earlobe. "Ouch... Louis, stop it." "Should I?" Louis asked, proving to be stubborn. Before Jennie could answer, Alyssa did her the favor. "This is still my room." She mumble