Ashley's POV
Tristan was here! I couldn't believe it. My mind jumped into a panic.
What did he want?
I'd think that after everything he said and did today, he wouldn't show up here for at least a few more days.
I jumped off my bed and toward the window to confirm it with my own eyes.
And sure enough, he was here, in the flesh. Climbing out of his car wearing a navy blue tux. I saw him unload some things from the car.
Whenever I feel that things can't get any worse, something bad always happens. I didn't want to face him now. I needed some time to think things through. Telling him the truth no longer seemed like an option. I couldn't stay fake pregnant forever, so I needed another way out.
Besides, I was still mad at him. He not only fired me but humiliated me by kicking me out of the building.
I took a deep breath, taking in everything. What was I even worried about? It was his funeral. Despite me not talking to my mother, I don't think she has forgiven him yet. If he wanted another round of punches, that was his decision.
I sighed as I made my way back to my bed.
"Aren't you going to change into something else or at least brush your hair to look better?" Katy asked.
"Who said I was going to see him?" I asked with a chuckle. "You know mom, she is going to kick him out soon. He'll be here for about five minutes at best." I answered.
"What do you mean you are not going to see him? How else are you supposed to have his baby if you don't even want to speak to the guy?" she asked. "Besides, I really like him as a brother-in-law. You can't let mom kill him." She said.
"You are just going to have to find another sister because he is going to kill me when he finds out. Besides, I'm never having his baby," I answered. I settled myself on the bed. Pulling my phone out to play a video game.
I would never choose to have a baby as a backup plan, just to get out of trouble. Not to mention, it would stand in the way of everything I believe in. Besides, with Layla as the grandmother, I'm sure she'd be the one to raise it, it wouldn't be mine.
Katy sighed. "Fine, I'm going downstairs to do some damage control on your behalf." She answered.
I waved her goodbye as she made her way downstairs. If she wanted to join them, it was her funeral.
I pushed away all negative thoughts as I concentrated on the game.
Minutes passed without hearing any police sirens near by which meant everyone was still alive. I only heard occasional laughter in the living room. This meant things were going well, which was problematic for me.
Katy barged into my room, running in breathlessly. "You should really come downstairs." She said breathlessly. "Things are bad, it turns out that while we were in the room, mom and him had a very long conversation and now they are friends again. They are already looking at baby pictures now, who knows what they will get to next?" She said.
"I'm not coming downstairs." I insisted.
"Oh, I don't mean to stab you in the back but he brought some food and it looks very delicious." She added.
"You should just join them then," I dismissed her.
Katy sighed and ran out of my room again.
I didn't feel like sitting at the dinner table and speaking to either of them.
I returned my attention to my phone, and began watching YouTube videos I had saved on my playlist five years ago. The phone that Tristan brought me. Why did everything have to remind me of him?
Katy returned to my room, barging in like earlier.
"Diner is being served, you should come downstairs now." She said.
"I told you that I wasn't joining them," I answered.
"I don't know but he just joked that if you refuse to eat, he is going to have to get you a nurse. I don't think he was joking." Katy said. I wouldn't be surprised if he did that. "He is also wondering if you are feeling well otherwise he'd have to take you to the doctor." She added.
"That would be great," I answered sarcastically. "Maybe if this time it was the doctor who told him I wasn't pregnant, he would believe it," I said.
"Why are you bent on sabotaging yourself?" Katy asked. "I get that you don't want to have his baby and I respect that but this isn't the way to deal with this. "Do you really want him to be alone in there with mom? Free to stir the conversation in any direction. What if they find out what's going on? You know you'll really be in trouble then." She said.
I sighed as I jumped off my bed. "Fine," I answered. "But I'm not staying there for longer than ten minutes." I was going to have to deal with this situation sooner or later, so it might as well be now.
I couldn't keep doing stupid things. I might have been fired but at least I was still getting paid.
"Are you seriously leaving the room like that?" she asked.
"He is just going to get used to seeing all of this." I pointed to my messy hair in a bun, and to the oversized t-shirt and grey sweatpants I was wearing.
I pulled my door open and made my way downstairs.
Katy followed right behind me. I followed the voices to our small dining area. The table had already been set and Tristan and mom were busy dishing their plates.
"Nice of you to join us," Tristan's face lit up as I walked into the room.
Mom smiled too.
I ignored their looks and made my way around the table to take my seat.
As expected, Katy quickly filled her plate and began digging into her food.
I gave Tristan a glare from across the table, clearly showing him how upset I was. He smiled at me in return, unbothered by my reaction. He knew he had won.
I crossed my arms, leaning back into my chair.
"Are you going to eat? You haven't had anything since you came here." Mom asked.
I had a few packets of chips under my bed. Not exactly a healthy option to supplement any of my meals but at least my stomach wasn't empty.
"I'm not hungry," I replied angrily.
"We shouldn't push her. Besides, you can always choose to have a drink," Tristan answered.
I couldn't believe him; he was already taking it there. That was low of him. "I meant the orange juice of course," he added, masking the bitterness in his voice with a charming smile.
"I miss the days I could just strap her into her chair as a baby and I could just feed her until the plate was empty," Mom said.
"That's why we were chubby in all our baby pictures," Katy said.
"No, you were, you were just well-fed," mom answered.
Both Katy and Tristan laughed.
