Chapter Two-Hundred-Ten
Later on after dinner, just as he promised that he would, Nick got ready to take Ashley to her old home. While everybody else was cleaning up the cafeteria, he took her hand and went over to Marcus who was standing near AJ holding Laila.
“Hey Marcus, are you busy watching the munchkin here, or can you do me a huge favor?”
“I’m pretty sure I can hand the munchkin over to another unsuspecting security guard…what do you need Nick?” Marcus asked while grinning a little.
“I was wondering if you would come with Ashley, Kori, and me to Ashley’s old home. She wants to go there and mourn…”
“He’s going,” AJ spoke up from a couple of feet away and Marcus chuckled.
“Looks like that’s a yes,” he told Nick, and AJ was at his side looking at Marcus with pleading eyes.
“I need you to go and look after my sister. Please Marcus? Id feel safe knowing she was with you.”
“You aren’t going to go?” Ashley asked suddenly and she looked at her brother hopefully.
“Not unless you want me to. I’ll go if you want me to sweetie…I’ll just need to find a baby-sitter for Laila.” Ashley let go of Nick’s hand then and she went and wrapped her arms around him and rested his head against his shoulder. AJ rubbed his hand over her back and he looked at Howie.
“I’ll take her,” Howie told him gently. AJ nodded.
“I don’t think she’ll let me leave her with anyone else. Are we still taking Ryan and Laila to see their mom tonight?”
“No, our plans changed. We have to bring them tomorrow. She’s…not doing good tonight.” AJ raised his eyebrow.
“What happened?”
“She had an episode and they had to sedate her. She’ll be sleeping for the rest of the night.”
“Good thing we didn’t tell Ryan we were taking them…he would’ve gotten his hopes up only to be disappointed.”
“Yeah.” AJ squeezed Howie’s shoulder gently.
“Are you okay?” Howie nodded.
“I’m just disappointed is all…I was looking forward to surprising Ryan tonight.”
“Well he’ll be just as surprised tomorrow, I promise. And maybe it’s better this way…he’ll get to spend an entire morning with her.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” AJ nodded.
“Of course I am, I’m always right” he teased and he pulled Howie into a half hug. Nick snorted and it took everything in Ashley to stifle her giggles. When AJ pulled back from their hug he looked at Nick and Ashley.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to go tell Brookie I’m leaving. You still have to get Kori though, right?”
“She’s gone upstairs to get ready. I told her if she wasn’t down here in five minutes I was going to send you up there for her.” AJ shook his head and he walked off to go tell his girlfriend where he was going. After five minutes had gone by when AJ returned, him, Nick, and Ashley walked out into the lobby just on time to see Kori and Wiley come walking downstairs hand in hand.
“Who is going to watch Spencer? Maybe I should stay…” Kori tried to reason.
“There are plenty of people here to keep an eye on him. Howie, Kevin, Brian, Riley, Brooke…he’ll be fine.”
“I didn’t get to tell him bye.”
“He knows you’re leaving.”
“But—“
“-Come on love, the faster you get this over with the better you will feel,” Wiley interrupted. Kori sighed and surrendered, allowing her boyfriend to drag her out of the orphanage behind Ashley, Nick, AJ, and Marcus.
“Do you have your friend in your pocket?” Nick asked, patting Ashley’s pocket where he knows she keeps her pepper spray, and answered his own question when he felt it there. Ashley nodded.
“Always.” He kissed her cheek then and he helped her into his car before climbing in next to her after handing AJ the keys.
“Oh sure, make me drive,” AJ whined playfully on his way around to the driver’s side. “I’ve only been driving you people around all day after all.”
“And you do it so well,” Ashley told him sweetly.
“And you do the whole sucking up thing pretty well too.” Ashley looked over at him innocently.
“Sucking up? What I can’t tell my brother he drives well without being accused of sucking up?” She scoffed. “Alex I am offended” Nick chuckled and AJ got in the car and leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“You’ll get over it.” Ashley stuck her tongue out at him and he patted her on the head before starting up the car. He waited for Kori, Wiley, and Marcus to get settled in the backseat and then he drove out of the parking lot before looking at Ashley.
“You’re going to have to tell me where we’re going, you know.” Ashley crossed her arms over her chest in a mocking way.
“Says who? What if I just let you drive around lost for a bit?”
“I’ll ask Kori then.”
