Chapter One-Hundred-Ninety-Four
When Nick and Ashley had finally gotten the kids to sleep, Nick moved over so he was lying across the edge of the bed sideways and Ashley crawled over and settled herself next to him before resting her head against his chest. He slid his arms around her waist and kissed her forehead softly as he watched her lay there idly tracing her promise ring.
“Do you think it was bad of me to let them keep their stuffed animals and doll?”
“No I think you did perfect,” Ashley insisted and she looked up at him. “I understand why you let them keep them. Taking those away would be like separating Josh and Ellie from each other at bedtime.”
“Mhm…a very bad thing. But I did good by taking everything else away?”
“You did,” Ashley answered while smiling up at him some. “I was proud of you for not letting Kota flatter you out of punishing her.”
“I had to. I can’t believe she was involved in a fight…I thought she knew better then that.”
“She’s not all angel you know…even though she likes to fool us a lot of the time. She is just like you in almost every way. Perfectly unperfect…and that’s what makes you both beautiful.”
“Perfectly unperfect…” Nick repeated while slightly chuckling. “I never heard that one before.” Ashley giggled.
“Oh…right. I love you Nick Carter, you’re so godly like! You could never do wrong! Marry me Nick Carter marry me!” Ashley spoke in a mock teenybopper type voice and she shrieked as he playfully flipped her over so he was lying on top of her and she giggled even more as he rested his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes while narrowing his own playfully. “Feel better now? Is that what you like to hear?” she teased.
“Not from you, no.” He told her honestly. “It’s nice to be treated normal once in awhile. I love it that you can look into my eyes like you’re looking deep into my soul and come up with words like perfectly unperfect to describe me…”
“I used to think of you as perfect,” Ashley announced honestly and she lightly caressed his cheek with her finger.
“I know that, you told me the first day we met when you were shouting at me.” Ashley smiled up at him some.
“You’re never going to let me forget how horrible I was to you, are you?”
“Why would you? It’s the day we met…It’s what brought us together. I hope you always remember that day.” Nick insisted and he leaned down and brushed his lips lightly over hers. She lay there looking up at him for a few moments when he pulled away, and then she rolled out from under him and off of the bed and she stood up.
“Lets go downstairs and see what everybody else is doing. Where are your brother and sisters? I haven’t seen them in awhile…”
“Good question…lets go check on them.” Nick replied, and he got up as well and took her hand before lacing their fingers together and the two of them walked out of the room and went next door to Aaron and Angel’s room. They peeked in there to find Aaron and Stacy lying in bed together talking quietly amongst themselves and Angel is sitting on the floor writing in her notebook. Nick went over and sat beside his youngest sister and lightly nudged her in the arm. She looked up at him and he gave her a small smile.
“Everything okay?”
“No,” Angel answered and she leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder.
“Is it Aaron again?” Nick asked quietly so only she could hear.
“Not all Aaron…”
“What’s the matter?” Nick asked concerned.
“I called mom and dad to tell them happy thanksgiving…”
“And?”
“And I found out that they were together…” Nick raised his eyebrow.
“Doing what?”
“Dad was shouting at her when she answered the phone.” Nick sighed heavily and he wrapped Angel in his arms for a hug.
“I wish they didn’t have to fight…” She told him softly as she rested her head against his chest.
“Me too Ange…” Nick agreed softly and he hugged her close to him and rested his chin ontop of her head as the two of them just sat there quietly together. Ashley who had been standing there listening felt that she was intruding on a family moment and looked over at Aaron and Stacy and she grinned deciding she would go over and bug them because they just look too cozy in that bed together. She went on over and laid in the empty spot beside Aaron and smirked when he raised his eyebrow at her.
“Hey Airhead, what’s up?”
“Not much. Just chillin’…what’s my sister saying about me over there now?” He questioned, not really caring much that she calls him airhead. He feels close enough to her now that they could joke around together. Ashley rolled her eyes.
“Why assume that she is talking about you, hmm?” she asked while poking him in the shoulder some. “Do something that’s making you feel guilty?”
“Maybe…” Aaron and Stacy replied in unison. Ashley raised her eyebrow.
“It’s just mine and Angel’s first real fight…I don’t like it.”
“So go make up with her?”
“I can’t.”
