"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" I yell while walking around my room.
I pause when I hear a knock on my door.
"Who is it?" I ask.
"It's me. Let me in. We need to talk." He says.
"Uhh, I'm asleep," I say.
I'm asleep? Really?
I groan and smack my palm against my forehead.
"Open the door, Madison. Please." He sounds vulnerable.
I sigh before walking over to the door and opening it.
He doesn't even say anything before walking in.
"I know what you're about to say...just let me figure this out first," Asher says before taking a seat on the bed.
"She was there, Asher!" I say before taking a seat next to him.
"I know...FUCK!" He says.
"What are we gonna do?" I ask.
Fuck I'm starting to hyperventilate and I think he notices.
"Mads, calm down." He says.
"I am calm."
"Mhm sure." He sighs.
"What even happened...after you left?" I ask.
"It's not something you should be concerned about." He replies quickly.
"Are you kidding?! I helped you! Of course, it's something I should be concerned about!" I start to raise my voice.
"You need to promise me you won't say anything Mads...otherwise we both go down." He says while never breaking eye contact with me.
Afraid I may say something stupid, I just nod my head.
It was September 15, 2019.
A day I will never forget.
"Ash I really don't think you should be going through your dad's files." I hear Madison say from the door.
She's currently keeping watch while I'm looking for a certain file in his drawer.
"Found it!" I yell before tucking it under my shirt and walking out of his office.
We both walk out of my house and quickly drive over to hers.
"What exactly is in the files?" She asks.
"Before my mom died I remember her and my dad fighting about something. She said that he had done something to her...pushed her over the edge." I explain.
"You think your father had something to do with your mom's death?" She gasps.
"Well yes and no, my mom died from cancer and obviously, he couldn't have caused that but I do think he did something to her before she died that caused a lot of trauma," I explain.
"Holy shit." She sighs before pulling into her driveway.
We quickly sprint inside and head upstairs to her room.
I rip out the file from under my shirt and open it.
The first thing I see is a list of names and a few phone numbers. Some highlighted and others not.
Then I see a bunch of bank receipts and proof of transactions.
"So he paid someone..." Madison says.
Yep.
I continue digging and freeze when I find a letter addressed to my father.
I open it up and immediately recognize my mother's handwriting.
"What the fuck?" I gasp.
Jonathan,
I want a divorce. I don't think you realize the hell the kids and I face having to be around you. You are constantly angry and you refuse to spend any quality time with us. Did you know it was our 10 year anniversary yesterday? Of course, you didn't because you don't care. Ever since the day I said "I do", you have treated me more as an object than a wife. Only when you want sex do you ever show me love. Forget my needs, I do not want my children to grow up around a man who puts his job over his family. I would never want Asher to treat his wife the way you treat me! I am no longer in love with you Jonathon, I haven't been for a while and I know that you're having an affair with your assistant Macy. I know this letter comes off as rude and bitter but I do want this divorce to go by as smoothly as possible for the kid's sake. I may not be in love with you but I will always care about you. You are the father of my child anyway. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Ashley
Holy shit!
Mom wanted to divorce dad?
"But your parents never got divorced," Mads said.
"I know," I say.
"Wait! Why did she say he was the father of her child?" She asks.
"Uh, because he's Lyss and I's dad." I deadpan.
"No, you idiot! She said, CHILD. As in ONE!" Madison said.
I do a double-take and glance back at the letter.
Madison gasps and I watch as she pulls out a birth certificate.
"It's Alyssa's." She says quietly.
I grab it out of her hand.
"That's not my dad's signature," I say.
Alyssa and I don't have the same dad.
Holy fucking shit.
"Oh my god, Ash." Madison's mouth is wide open.
"This still doesn't explain the fact that they were still together when she passed away," I say.
I dig through the file again and pause when I find a phone in a plastic bag.
"Do you have gloves?" I ask.
"Yeah..." She says before heading into her closet and bringing out a pair of pink silk gloves.
I quickly put them on and grab the phone from the bag.
It's an old iPhone 5.
I press down on the power button and wait for the apple symbol to show up.
I feel my heart rate increasing.
Is this how a fucking heart attack feels like?
The phone turns on and luckily there is no password.
I go through the contacts and only find 3 contacts, none under a name though.
Then I go through the voicemails and find one.
I push play.
"Jonathon...it's done. You won't have to worry about her going through with the divorce anymore. I expect the money to be transferred by tomorrow morning." A man says before the voicemail ends.
What the fuck?
"Someone threatened her," Madison says while I just nod.
Then I go to iMessage.
I look through the messages and pause when there was an image.