“Kori doesn’t even want to go there, so she’ll back me up readily. Right Kor?” Kori raised her eyebrow wondering if this was a trick question.
“If you want to go anywhere, you better tell me where the house is. I can sit here all night you know.” Ashley rolled her eyes.
“Go right.”
“Thank-you miss stubborn,” AJ replied, and he turned right. Ashley rested her head against Nick’s shoulder and he gently took her hand into his and squeezed it.
“You okay?” he questioned when he suddenly noticed how quiet she got.
“Just nervous…” Nick wrapped both arms around her and pulled her near and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“You’ll be okay,” he promised. The ride lasted ten minutes, Ashley telling him where to go not having a problem at all remembering the directions. She was after all, going home. When they got there Kori and Wiley who were in the back seat talking in low voices suddenly became very quiet and AJ saw her in the rearview mirror just staring silently at the house in front of her. The house is a two-story red brick house, with a yellow siding and a porch wrapped around the house. It had a large twisted tree out front, with a tire swing hanging off each side of it. There were also two birch trees near the garage. The garage had a huge driveway that went all the way out to the street and a white picket fence surrounding the front yard. It was two stories, and had four bedrooms - a master bedroom, Kori's old room, Ashley's old room, and a spare room which had toys and books and a computer and such. AJ parked the car in the driveway and Nick opened his door and got out after gathering Ashley in his arms and pulling her with him. He set her feet on the ground and took her hand in his intertwining their fingers together. She turned and looked at Kori who hadn’t even gotten out of the car yet, her and Wiley were still sitting in the back.
“I’ll be right there hon…just give me a couple of minutes okay?” Ashley nodded and she glanced around the front yard taking in the memories. Sadness rushed through her, as the one memory that stuck out in her head was how her mom and dad used to sit on that porch reading newspapers and sewing and they would watch her and Kori play. They would swing on the tire swings, climb the tree – which would drive their mother crazy with worry, and they even sometimes drew on the big driveway with chalk. Ashley looked up at Nick as she fought back her tears with all her might and he squeezed her hand gently.
“Ready?” He asked carefully, as he could just see the battle she was having with her tears. She nodded quietly.
“Don’t let go of my hand Nicky okay?”
“I wont baby, I’ll be right here the with you the whole time,” he reassured and he began to lead her toward the door. AJ was close behind her deciding Wiley would deal with Kori, as he still didn’t quite know how to be her brother yet. He’s always so wary of going near her, in fear that she is going to push him away. When they got to the door, Ashley pulled the key out from her pocket and she unlocked the door before grabbing the handle and twisting it open. He brought her inside then and she reached out and hit a light switch, causing the front room to light up. Nick took in the view.
It was just a simple looking front room with a small blue couch and a lazy boy chair off to the right as you walk in and a little TV that still had Ashley’s Super Nintendo lying out in front of it. You would think that she was just playing it earlier that morning if it weren’t for the dust that the TV and the game system alone had collected over the five years that no one has lived in the house. Straight ahead of them, as you keep on walking into the house you could see a hallway to the left just before the stairs that led to the second floor. The hallway led to a room with two white doors at the end of it, and if you turned the corner it led to some other room.
If you walked straight ahead past the hallway and the stairs you could see a table just right in front of a window with a chandelier light hanging above it and there were four chairs around it. Nick assumed that must be the dining room and that if you turned the corner, over there it would lead you to a kitchen. Ashley’s eyes lingered in the front room just in front of the stairs. Her eyes shifted every few seconds from the floor in front of the stairs, to the second floor where there was an upstairs loft. Two computer desks sat up there with computers on them and in between those were a little space where Ashley was looking. Nick could pretty much guess that that’s where she had been hiding when she saw her parents killed, and the very spot in front of the stairs was where it had happened. Nick could see that she had stopped fighting against her tears and had let them cloud up her eyes and spill out over her cheeks. Just by looking at her he could see that she is about to break down any minute.