“What’s stopping you? She’s your twin, you’re other half, there is no other special bond then that.”
“She won’t talk to me. And what is the point of being a twin when she’s completely shut me out? I can’t get through to her. I don’t even know what’s on her mind at the moment.”
“It’s understandable…you must’ve really hurt her. Sometimes us girls just need a little push. Look what happened with Stacy after all…”
“That’s what I keep telling him,” Stacy agreed while rolling her eyes some at her boyfriend. “He hasn’t even made an effort. She yells at him to go away and he obeys.”
“That and she’s been using today’s events to busy herself so I haven’t even gotten a real chance to actually talk with her.”
“Nothing’s happening now…go for it. I bet she could really use her twin’s comfort at the moment.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Aaron asked, sensing a different meaning behind Ashley’s words. “I told you she’s shut me out, I don’t know what’s bothering her other then me.”
“She called your parents earlier to wish them happy thanksgiving.”
“Oh boy…” Aaron replied not needing to hear anything more. He knows nothing good can come from talking to either of their parents these days. Aaron got up then and walked over to his twin’s half of the room and he sat down on the other side of her. He reached for her hand but she yanked it away, got up and walked out of the room. Aaron let out an exasperated sigh and looked over at Ashley and Stacy with ‘I told you so’ looks.
“Don’t give up. Go after her.”
“I don’t want to end up in the backyard for a shouting match this time.”
“Then you must not really want to make up with your sister. Because if you did you would fight for her like you fought for me.” Aaron groaned and then got up and stormed out of the room after Angel. Nick started to get up from the floor when a moment later he was back.
“I don’t know where she went.”
“Try BJ and Leslie’s room,” Nick suggested after rolling his eyes some.
“I did. She’s not there.”
“My room?”
“Nope.”
“What the…”
“Use your twin instincts,” Ashley insisted.
“I told you, she shut me out.”
“You weren’t really trying before.” Aaron rolled his eyes irritated with his twin sister for being such a pain. He stood there thinking about her trying to get a feeling. After a few moments he looked around at everybody’s expectant faces.
“I think she’s in the backyard.” Nick frowned.
“I don’t like you kids going outside after dark…not after what’s happened.”
“Well I think she did,” Aaron replied, and he turned and walked out of the room and Nick, Ashley, and Stacy got up and followed. When they got downstairs they went into the kitchen and Jackie, Harold, Harry, and everybody else looked at them curiously.
“What’s wrong with Angel? She went outside despite me telling her not to and she looked upset.” Howie wanted to know.
“Twin matters…Aaron go out there and deal with it. Don’t come inside until you have I do not want you two fighting through Thanksgiving and quite frankly I have enough people in my bed already I don’t want another one. Don’t go anywhere other then the backyard, we’ll be watching you on the cameras.” Aaron nodded and he took Stacy’s hand but she pulled it away. He looked at her confused.
“Come on.”
“No I don’t want to get into it…”
“Too late you’re already into it. You two have some things to settle with each other too.”
“I will afterwards…she needs you right now.” Aaron surrendered and went and opened the back door and she walked outside to find Angel sitting on the bottom step with her back up against the railing of the patio and she is hugging her legs to her chest. She had gone to the spot where they had their first real fight. Angel did not look up; she only stared down at the ground. Aaron went over and sat next to her quietly. She started to get up but he grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her back down.
“How long are you going to keep running from me?”
“Until you stop chasing me.”
“You’re my twin sister…I would chase you around the whole world three times and back if I have to.” Angel stifled her smile stubbornly and she continued to stare at the ground, Aaron noticing that she is drawing lines in the dirt with a stick. Aaron scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and he sat there quietly watching her.
“Mom and dad are fighting again you know…” she spoke softly after a long while.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Aaron replied as he pulled her near and she reluctantly rested her head against his shoulder. She is still royally pissed off at him but she has never not gone to her twin for comfort when their parents were going at it.
“At least we don’t have to listen to it this time though, right? We can actually enjoy the holiday without the bickering. That is…if you will let me back in.”
“Yeah but it sucks Aaron…don’t you wish we could spend the holidays with our mom and dad?”
“We could have…but we made a choice to spend it here to get away from the bickering.”
“You know what I mean though…”
“I do…but we have each other…that counts as something doesn’t it? At least I think I still have you.”
