I'm safe. Ashley is safe. Our dogs are safe. Everyone made it out of the fire. All of our belongings, however, were not so lucky.
Ash and I are speechless watching the house we bought just a few short months ago go up in flames. He told me it's okay and that he's not mad, but I know him better than that. He's quiet, so he's probably mad.
"What are we gonna do?" I ask quietly.
"We'll figure it out. Probably have to go live with your parents or something," Ashley replies gently. I sigh. As our three-story house collapses in on itself, my heart sinks. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will be salvageable.
Later on, Ashley and I pull into my parents' driveway. My mother is already standing outside. I haven't seen her in a couple months, so she's probably very excited to see me.
"(Y/N)!" My mom exclaims when I open the passenger door.
"Hi, Mom. Sorry for springing all this onto you..." I start. She pulls me into a hug and shushes me.
"Don't even worry about it, dear. You know you're always welcome to come back home! Your father and I are both retired now, so we do get lonely!" I didn't expect my mom to be so excited, but I'm gonna take the excitement and run with it. Ashley grabs the Target bags out of his trunk. We had to stop and get some clothes to get us by until the insurance company reimburses us. We also grabbed some toiletries and food for the dogs. I grab the dog food out of the trunk and my mom leads me back into my childhood home. She feels the need to show me to my room, even though I lived in it for twenty years.
"Thanks, Mrs. (Y/L/N)," Ashley says, hugging her.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Ash? Call me Mom," my mom chuckles. Ashley laughs and shakes his head, not having a good response. "What sounds good for dinner? I can make spaghetti or your father can cook something. He's the better cook, after all."
"Spaghetti is fine," I say. Ashley nods. My mom nods and closes the door, leaving us alone in my room.
"So this is where you grew up?" Ashley asks. I nod. I've never brought him here. It brings back a lot of bad memories, so we've always agreed that it's better not to talk about it.
"I hoped I would never have to be here again," I say quietly.
"I know," he says. He looks around the room. It looks pretty similar to how I left it. There are still scratches on the door from all the times my dad locked me in here and I tried to escape. He double checks the door, making sure it's not locked. My old mattress creaks as I sit down on it.
"I don't want to see my dad," I say quietly. I haven't seen him in years. He wasn't invited to our wedding, he never helped us move in to the house we bought, I never wanted him there.
"(Y/N), it's over now. I promise. I'm here. He can't do anything to you. And if he tries to hurt you again, that man will never see the light of day again."
Hearing the words come out of Ashley's mouth, that reassurance, it makes me feel safe, but also small and fragile at the same time. I wish I was strong enough to face him without help. On the other hand, there's nobody else I'd rather have on my side.
"I love you," I say.
"I love you too," he replies.
My father never shows up for dinner. Mom makes some lame excuse as to why not, but I'm relieved he's not here. My mom does most of the talking, as always. Rambling on about who knows what. After dinner, Ashley suggests he and I go for a run, and I agree. It would be good for me to get my mind off of things.
"There's a nice trail near here that I found recently, we should go check it out," he says.
"Sounds fun," I smile. We get in the car and he takes me down some back roads I've never seen before. Once we reach the trail, I let him lead the way.
"Where does this trail even go?" I ask breathlessly after fifteen minutes of running farther into the woods. It's getting darker now, and I don't know what kind of animals live here.
"We're almost there," he replies happily. Where?
"I'm confused," I say, more to myself than to him.
"You'll see, babe," he says. "Race ya!" He takes off at a sprint.
"Ashley, you know I can't run that fast!" I shout.
"Keep up, slowpoke!"
I roll my eyes and try to pick up the pace. I've always been jealous of his stamina. I know I've already lost him, and I feel like I'm about to die, so I just decide to jog the rest of the way. It's a straight trail, so there must be somewhere he wants me to meet him at the end. Once I see the end, I see Ashley gathering sticks and branches and putting them in a pile.
"What are you doing?" I ask, coming to a stop.
"Let's create at least one happy memory for you in this town," he says.
"By having an illegal bonfire?"
"Only illegal if you get caught," Ash corrects me.
We sit next to each other on a lot after Ashley starts the fire with his lighter. I rest my head on his shoulder.
"Have you ever been to summer camp?" he asks.
"No, I was never allowed to," I shrug.
"I used to go every year, sometimes two weeks instead of one when my grandparents had enough of me," he laughs. "We'd have a bonfire every night and sing campfire songs."
"You should teach me some so I can annoy you with them for the rest of our lives," I playfully suggest.
"You got it," he says. "Repeat after me."
Ashes from the fire started falling on my clothes. But this time, I wasn't watching my life go up in flames. I was watching a new beginning.
A/N
Hello! I hope you enjoyed this one. I've been struggling to write, lack of ideas. Recommend some good Ashley fanfics to get me inspired! Request some imagines! I'm writing on a phone right now, but I'm hoping to get a computer for Christmas (fingers crossed).
Since there are so many new readers here, would you guys like a little "About the Author" section? I like to be as personal as I can (within reason). This book is for both of us, so let me know what you want to see, and I'll continue writing what I want to write at the same time.
Love y'all!