“Honey…are you sure you want to do this? You don’t have to do this just yet…” he asked gently. Ashley shook her head quietly and gently pushed his hand away from her shoulder and she walked over to the area that she had been staring at until she was standing over it just looking down at the ground. Nick looked at AJ worriedly, and with questioning eyes not quite knowing what to do. AJ shrugged not knowing either. After a few moments, Ashley suddenly lay down on the ground where she stood, curled up into a bawl and she began to sob. Nick rushed over to her, before sitting down next to her and he wrapped protective arms around her, before resting his cheek against hers and just holding her. AJ went over and sat on the other side of her and he too wrapped her in his arms. Meanwhile Marcus stood in the doorway to the house not coming all the way in because he had to keep an eye on Kori and Wiley who still sat in the car. Kori was just sitting there hugging her legs to her chest and rocking slowly back and forth trying to control her emotions as Wiley sat there with a supportive arm around her.
“Kori…come on you can do this…” he reassured her gently, but Kori shook her head as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“I can’t Wi…I can’t do it. I can’t walk into that house again after what I did…”
“You can.”
“No…”
“Yes, love…it’s the only way you’re going to get past this. It’s the only way you’re going to learn to forgive yourself is if you face this…”
“How can I even begin to forgive myself after I killed my parents? After I hurt Ashley and put her in so much danger? All because of my stupid acts when I was thirteen?”
“Honey you didn’t kill your parents,” Wiley insisted as he cupped her cheek in his hand and tilted her head back so she was looking into his eyes.
“I may as well have…I sent them to their deaths. I wouldn’t be surprised if they couldn’t even forgive me…”
“You are their daughter…they would love you no matter what kind of mistakes you made. They would want you to get through this and to be happy...to help your sister get through this.”
“I’m scared…”
“I know…but I’m right here, and I’m going to be right here every step of the way. You have to confront this…you have to stop running.” Kori slid her arms around his neck and he kissed her forehead softly before bringing his lips down onto hers and kissing her. “I love you…everything is going to be okay.”
“I love you too…” Kori whispered and she snuggled into him, feeling safe. He rubbed his hand over her back.
“Come on…you can do this.”
“Help me…I’m afraid if you don’t I wont be able to move.” Wiley pulled her into his lap then and as soon as he did he scooted his way toward the opened door and he got out and placed her so her feet were on the ground. He wrapped a supportive arm around her and began to help her toward the door. When they got to it, Marcus stepped to the side so they could get by but Kori stopped just outside the door, her feet rooted on the doormat. Wiley rubbed his hand over her back as he looked at her concerned. When he saw the fear in her eyes he pulled her closer.
“I promise the house is not going to cave the moment you walk in,” he reassured.
“Are you sure? What if momma and daddy are so mad at me for killing them…that as ghosts they’re just dying to seek revenge?” She asked softly, sounding so fragile as she speaks.
“We’ve already been through this sweetheart…” Kori peeked into the house cautiously and she saw Ashley sitting on the floor between Nick and AJ. She was wrapped in both of their arms and they had managed to get her to stop crying. Ashley looked back at her sister as tears rolled down her cheek and she stood up.
“Come into the house Kor…it’s okay…”
“Are you sure?” Kori asked, her voice becoming shaky.
“Mom and dad don’t hate you,” Ashley reassured.
“H-Ho-ow do you know?”
“Because they never gave up on you, that’s how I know. The moment you left…till the very moment that they closed their eyes forever, they never stopped looking for you. Every time we went out to dinner, or shopping, or whatever…mom was always on the look out for you. They never took the ‘missing child’ poster of you off the car…if you go to the garage and look at their car you’ll see it there. Dad always left the lights to the front yard on every night pretending that you were just out late with your friends. He would sit up late every night waiting on you, in hopes that you would walk through that door. Every night when mom did dishes, she would look out the window hoping to see you walking into our yard. They wanted you to come home and they believed you would. No matter how many times people told them you weren’t coming home. The police thought you were long gone but not them. They were never going to give up on their baby…” Ashley explained, and it took everything in her not to break down and cry all over again. She walked closer to the door, so she was only a couple of feet away from her sister.
“Come home Kori…please…we’ve missed you…”
“I…” Kori began, as she felt a tear drip from her chin. Ashley held her arms out to her.
“Please Kori I need you…” Kori stood there looking at her for a few moments, and then she stepped forward just a tiny bit so she was standing in the doorway. Just one more step and she would be in the house. Ashley continued to hold her arms out for her, looking at her encouragingly. After a few moments, Kori’s emotions were too much to handle. She fell forward into her younger sister’s awaiting arms and she broke down into sobs, burying her face in her shoulder. Ashley slid her arms around her and hugged her tight, as she too began to cry all over again.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Enjoy =)
