First Impressions

Chapter XII: Britt's Endeavor

I froze. I waited. I didn't want to ruin what little ground I was making.

I still half expected him to not say anything else, but he defied expectations once again. And this time, he sounded somewhat less tense. "My real mom isn't here anymore. She left us five years ago." When I kept my mouth shut, he went on to say angrily, "For Wade. For drugs."

It was useless to hide my shock. I could hardly believe it. For one, Ash had just told me something personal. But it was the words themselves that had me shaking. "So that's what Rowlett meant," I breathed without thinking. When I realized I had said it out loud, I brought a hand to my mouth in regret, but Ashton's anger wasn't directed at me when he next spoke.

"Yeah. That sick—"

Unable to stop myself, I cautiously took a step closer to the volatile boy. "Do you know where she is now?"
Running a shaking hand through his hair, he closed his eyes and said, "She's gone, Maine. She's gone forever."

My blood turned cold. He'd been serious—somehow I just hadn't taken his words literally over the phone. Praying for the right words and coming up blank, I took a nervous breath. "Is she the woman in that picture?"

His eyes latched onto mine in surprise, and I could tell he didn't know what I was talking about. Biting my lip, I elaborated, "That photo you had when I found you last week."

Narrowing his eyes, he questioned in idle accusation, "You saw that?"

"Yeah," I barely whispered, unsure what to say or do. "I just—I was curious." When he still stared at me, I added quietly, "I'm sorry."

Letting out a sigh, Ash said, "It doesn't matter anymore. You already know."

"Sorry," I said again, not even sure why I was saying it. There was really nothing to say that would make up for what he had just told me.

Ashton's gaze flitted across my face, as if debating where to land. Some sick part of me quivered when it landed on my lips. But that only lasted a second, and then he looked into my eyes again and murmured, "I said it doesn't matter anymore."

My heart clenched at his words, but I couldn't bring myself to counter them. Instead, I said stupidly, "Do you miss her?"

His gaze not faltering for a second, Ash answered curtly, "No."

I knew he was lying—I could see it in his eyes. Still, I went along with him and dropped it. "So, Pam is..."

Judging by the way his stance relaxed, I guessed that he was grateful for the slight shift of conversation. "She was my dad's secretary. After my mom left, Pam started showing up. She always supported my dad—and me, I guess. They've been married three years."

I nodded, understanding how Pam was. She was so friendly, so easy to talk to. If anyone could heal Mr. Savvonski's heart after such a horrible blow, she would be the one.

As a silence hemmed in around us then, I felt my anxiety return. Now that Ash had told me what he had, I was unsure what to do next. It felt wrong to ask more, since he'd already told me more than I ought to know, but I didn't know what else to do. My stupid mouth did the job for me.

"I know it's none of my business," I blurted suddenly to break the silence, "but who was that on the phone?"

As soon as I saw Ash's face, I regretted it. Feeling horrible, I hurriedly said, "You don't have to answer that. Sorry I pried."