“I wouldn’t be sitting here asking you for comfort if you didn’t still have me.” Angel answered while rolling her eyes and she lightly punched him in the arm.
“So I’m forgiven then?”
“No.” Aaron raised his eyebrow.
“I can’t control the fact that I am famous Angel…Id turn it off for you if I could, but I can’t.”
“I’m not asking you to!”
“It sounds to me like you’re.”
“Well then you weren’t listening to me.”
“Of course I was listening to you. How could I not be listening to you? I’m sure the whole damn neighborhood heard you loud and clear.” Tears rolled down Angel’s cheek as she was already on the edge about their parents. She started to get up but he pulled her back down again.
“No. I’m not letting you leave until we settle this.”
“Then please refrain from being an asshole. I know it’s hard for you but try.”
“Then why don’t you tell me what you want already?”
“I already have!” Aaron crossed his arms over his chest angrily.
“I’m really glad we’re having this conversation. We’re getting so far.”
“Well if you were LISTENING to me, you would know that I ASKED you to stop dating my friends and you told me you couldn’t just ignore your fans and made it sound like you care more about your fans then you care about me!”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Is it? Because that’s what you made it sound like!”
“You’re my sister of course I love you more.”
“Then it shouldn’t be so hard for you to pick me over them any day, should it? If a fan of yours was dangling over a cliff right a long with me and you could only save one, who would it be?”
“I have two hands you know…Id reach for the fan with my one hand and you with the other and pull you both up.” Angel narrowed her eyes at him.
“Well I would!”
“What if one of us were slipping from your grasp and you had to let go of the other to use both hands and that person was me. Would you do it? Would you let go of that fan and save my life?”
“Of course I would. If I lost you there would be no me…you’re my other half.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me Aaron, I will know if you do.”
“I’m not lying to you. You’re my sister you will always come first,” Aaron insisted and Angel looked deep into his eyes. After a few moments when she decided he was telling the truth the look on her face softened. Aaron scooted closer to her and he wrapped her in his arms for a hug. “You’re my twin sister…there is no stronger bond then that. Girlfriends will always come and go and so will friends, but we will always have each other.”
“Then if I come first Aaron it shouldn’t be so hard for you to stop dating my friends because that’s what I want more then anything.”
“Can I have Stacy? Angel please? Because I really, really like her…”
“Yeah…you might as well, you took her from me a long time ago…and according to BJ you’re meant for each other…can’t mess with that…”
“I’m sorry…”
“No you’re not.”
“I’m sorry that you got hurt out of the whole thing – and so is Stacy for the record.”
“If you stay away from my friends from now on, all will be forgiven.”
“Fine, but you have to stay away from mine to.”
“But—“
“Angel it’s only fair.”
“But Ellijah is hot! And I’ve been trying to get his attention for months!” Aaron narrowed his eyes.
“There is no way in hell that you’re dating Ellijah – my friend or not.”
“But—“
“No! Ellijah is a jerk and he treats his girlfriends like dirt. He’s not even a really good friend of mine I met him through my other friends.” Angel scowled.
“Trust me Ange…I wouldn’t be surprised if he were abusive.”
“But he is really, really hot…”
“Hot or not I’ll make him ugly if he comes near you.” Angel pouted and Aaron squeezed her hand gently. “You can do so much better.” Angel rested her head against his shoulder again and the two of them sat there together looking up at the stars.
“So it’s a deal then? Your friends are off limits and so are mine?” Angel was silent for a couple of moments.
“Angel?”
“Yeah…okay…deal…”
“It sure took you long enough to answer.”
“Well I think I should be allowed to date at least one of your friends…you know…so we can call it even.”
“You’re not dating Ellijah.”
“Fine…but not Ellijah. Someone else.”
“Dan is my close friend I am not risking you breaking up with him because if it’s his fault I’ll want to hurt him.”
“Ew…Dan is a nice guy and all…but not my type. No…it would have to be someone else that you aren’t that close to.”
“Fine…if you come across the guy I have to approve of him first.”
“Really?” Angel asked smiling some.
“Really. But after that, your friends are off limits and so are mine.” Angel hugged her brother tightly then and snuggled into him.
“You’re the best twin brother in the whole world.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
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