Graduation day bitches!!
I know I'm not graduating but my big brother is!
Speaking of Ash...where the fuck is he?
We're gonna be late.
I quickly make my way to his room and find the door cracked open.
I hesitantly walk in and see that he's nowhere to be found.
"Ash?" I called out.
Suddenly I notice a figure walking on the balcony.
Asher.
I open the door to the balcony and find him sitting there just looking up at the sky.
Weird...
"Hey!" I say before taking a seat next to him.
"Hi." He mumbles but never takes his eyes off of the sky.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about some stuff."
"Oh...well are you done thinking? We have a ceremony to get to."
"Did you decide what you're gonna do when I'm gone?" He asks.
"Funny you mention that, Grayson said he has something important to ask me tonight," I say.
"Oh okay." He mumbles.
"Are you sure you're okay Ash? You seem a bit off."
"I'm fine, just nervous about graduating." He says.
"Ash...we said no more lies."
"Alright...I just- I don't know if I'm ready to leave you." He says.
I feel my heart break a bit.
That's what he's been so stressed about?
"Asher, I promise I'll be okay but now is your turn to finally focus on yourself. You've been a father figure to me ever since mom passed away and I couldn't be more thankful. But now it's your turn to branch out and start doing things you love with things like me and Jonathan holding you back." I say.
"I guess..." He says hesitantly.
"I know these past few months have been crazy but it's all over now," I say.
He stays quiet which immediately makes an alarm go off in my head.
Something else is clearly wrong and he's not telling me.
"Alright, you want me to open up?" I start.
"What-"
"I'm fucking scared about you leaving...but I'm also relieved that you can finally live your own life without thinking about me every other second. We're both taking a big step in our lives, you're going to college and moving out and I'm starting high school. I want you to promise me something, Ash."
"What?"
"I want you to promise me that you won't give up and come home. I want you to go live your life and explore...to live the life you always wanted but never got." I say.
He looked shocked by my words at first before I noticed him beginning to tear up.
"How did I get blessed with such an amazing sister?" He asks.
"I ask myself that every day," I smirk.
He chuckles before pulling me in for a hug.
A very tight hug.
Tighter than usual.
"Now, are you ready to graduate?" I ask.
"No, but let's get this shit over with." He says.
I laugh before we head down and meet Jonathan down at the car.
Ever since his little breakdown at the cafe he's actually been pretty decent.
To me at least.
I don't know about Ash.
We spend the next 20 minutes in an awkward car ride before finally getting to the school.
We split off, Asher heads into the gym with the other graduates while Jonathan and I walk up to the stands with the other family members.
"Alyssa!" I hear a voice call from above me.
I look up and see Axton, Jade, Julie, and their families.
I quickly walk past a bunch of people and stand with him.
"Hey!" I yell over the loud voices in the crowd.
"Can you believe they're finally graduating?" He asks.
"Nope!" I say which causes him to laugh.
I don't know where Jonathan went but he's not standing with me.
The ceremony begins and slowly they begin to call each of the students alphabetically by last name.
Arya Ali.
Madison Calemine.
Catalina Faye.
Cameron Fields.
Xander Mitchell.
Asher Phoenix.
Jesse Ramirez.
Ryan Simmons.
And last but not least Liliana Xu.
The girls, Axton, and I make sure to scream extra loud anytime they call our friends names.
Once the ceremony is over, we run down the bleachers to meet with our friends.
I run over to Asher and pull him in for a tight hug.
I notice Axton walk over to Ryan and gives her a giant bouquet of flowers.
Julie and Jade tackle their brother in a tight hug.
Everyone's families are here and each of them makes sure to take pictures with all the kids.
Finally, all of them come together for one last picture.
I tell them to grab their caps and throw them up in the air.
It's a cute picture, they all seem genuinely happy.
"PARTY AT MY PLACE!" Xander yells.
"I thought the party was just us and our families," Lina asks.
"It's fine Catalina ballerina, it's not like people will actually show up." He chuckles.
He was wrong.
People most definitely did show up.
This place is fucking packed.
I mean I can barely get from one corner to another.
It's nice though.
Suddenly the elevator doors open and reveal my dad.
I let out a squeal and ran over to him.
He pulls me in for a tight hug.
We've gotten pretty close over the past few months.
"Someone missed me." He chuckles.
"Yep."
I notice him looking around for something and then stop when he sees it.
"I gotta go talk to your brother about something, I'll be right back." He says.
Okay...
I let go of him and watch as he pulls my brother aside.
I decide to leave them and walk into the kitchen.
"What's up little Phoenix?" Xander asks.
"I can't believe you guys are leaving." I pout.
"Hey, don't worry. We're only on call away, remember that." Axton says.
"Yep, you are our little sister after all," Jess adds.
I feel my eyes begin to water.
During the times when Asher and I weren't speaking, these three really stepped up.
I mean who knows what would have happened if they didn't come looking for me after I found out about my dad.
"Thank you guys...for everything. I love you guys." I manage to spit out without crying.
They look amongst each other before pulling me in for a hug.
We continue to talk until my dad walks into the kitchen.
"What's up, Mr.Hart!" Xander says.
"Hi, boys, congratulations on graduating. But if you'll excuse me, I have to talk to my daughter real quick." He says.
The three of them nod before walking out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with my dad.
"What's up?" I ask.
"So, I've been thinking about something and I wanted to run it by your brother first since I know how important his opinion is to you." He says.
