Everything Happens for a Reason

Chapter One:

The Day I Became Ashley Gellar


Ashley, age four, was sitting on the sidewalk in front of her childhood home. She smiled at the different colored chalk that was mostly on her legs then the sidewalk. She giggled as she ran the chalk down her leg. The giggled though, came to a stop when a shadow loomed over her.

Ashley looked up with her big green eyes, frightened at first but smiled as she saw her father, Mark Gellar, standing there.

Mark bent down and picked her up, "Hey beautiful, he smiled and kissed her cheeks, "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Mama be back," said Ashley.

Mark smiled, "I want you to go inside and wait for mommy ok?"

"You come?"

Mark smiled sadly, "No baby. Not this time."

Mark put Ashley down. She looked up at him curiously, "But...why daddy?"

Mark sighed, "I can't explain now and when you're older I hope you understand. Just go inside Ashley. Stay with mommy."

Ashley looked at her father one more time before doing what he said and walked into their home. She quickly ran around the corner and jumped on the couch. She pulled open the curtain and watched her father. She didn't even notice the suitcase and bag by him.

Ashley heard an engine roar and she looked to see a yellow taxi pull up to their house. Her father quickly put the bags in the back of the taxi and got in without another glance towards the house.

Ashley sat there almost all day staring out that window waiting for her father to come back. Her mother couldn't even pull her from the window. The little girl never knew why her father left them, why he never came back, why he had the bags with him. She didn't understand any of it. Of course she was only four.

Danielle Gellar was finally able to pull Ashley from the window that night when she knew Ashley was getting tired. She carried her daughter up to her room and put her in bed.

"Mommy…when is daddy coming back?"

Danielle didn't know how to answer her daughter. To tell her that her father will never come back. That the two of them will be living alone. She didn't have the heart to tell her daughter the truth about what her grandfather did and what Ashley's father did. To tell a four year old that there were monsters out in the world and there were people out there to kill them. That is something cruel to tell a child. No, you wait until you know that they can handle that sort of thing. Unless you cannot handle it yourself.

"Daddy went on a business trip, he'll be back," said Danielle giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"Why…why didn't he say goodbye like he usually does? You know we all go out and-"

"Shh, shh, baby," Danielle ran a hand through her daughter's hair, "Don't even think about that ok? For now on, until your daddy comes back, it's me and you."

Ashley again didn't understand. She made a confused face and looked out her bedroom window towards the starry sky wishing that her father would come back that night.

"Hey, how about I sing you a song?"

Ashley looked over at her mother and gave a small smile with a short nod, "Please mama."

Danielle grinned, "Ok," she cleared her throat and begin to sing a song that she always sung to Ashley to calm her down ever since the womb, "Shed a tear cause I'm missing, I'm still alright to smile, Girl I think about you every day now, Was a time that I wasn't sure but you set my mind at ease, There's no doubt you're in my heart now…"

From that day on, when her father had left, it was her and her mother but Ashley didn't grow up the little good girl every thought she would. The day her father left something changed in Ashley. Of course it did, she felt abandoned by her father and lied to by her mother. She knew her mother knew why her father left but never spoke a word to her about it. As if it all didn't matter but to Ashley it did matter. Everything mattered to her.

9 Years Later…

Police cars hit the curb as it turned the corner heading towards Anthony Street. Ashley heard the sirens and knew to run but something was just telling her to continue. It was the drive she was feeling anymore. The rush of adrenaline she craved it anymore, the danger, the feel of a hunt, even if they were hunting her.

"Come on Ashley!" yelled Tom, the person she just ran into it. She didn't make too much of friends and if she did, she didn't keep them around too long.

"Do you want to fucking do this? Be my guest princess," she said glancing up at him with a glare before finally getting the car to start.

Ashley grinned as she jumped into the grand prix and headed off down the road. She was 13 years old and just stole a car. She didn't care, she wanted the rush.

Ashley cheered and hit the steering wheel as she looked behind her. She loved the thrill, the adrenaline rushing through her as the police gained on her. Tom looked behind them and grinned, "Hell yeah Ashley. Maybe we can get on the evening news! High speed chase!"

Ashley threw her head back laughing, "My mother would die if she knew about this." Sometimes Ashley did stuff like this not to get her mother's attention but her fathers. If he was anywhere, alive, he would see her and come back and yell and scream about her doing something so stupid and dangerous. But at least he would be back. Ashley hid that secret of hers deep down inside her. She never told anyone the reasons why.

After about a half an hour later the police finally were able to get Ashley and Tom with a blockade. Tom ran but Ashley stayed in the car and as the police approached the car she rolled the window down and smiled at them, "Is there a problem officer?"

Sentenced six months in Juvenile Hall and even after that, her father never showed up. But Ashley did try a few things after that to try and get any kind of attention to bring him back but all else failed. She learned then that she would always have her mother, no matter what…or so she thought.