Him | Brooklyn Wyatt

Dad...

Ashley's pov:

I woke up to the sounds of ringing. I reached for my phone, my eyes still closed, only to roll out of the bed. I fell onto Rye, who let out a grunt.

He opened his eyes, blinking away sleep.

"What was that for?" He asked, his voice groggy.

I pointed to my phone as I answered the call, pulling myself off Rye.

"Hey mum. What's up?"

"Hey, honey..." My mum answered. "I just wanted to make sure you're coming home tonight. I want to have a chance to see you before I go to Wales tomorrow."

"Wales?" I asked, slightly confused. Why would she go back there? After everything we went through to get away from dad.

"I've got to go sort out the rest of the divorce papers. He's been using our joint account to pay for his drinking habit!"

I rolled my eyes. Typical.

"Of course he is..." I said, sighing. "I'll be there by dinner time. Love you." I ended the phone call.

I shook my head and stood up, throwing my phone onto the bed. Sitting on the edge of Rye's bed. He sat down next to me, placing a hand on my leg.

"What's the matter?" He asked, kissing my cheek.

"Nothing." I said, forcing a smile.

"Ash. I've seen you upset enough times to know something's up."

I sighed and turned to face him,

"My mum's going back to Wales to finalise her and my dad's divorce. He's been using money from their joint account for... for..."

"It's fine. You don't have to tell me. It's obviously hard for you. I won't force you." Rye said, smiling slightly.

"No. You should know. I've kept it from enough people."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure..."

"Ok then." He said, wrapping a arm around my waist. "Take as much time as you need."

I took a deep breath of courage and rubbed my hands over my face.

"It's hard for me to admit this, but before me and mum came here, we had nothing. My mum had a great job, but dad wasted all of her money. One thing you should know about my dad, he a raging alcoholic. And all because he would rather act like a petulant child than be happy for his wife and what she'd become. He'd come home drunk every night and blame for her for everything wrong with his life. So mum made him choose, between us or the bottle. Guess what he chose?"

A tear dribbled down my cheek. Rye pulled me into hug and rocked me from side to side. I cried against his chest, breathing heavilly.

"Do miss him?" Rye asked, stroking my head.

"No." I said, sniffling. "I miss the man he used to be. Before the alcohol. Before the late nights. The dad who'd read me a story every night before bed. The dad who told me I looked beautiful every morning before I left for school, telling me to ignore the bullies. The dad who ate everything I cooked, even if I burned it. But that man's gone. I know that now. It's just hard to accept it. That he'd rather give up his wife and daughter, than give up the thing that had turned him into such a monster."

Rye lifted my head to meet his gaze. He wiped the tears from my face, resting a hand on my cheek.

"Don't waste your tears on him Ash. He's not worth it. You're worth so much more than that. No daughter should be let down in that way."

"I know. It's just so hard to talk about."

"How about you go home and spend some time with your mum. And tomorrow, we can go out and do something together. Just us two. Yeah?"

I nodded my head, smiling.

We made our way downstairs and Rye poured me a cup of coffee.

"I think you need this more than I do." He said, passing me the drink.

"Thanks." I said, smiling at him.

We sat down and talked to each other for the next hour.

"Ok fine. If you could be any biscuit, what biscuit would you be?" I asked Rye, grinning.

"Biscuit?!"

"Yes..."

"Umm..An Oreo. Tough and bitter on the outside, but soft and sweet on the inside." He said, taking a sip of his tea. "What about you?"

"Chocolate hobnob."

"Why?"

"Because she's smooth and sweet, but a little nutty." Mikey said walking into the kitchen. He started laughing at his own joke as he grabbed a packet of biscuits and walked back out of the kitchen. He carried on giggling to himself as he walked down the corridor.

Me and Rye looked at each other and shook our heads. Andy walked in, wearing a sleeping mask on his head like a headband. He sat down next to me, yawning. He picked up my cup of coffee and took a big gulp.

"Yes Andy, of course you can gave a drink of my coffee." I said sarcastically.

He just looked at me, blinking every couple of seconds, struggling to stay awake. He yawned again and stared at me as he took another sip.

"Why are you so tired?" I said, snatching my drink back off him.

"Mikey." He said, rubbing his eyes. "He was awake all night. Completely ignoring the fact that, unlike him, I wanted to sleep."

I patted his back and stood up pouring another cup of coffee and passing it to him. "Rye, keep him company. I'm off to get ready..."

I left the room and ran upstairs to get changed. I shoved on my outfit; a striped, long sleeved shirt, a dark blue, denim dungarees and some white vans. I tied my hair up in a wavy ponytail and brushed my teeth. Grabbing my backpack, I headed back downstairs.

"I'm going in a sec!" I shouted into the kitchen as I slipped on my coat.

Rye walked into the hallway, pulling a t-shirt over his head. He looked around, checking if the coast was clear, before placing his hands on my waist. He pulled me towards him so that our faces were inches apart.

His lips brushed mine. Not innocently like a tease, but hot and fiery. I wanted to pull away before anybody saw us, but I couldn't seem to... In that moment, my senses had been seduced and I found it hard to think straight. "Ashley", he whispered slowly, prolonging each letter as if to savour them. I smiled, my heart fluttering, as I clasped my hands on either side of his face. Never before had my name felt like such a wonderful one, I thought, as I leant in for another...