Ride Or Die | Book #1 ✓

Chapter 53

⚫ Two weeks later ⚫

"No Aster, you are not fit to be her guardian. I refuse for my daughter to be in a gang." My dad shouted over to Aster as they argued in the kitchen. I stood behind the stairwell, staying unseen so I could continue to listen to their conversation. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping Aster would say something-anything for that matter. He was supposed to be my biggest advocate right now but was slowly losing the battle to our father. 

It had been two weeks since I had been back, and it was miserable, to say the least. Every night I had nightmares about being back there which would cause me to scream in my sleep. Aster was exhausted, always having to wake me up in the middle of the night to wake me from the nightmare that played over and over in my head. I couldn't get Cayde or Tucker's face out of my head and could feel their gruesome touch on my skin. 

Pierce has been staying with me overnight as well to give Aster a bit of a break but I could tell he wasn't sleeping with me constantly waking up in fear, even though he didn't want to admit it. I told him to start sleeping at home and I'd be okay, which he'd fought with me but eventually gave in-knowing he needed the sleep he had been deprived of. 

Life was a lot harder to adjust back to than I thought it would be, I carried so much trauma that I knew I wasn't going to just be able to get over it. I listened to the doctor and started seeing a therapist to slowly work through everything, although I hated talking about it because it brought back the memories. I also filed a police report against Tucker and Cayde for rape, but I had no idea where they were hiding-no one did.

"You can't take her away, all her friends are here- she had a completely new life here. Don't rip her away from that and don't rip her away from me. I just got my little sister back, do not ruin it." Aster tried to fight back against my dad, and I could hear the heartbreak in his words. 

"My daughter will not be in a gang! Look where it's gotten her so far! Raped, kidnapped, and tortured. You think I'm going to sit back and allow her to go through that? She's 18, Aster--she is still my child. She's moving back with me, and that is final!" My dad shouted, having the last word. 

My dad and Aster had been fighting ever since I got back. My dad took this very hard, especially after finding everything about my mom. I believed he was still in a state of shock and felt betrayed by my mom for all the lies she had told him. My mom on the other hand was adjusting back to life a lot easier than me, but she was always the type of person to turn a bad situation into a good one. Although she was struggling to reconnect to my hurt father after all the years she had lied and been gone. 

I didn't want to move with my dad to North Carolina, I wanted to stay here in New York. This was my home now and I couldn't bear leaving everyone. I didn't even want to tell Pierce, but I knew he already could tell where everything was going with how I had been acting. I felt so distant and numb towards everyone, I was scared I wouldn't get my old self back but I was searching for her. 

"Ashton, you can't do this to her-" My mom's voice spoke up softly from the kitchen. I continued to hide behind the wall, blocking me from them as I wanted to know everything that was being said. My mom understood that I wanted to stay, and as a member of Crestmont herself- she knew it wasn't just that easy to leave everybody after being part of the family that it is. 

"Why? So she can live the life you did? I can't believe you, Ashlynn. After everything you've been through and you're just ok with her being in some gang?!" My dad snapped back, becoming frustrated that no one else saw the situation he did. I hadn't expected my dad to understand, he never would because he'd always see it as a gang that took his wife.

"It's not just a gang, it's a family." My mom let out a sigh, knowing she was never going to get through to my dad. In all honesty, I hated watching my parents interact- it didn't feel real and it felt awkward. I hoped that would soon disappear as time went on but I didn't know if the lies my mom told would ruin their relationship.