I tapped it so it would download.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
My heart is going fucking crazy as I wait for the image to load.
"Ahhhh!" Madison lets out a scream and I drop the phone.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
I had to grab my chest to hold back my tears.
I grab the phone once again and look at the picture.
It was a photo of my mother tied up and beaten.
She looked...dead.
"Asher I- I'm so sorry." Madison cries.
I don't reply.
I don't even think I can talk.
"I'm gonna kill him," I mumble.
"Ash-"
"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!" I yell and throw the phone at the closest wall.
"HE PAID SOMEONE THE HURT HER SO SHE WOULDN'T DIVORCE HIM!" I scream.
"Asher! Before you do something stupid, think about the consequences!" Madison says as she slowly walks up to me.
"I don't care anymore. He deserved to die, NOT HER!" I cry and I feel her wrap her arms around me.
I quickly get up and grab the phone again.
"We need to figure out who's behind this message," I say.
We both look at the photo again and try to find anything that might give away a clue.
"Wait!" Madison gasps.
"What?"
"Zoom in on the right bottom corner." She says before I zoom in.
"That ring! I know it from somewhere." She says before getting up and going through her closet.
I continue to analyze the ring and she comes back with a photo album.
I watch as she flips through it and then suddenly stops.
"Holy shit." She gasps.
I quickly make my way next to her and my eyes nearly fall out of my head.
"PASTOR BEN? No way!" I yell while getting up.
"Look at the ring Ash!" She says and low and behold, he's wearing the ring.
"He can't be the only one who has that ring."
"Yes he can, my mother custom made it for him for his birthday 4 years ago," Madison says.
"What a fucking asshole!" I yell.
"We're leaving," I say before taking off the gloves and heading out of the house.
"Asher! Where are you going?"
"I need you to drop me off somewhere," I say.
All I can see is fucking red.
"Ash-"
"Madison please stop asking questions," I say before getting into her car.
She quietly gets in her car and I tell her to drop me off at a gas station.
"Go home," I said while slamming the door shut and heading inside.
I look through the window and watch her slowly back out and leave.
It's better if she isn't involved.
I go through one of the aisles and grab a gallon of gasoline.
I head over to the register and pay before heading out.
I make my way down the sidewalk and begin heading toward the church.
If this mother fucker thinks he can get away with almost killing her, he has another thing coming.
I pull on my hoodie and begin pouring gas all around the perimeter of the church.
"I hope you rot in hell pastor," I mutter before pulling out a lighter and lighting the gas.
Suddenly flames erupt everywhere and I just stand there frozen.
I hear people begin to scream and that's when I start sprinting back down the street.
What the fuck did I just do?!
I manage to hail a taxi and make my way back to Madison's house.
"Oh my god! Thank god you're okay!" She lets out a breath of relief before wrapping her arms around me.
I feel my tears begin to run down my cheeks before I wrap my arms around her.
We head upstairs and I quickly clean up all the evidence from the file and hide it under Madison's bed until I leave.
We were laying in bed when suddenly her door burst open.
"Madison honey! Pastor Ben and many others were hurt. Someone set fire to the church!" Her mom yells frantically.
I watch as Madison's head snaps directly to me.
"I- Are you serious?" She gasps.
"Yes! We are going to the hospital as soon as he wakes up." Her mom says before shutting the door.
"Asher...PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT!" She yells but I stay quiet.
"Oh my god!" She gasps.
I watch as she quickly turns on her TV and the news immediately pops ups.
"We have just received news that dozens of people were hurt during the sudden fire at Springdale Church. I have just been notified that Pastor Ben was one of those people." The news reporter says.
I watch as the camera zooms in on the paramedics wheeling out a girl around my age. They blurred out her back and it looks like her dad is frantically following them into the ambulance.
What the fuck did I do?
"She could be dead!" Madison yells.
She could be dead.
I could have killed her.
An innocent girl.
Fuck.
Madison's POV:
"She's the girl Ash. SHE'S THE FUCKING GIRL!" I gasp.
"I know." He says.
"You have to tell her," I say.
"I know."
"She's gonna kill you."
"I know."
"Is that all you have to say?" I ask bewildered.
"Fuck Madison, I don't know what to say!" He yells.
"I'll tell her soon, I just gotta figure out how." He says.
"I'll make sure to leave you out of it." He says as he begins heading out of the door.
"Ash?" I ask and he quickly whips his head in my direction.
"I'm scared."
"So am I." He says before walking out and shutting my door.
Catalina Faye...I'm so fucking sorry.
----------Author's Note----------
Oh my god! What- Huh- These plot twists just keep getting more and more intense.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
-Pradabagg
Word Count: 1862