I feel my hands begin to sweat but I nod as a signal for him to continue.
"I was wondering if you would like to move in with me." He asks.
I feel my heart stop for a moment.
Holy shit.
"Wait- really?" I ask.
"I felt that since your brother is leaving for college anyway, now would be the best time to ask you." He says.
I never really thought about moving in.
Jonathan said I was allowed to stay with him as long as I wanted even when Ash is gone.
But now that I think about it, maybe I should move in with my dad.
I think I'm ready.
I mean there have even been times where I've almost called him dad.
"I would love to." I smiled at him.
I watch as his face is taken over by a large grin and he pulls me in for a tight hug.
"Oh thank god! I was worried you might say no." He chuckles.
"Well good thing I didn't." I giggle.
"I uh- I love you, Alyssa." He says.
And once again...my heart stops.
"I love you too...dad," I say.
"What did you just say?" He says while letting go and looking at me with wide eyes.
"I love you too dad." I chuckle.
"DAD! Yes!" He cheers.
I laugh at his reaction.
I watch as he walks up to a bunch of people telling them the news.
Speaking of news, I better tell Ash.
I find him standing on the balcony...again.
What is up with this kid and balconies?
I walk out and make sure to close the door behind me.
"I'm guessing he told you the news?" He asks without looking at me.
"Yep," I say before standing next to him.
"What did you say?"
"I said yes."
"Good. I'm really happy for you Lyss." He smiles down at me before looking at the view again.
Okay...this is freaking me out now.
I mean Asher hasn't been on his phone all day.
Just when we took pictures.
All he's been doing is enjoying the view.
Suddenly I hear a sniffle...from him.
"Aww Ash what's wrong?" I ask.
"I- I have to tell you something but I need you to promise me you won't get mad." He says.
What?
Oh no.
"You're freaking me out," I say wearily before taking a cautious step back.
"Please Lyss, just promise me."
"I- I promise," I mumble.
"A few weeks ago I went through my dad's files and I found some stuff...bad stuff." He says.
"What kind of bad stuff?"
"I found out that he's a 'dirty lawyer'. He's paid off witnesses, tampered with evidence, cheated in some of his cases, put innocent people in jail, and more."
Holy shit.
"O-Okay...and why are you telling me this?" I ask.
I mean I appreciate how open he is about it but Jonathan is his dad and he should be talking to him about this.
"Because there's one other thing he did...to mom."
My breath hitches and I finally look up into his eyes.
"What did he do?" I ask.
"He paid someone to hurt her very badly so she wouldn't divorce him."
"What?! Who?"
"Pastor Ben."
PASTOR BEN?!
I feel myself choke on air for a second.
"You're lying," I say in disbelief.
"I wish I was."
"O-Okay so Jonathan is a very bad person who needs to rot in jail," I say.
"Yeah...which brings me to the part you will probably be upset about." He says.
Oh god, this story isn't over yet?
"Do you remember that fire at the Springdale church a few years ago?" He asks.
"Yeah, the one that almost killed all those people and Pastor-"
I stop myself.
I look up at him and he refuses to look me in the eye.
"Asher tell me you weren't the one that started the fire," I say, my voice beginning to rise.
He doesn't say anything.
I feel like my fucking world has been flipped upside down.
Suddenly I feel myself beginning to get dizzy so I grab onto the ledge for support.
"I was upset after I found out what he did to mom and I-"
"Oh my god, Asher." I gasp.
I feel my breathing begin to quicken.
For fuck's sake.
"That brings me to my final point. After finding out all these things my dad did, I went to the cops this morning." He says.
WHAT?!
"Asher...what did you do?" I ask wearily.
"I gave them all the evidence against Jonathan." He says.
Holy shit.
"Does this mean-"
"That Jonathan is going to jail? Yes." He says.
Oh my god.
"But, there's something else...I also turned myself in for the fire." He says.
That's when my world finally falls apart.
"ASHER TELL ME YOU'RE LYING!" I yell as I walk over to him and grab him by the colar of his jacket.
"I'm sorry Lyss." He mumbles.
"Why?" I cry.
"Because I can't live with myself knowing that I could have killed all those people! Lina was one of those people!" He yells.
"WHAT?"
"I found out a few months ago." He mumbles.
"But- but if you turned yourself in then why are you standing here?" I asked.
"Because I begged them to allow me to say goodbye to you first."
I feel my legs give out and I fall to the floor.
He quickly kneels down next to me and pulls me into his arms.
"Please tell me this is some kind of fucked up joke." I cry.
"I'm so sorry." He mumbles before kissing the top of my head.
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP LYING TO ME!" I yell before pushing him away.
"Lyss-"
"No Asher! If you told me sooner we could have- well maybe we-"
"Alyssa! There's nothing you could have done to stop me from turning myself in. Those families that were in that fire deserve justice." He says.
No no no no this can't be happening.
Oh my god...it all makes sense now.
Why he wasn't on his phone and why he was just enjoying nature.
He's going to jail.
"FUCK ASHER!" I shove him.
"Lyss-" He pauses when we suddenly hear the elevator ding.
They're here.
The cops.
-----------Author's Note----------
I told you this shit was gonna get intense.
You have no idea how much I'm crying rn.
Watching Alyssa and Asher's relationship fall apart-
All I feel rn is pain.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
Get ready for part two...and grab some tissues!
-Pradabagg
Word Count: 2026