**Ashlyn's POV**
"Ryan!" I cried, jumping into his arms. I felt the tears coming as I buried my head in his shoulder. "I missed you so much!!!!" I was still mad at him, well everybody, for throwing me into a short intervention before sending me to rehab. But when I saw him, I couldn't help but let it go for the time being. You're probably wondering why I hadn't talked to anyone while I was gone. No phones were allowed. Apparently they interfere with the program and are a distraction to patients.
"Hey Ash..." he whispered, holding me up with one arm while running his free hand through my hair. I was about to ask when he got so strong but I remembered him and Chaz are half werewolf too. "I missed you too."
"Where's Chaz? Is he okay? How did you get in?" I immediately started babbling.
"Shhhh...." he hushed, sitting down on my couch, turning me so I was sitting sideways in his lap. "I'll answer all your questions in a second. Chaz isn't in town right now, but he told me to tell you he'll visit you soon. Do you still have your house in Canada?" I nodded. "Okay well can you do me a favor?" he asked. I nodded again. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know as long as you stay in Canada until further notice. Plus me and Chaz can be closer to you if you're up there anyways."
I shrugged. "Sure, I can do that. I don't really want to be in Atlanta and there's not any family in America anyways." I always loved my house in Stratford as well. We still own it. I'm making an album though. I can't just hop up and leave. I guess I'll work around it.
He widened his eyes. "Good. That was easier than I thought it would be. Now lets hear your questions." He smiled, his dimples showing. I've always loved Ryan's smile.
"What did everyone do after I was sent to rehab?"
"Well, depends on who you want to start with." he answered.
"Ummm....well I've already talked with Beyonce, Vin, Jasmine, Layla, Chad, and Chasity. I can't think of....wait a minute! What happened to Avery?" I freaked. Avery, who should now be thirteen years old, was my artist and apprentice. I discovered her in Pittsburgh.
He smiled. "Well, Justin wanted her to stay and tour with him," I cringed at the name "But she decided to go back home to Pennsylvania while you were in rehab. Her and Jaden have been together for awhile now, too. He visits her sometimes."
"Okay....what's Miley been up to? I ran out of the show so quickly I didn't get a chance to talk to her." I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone.
"She did two tours. Her and Chaz actually got pretty close. That pretty much kept her occupied, I'd say. Anyone else?" he asked.
"Who else is left?" I asked sarcastically. I hadn't asked about my dog, Twinky because she is safe and sound with my maid Irine at home in Atlanta. And I didn't want to know anything about Justin's crew. I didn't even want to hear about Pattie as much as I love her.
"Well, I guess I should get to it. As soon as you left to rehab Justin was irate and ballistic. Not because you were gone, but because you cheated on him." I wasn't upset with myself for cheating on him anymore. Not after that song I heard tonight. "He immediately started thinking of ways to mentally torture you and came to me and Chaz for help. We didn't approve of his ideas at all. This made him very angry. We rebelled against him and went back to Canada. He lost all ties with us.
"Months went by and Justin was all over the media with Selena. Me and Chaz tried to think of any logical explanations as to why Selena would ever get back with him. We're pretty sure he's threatening and using her and she can't get away. He has no love for her and we both knew that. We figure he's manipulating her mind somewhat like he did yours, making her put up a front with the media as if she's still head over heels for him as before. We knew by then, that he had completely lost it and was without a doubt undeniably reckless.
"This lead us to wondering why he didn't come after you. We knew he didn't because the rehabilitation unit you were in allowed family to keep tabs on you. Chad would tell us how you were doing. But back to Justin. Why didn't he mentally torture you like he said he would? Why was he acting as if he didn't care about you in the slightest-had no idea you existed? His power is not strong enough to cover long distances. The farther you were from him, the less he could control you. I know for a fact you didn't hear him at all. If he had been tormenting you while you were in rehab it could have took you without a doubt much longer than a year to recover."
"So that's how he controlled me tonight!" I exclaimed.
Ryan shook his head. "Wrong. He lost all ties with you when you left. He isn't capable of controlling you or reading your mind. He can probably still speak to you in your head though."
"But the pain! I felt it when I resisted!"
He shook his head once more. "Wrong again. You imagined that pain because you felt it so many times before. If he tries speaking to you from now on, think nothing of it and you're fine. Can't you see it, Ashlyn? He's trying to deceive you and you're letting him do it so easily as before. You have to stay strong."
Stay strong. The same words I heard for the past year, and I'm even hearing it now, when I'm out of rehab. It's now becoming so much more to me.
I nodded, showing him I understood, then got out of his lap. "Okay...so when do I need to head back to Stratford?"
"Of course you should go back to Atlanta and get everything together first. But don't stay long. Who knows when Justin's going to head back. You just need to be on a flight by Tuesday morning. Today is Sunday, so you should have plenty of time to take care of whatever when you get back. Now," he said, standing up. "I need to go. You have my number. Call me when you land."
I kissed his cheek and hugged him. "Okay, Ry. See you then." I whispered.
"Bye, Ash." he called over his shoulder before I heard the door to my suite close.
When he left it hit me. I'm running from Justin. He's after me. This is going to be a hell of a cat and mouse.
**Justin's POV**
Wrong!
Wrong!
WRONG!
This is all wrong. She was supposed to fall directly into the trap. I could have had her back by now. My plan was bulletproof. What went wrong? How?
I paced the floor of our LA mansion angrily as I tried to figure out what loophole in hell there was that got Ashlyn away from me. I mumbled curses to myself as I got more and more worked up. I couldn't help it. I vicious growl ripped out of my throat as I punched a hole through the wall.
"Justin, you should calm down." my mother said comfortingly, entering the room.
The red I saw was immediately gone. I refused to lash out on my mom. I love her and would hate to see her upset. I frowned. "How does this happen to me, Mom?" I asked. "I've gone over this in my head for a year. There was no flaw in my plan. What could have possibly happened that made her get away?"
I originally planned to avenge Ashlyn. I forced Selena into a relationship with me by using the same method I had once used on Ash. But as months went by, I realized it was against everything I was for. I'm not a bad person. I can't hurt Ashlyn. She's my mate. I love her unconditionally and I still can't forgive myself for all the things I used to do to her even though she cheated on me with Mitchell. That's why I planned on deceiving her instead and make her come straight to me. I thought I had her too.
As soon as Ashlyn had entered the center tonight I felt the control over her that I had missed so dearly. I felt every emotion she felt. I felt the pain and sorrow she felt as I performed on stage. I couldn't bring myself to feel guilty, though. I deserved as much to take a jab at her in a song after she did what she did. After she did her performance, I was prepared to bring her crawling before my feet. But as soon as I had her mind in my grasp, I lost it just as quickly. I fought my way into her head as she ran. I had been watching her from afar.
I technically can't control her anymore, but that's where the deceiving part comes in. She knows how much it hurt when I had tried to control her before, so I knew that if I made it seem as if I was doing it tonight she would simply imagine the pain that she had once known so well.
There was no flaw in that. None. What possibly could have gone wrong?
I sat down on the edge of my bed and buried my head in my hands. "I love her, Mom. So much. It's almost painful. I don't know what to do."
"You have to find her Justin. Do whatever it takes. She being your other half, you can't live without her and vice versa. She shouldn't be able to stay away for long. But after tonight, if you messed with her at all, you probably sent her running to the hills. She probably won't come to you. You have to find go to her," she said, patting me lightly on the back before leaving my room.
Ashlyn, I'm coming for you.