Chapter
13
Half
an hour later, Ashalyn emerged from Brian’s room and went down the hall to the
waiting room, where AJ, Howie, Nick, Elyssa, Serena, and Jenna were still
waiting.
“How
did he take it?” Nick asked softly, seeing the depressed look on her face.
Ashalyn
shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I
guess,” she said, sinking down into one of the chairs.
Howie
glanced from her to Nick and AJ. “Do you
think he would care if we went to visit him now?” he asked Ashalyn.
“I
think he could use some comforting by you guys,” Ashalyn said.
“Ok,
we’ll go to his room now then,” Howie said.
He stood up, followed by Nick and AJ, and the three of them left the
room, offering grim smiles to the girls on their way out.
Once
they had gone, Elyssa turned to Ashalyn.
“Ash, do you want to go home now?” she asked. Ashalyn nodded slowly. “Ok.
I’ll take you,” she said.
“Rena,
you need a ride home?” Jenna asked.
“Sure,”
Serena replied gratefully.
“Ok,
let’s go then,” said Jenna. “I’m tired
of sitting around this place.” Serena nodded sadly.
The
four girls walked together down the hall and took the elevators to the main
floor. They walked outside and stood in
the parking lot.
“Ash,
you call if you need anything, ok?” Serena asked sympathetically, her brown
eyes full of concern.
“Thanks,
Rena,” Ashalyn whispered, offering her friend a sad smile.
“That
goes for me too,” Elyssa spoke up.
“And
me,” Jenna added.
“Thanks
guys,” Ashalyn sincerely. “Y’all are the
best friends anyone could have.”
Serena,
Elyssa, and Jenna exchanged glances and suddenly surrounded Ashalyn in
hugs. They knew they could never betray
her when she was in such pain. They
vowed to themselves to help her get through this, as long as it might take.
***
“Ash? Is that you?”
As Ashalyn entered the living room of her house, her mother entered the
room, looking relieved when she saw her daughter. “Oh, Ashalyn, where have you been?” she
asked. “I thought you said you would be
home around nine. It’s after 11:30 right
now! I tried calling your cell phone,
but no one answered. I even called
Mike’s parents, but no one was home at his house!” Her mother’s relief had turned into anger.
“Mom…
there was an… an accident,” Ashalyn said softly, her voice shaking, the tears
inside her threatening to rise once again.
Immediately,
Mrs. James’ face softened and filled with concern. “An accident?” she asked, wide eyed. “Is everyone okay? Are you okay?”
“I’m
fine, Mom,” Ashalyn said, “but not everyone is.” Mrs. James waited for her to continue. “Brian’s going to be okay, but Mike and
Leighanne are dead!”
“Oh,
my God!” Mrs. James cried, stricken. She
hurried to her daughter and put her arm around her, leading her over to the
sofa to sit down. Once they were
sitting, she wrapped her arms around Ashalyn and pulled her close. Ashalyn buried her face in her mother’s
shoulder and cried softly. Mrs. James
wordlessly ran her fingers through Ashalyn’s long red hair, trying to provide
what comfort she could. She was shocked
and full of grief herself though. Of
course, she didn’t know Leighanne well at all, but her death was still a
horrible tragedy. Mike was a different
story. She had known him since he was
just a little boy, and she had grown to love him as a son over the years he and
Ashalyn had been dating. Of course, her
pain was not at all as horrible as Ashalyn’s was, so she focused her attention
on comforting her daughter.
“Mom,
I think I’m going to go to bed,” Ashalyn said, after sitting with her mother
for close to an hour. She hadn’t spoken
much, just sat there in her mother’s arms.
But she realized now she was indeed exhausted, and she figured that
maybe when she was sleeping, she could forget the horrible pain she was in.
“Okay,
baby,” Mrs. James replied softly. “I
love you.” She quickly kissed Ashalyn’s
cheek.
“I
love you too, Mom,” Ashalyn replied.
“Goodnight.” With that, she
turned and walked slowly upstairs to her room, feeling as if she were walking
through a fog. She stripped out of her
clothes and threw on a big T-shirt to use for pajamas. Then she climbed beneath her covers, without
even bothering to brush her teeth or take off her make-up. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head
hit her pillow.
***
“Mike…
no!” Ashalyn cried and jerked upright.
Panting, she looked around and found herself sitting up in her bed. She glanced at the clock on her night
table. It read 3:43. It was only a dream. A horrible nightmare, Ashalyn told
herself.
She
had been dreaming of Mike and the horrible accident that had occurred only
hours before. Without warning, the tears
came, and Ashalyn began to sob.
“Oh,
Mikey,” she sobbed hysterically. She
turned on the lamp next to her bed, and the first thing she saw was his
picture, sitting there on the night table.
Seeing his face just made her cry harder. She cried not just for him, but also for
Leighanne, and Brian, for the horrible pain he must be going through, just like
she was.
Right
then, she longed to hear Brian’s voice.
She knew he was hurting too, and when she had comforted him earlier, in
a way, she had been comforting herself as well.
She
wanted to call him, but she knew that it was much to early in the morning to
call. However, she couldn’t go back to
sleep, so she slowly climbed out of bed and wandered downstairs, hoping to find
something to take her mind off of her lost love.
***