I must admit, staying mad at two people was really difficult. I'm not used to holding grudges. My stomach betrayed me by growling. The sight of all the food on the table wasn't making things easy. Luck no one heard.
I'm also not used to not speaking to everyone like this.
The ten minutes that I had planned on staying here turned into twenty. By then, my stomach had decided to turn against me. I poured a glass of water for myself to try and ease the hunger.
I didn't want to eat in front of him. That would just mean he had won, and I couldn't allow that. It was unsettling enough having him think that he could run my life now.
"Thank you, Jenna," Tristan answered as mom refilled his glass with her homemade orange juice recipe.
He was on a first-name basis; I've never gotten there. Not even as a practical joke. It was and has always been mom. It was a system that Jenna worked hard to implement.
I needed to get rid of him. Having him here was bad for me. Not to mention, I was starving.
"Don't you have a meeting or something?" I asked Tristan. "You know, the one you mentioned earlier. I think it will probably start soon. You should probably get going," I said. I was hoping he would take the hint and just leave.
I'd think that he would take the hint but today he was clearly playing on his own terms.
"No, my schedule is open for the evening. You must be mistaken." He said shaking his head no.
He didn't even want to leave.
"Are you sure? We'd hate to keep you away from any of your work." Mom insisted.
Finally, at least someone who may be on my side.
"I'm completely sure, my schedule is clear. It's just that..." He paused. "Ashley here tends to get very creative at times. Can you believe that she told me that a friend of hers Ivy, was her cousin?" Tristan asked.
I nearly choked. I couldn't believe he was doing this. Here at all places.
"No, why would she do that?" Mom said in an almost dismissive tone as she chuckled. "They've been friends for a long time, but I always felt that friend of hers was a bit weird," Mom answered.
"That wasn't the worst part. She got a call right in front of me. Someone told her you had had a heart attack. The doctor even confirmed it. I guess she got her friend to do that for her." Tristan continued. He was really letting it all out. "I even believed her. You would have believed her too if you saw how much she was crying." He continued. Tristan looked at me with a satisfied smirk. Was this his way of being petty?
Mom was now looking at me with a more serious expression as she tried to imagine what might have possibly happened. Everyone knows no one lies about their mother having a heart attack unless they have done something serious.
The fact that he knew all of this made him even more dangerous. How many more things did he know?
"Don't worry though, we spoke about the whole thing, and it was nothing but a prank," Tristan said with a laugh. He was trying to dismiss the worried expression now on my mom's face. "Right Ashley?" He added.
"You love pranks, don't you?" I answered sarcastically. I took a sip of my water.
"Yes, but I always manage to see right through people." He answered.
The loud knock on our front door was just what I needed to save me from this awkward situation.
Normally it was my mom who went to open the door. However, there seemed to be someone else more interested in being saved from this awkward situation than me, Katy.
She rushed to go and answer the door.
"It's no one, just our neighbour who was asking to borrow some butter. I told him we didn't have any." Katy answered dismissively. "Ashley, I just noticed that some of our plants outside were dying. Since you know a lot more about plants than me, I was hoping you could go and check them out right now, since you are not doing anything important." Katy said. She was clearly hinting at something else, perhaps someone else. Who had she seen?
"Why don't you do that tomorrow, when the sun is out?" Mom suggested.
"Those plants are like my babies. You don't tell your children to wait when they are dying. It's important that she does it now." She said.
I sighed as I climbed out of my chair.
Katy walked right beside me as we made our way to the door.
"We have a situation," Katy whispered. I knew something was wrong. "Your loser ex-boyfriend is at the door," she said.
My heart nearly stopped.
"What boyfriend?" I whispered back as I stopped in my tracks.
"The loser I told you to dump the first time you spoke of him. Last I remember, this whole thing was technically his fault." She answered. "He is insisting that he comes in to see you." She added.
This wasn't good.
Waylen was here? After all this time he just had to show up.
I couldn't have Tristan see him. What if Tristan saw him and suddenly remembered everything? That wouldn't be good.
I needed to get rid of him, even if it meant stashing him in a body bag and hiding him behind our bushes.
Katy turned around, returning to the living room. She probably didn't want to be in another awkward situation.
Although Katy had given me a warning, seeing him right in front of our door did not make things any easier.
After so long, he was standing in front of me.
He was uncharacteristically wearing a grey suit as he held some flowers in his hand.
Seeing him reminded me of all the anger I held against him for days. All the insults I planned to throw at him suddenly came to mind.
Before our relationship took a turn in the worst way, I used to think that we would be together forever.
And then he left me with an unconscious man to deal with.
"Ashley," I heard him whisper, his eyes meeting mine.
His voice only seemed to anger me, even more so than seeing Tristan or having my mother lie to me in my face.
"I've missed you," he said next. His voice was filled with hesitation. "I realize our last encounter wasn't the best but I'm here to make it up to you." He continued.
I was ready to charge at him and throw an insult at him or even a punch at him. But the loud footsteps and voice behind me stopped me.
"Ashley, your mom is wondering if she should pack away some of the chocolate cake for you." I heard Tristan's voice behind me.
I was screwed.
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A/N: Due to my busy schedule I had to cut this chapter short but I will be updating the rest of it within the next three days.
Funny story, I met this cute boy in my class also named Tristan and I also meant someone named Waylen and now it's just difficult for me not to associate them when I met them in person. Has something similar ever happened to you?
Please comment down your thoughts on the story.