Title: In the still of the night
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. They meet one summer, two girls who are as different as can be, except for the fact that they're both a little broken in their own way. Over the course of a few heated days and hazy nights, one brief summer, they find that no matter how splintered a life seems, love can pull it all together. If you're only brave enough to let it...
Author's note: How cheesy was that summary? I really couldn't come up with anything better though! So the title was inspired by the song of the same name from the Five Satins and I'd advise you to give it a listen if you can, it's old but classic. Anyway, this won't be more than a few chapters long, maybe about 6-8 and also both Ash and Spence will seem a bit out of character to begin with. Just, you know, go with it?
Chapter 1:
It was sticky warm, heat rising with a hazy shimmer above roads as they drove and air burning the back of her throat. Some old song was playing on the radio, a throw back to a more soulful sixties, as they hobbled across a suddenly bumpy patch in the road. Glen took a swig from his can, one hand lazily resting on top of the steering wheel as he did so, before he passed the Coke towards Ashley in silent offering. She took it, her thirst far outweighing her dislike of warm soda, and gulped the rest down. Warm bubbles tickled all the way down into her belly, settling neatly into the pit of her stomach.
"This place is hotter than hell."
Her voice was a soft hum above the sound of Glen's old truck, but he heard and gave her a smile.
"Sure is, but it'll make jumping into the lake the minute we get there just that much sweeter."
Ashley closed her eyes and for a minute imagined doing just that, jumping into water that would send a pleasant, yet startling, shock across her skin with it's coolness. She imagined the buoyancy of her limbs, the way her hair would softly fan out on the surface, and wondered how long it would take for the heat to bleed out of her and into the surrounding water.
"God, can't this hunk of junk go any faster in that case?"
Glen just chuckled and kept his eyes on the road, Ashley taking it as a good sign that they were now on dirt and not tarmac anymore. She was pretty sure at this point that a little bit of her had melted off and sunk itself into the seat she sat on, leaving her a damp, tepid mess. God, but she longed for that water...
"Your parents really don't mind me tagging along?"
Glen rolled his eyes over her once, the corner of his mouth tucked firmly between his teeth, as he debated his answer. He could tell her the truth, tell her his mother wasn't happy, that maybe his dad wasn't either, but she needed this. She needed to get away and he...well, he thought it might be good if there was someone else to focus on the few weeks he'd be spending at the lake. It might distract him from noticing his parents' failing marriage, from seeing Spencer quiet up even more than usual.
"They don't mind, they understand that you need a friend right now and they also know that's me. So you're stuck with us for the summer, Davies, you're not wiggling out of it when we're practically at the cabin."
Ashley just nodded her head and turned towards her window, letting the passing sound of beetles and soft wind in trees wash over her as they drove the last mile. When they finally pulled to a stop, Ashley was pleasantly surprised. She'd somehow imagined a small, rinky dink little cabin with a lopsided porch and a flea bitten dog, but that was far from the sight that met her.
It was a log cabin sure enough, but large enough to easily fit a big family, with a sturdy porch that sported a swing seat and a hammock in the one end, while tall trees threw the other half in shade. The door stood open and the same song that was playing on the truck's radio came drifting out towards them, along with the sound of a man singing slightly off-key with it.
"Oh, lord, by the sounds of it I'd say my dad's had a beer or two. Must mean my mom's not around."
Glen privately thought that was a good thing, knowing from experience that it would be easier to introduce Ashley to his dad first. His mother came off stricter and harsher than she really was, only really relaxing enough around a person after some time. Most people didn't bother to give her that time though, so most assumed that Paula Carlin was just a bitch, plain and simple. Glen just hoped that Ashley wouldn't make the same mistake as everyone else.
Ashley for her part wasn't paying much attention to Glen, or the baritone voice still singing in the background, as she let her eyes drift over the lake. It looked deep and cool, with a short little dock that was simply inviting her to take a dive off it. Then she spotted the pale form seemingly floating without aim in the middle of the mass of water, slender limbs fanning out every now and then, giving the appearance of one that was trying to make a snow angel.
"Spence, you still okay out there?!"
The hollering from the cabin had Ashley jumping in place, the booming voice that had been singing moments ago startling her.
"Not sleeping with the fishes yet, Dad!"
The answering shout brought Ashley's attention back to the form in the lake, now not floating anymore but upright and submerged in water to her shoulders. Ashley couldn't make out any features, but the girl had a beautiful voice and she found herself betting that the face would match it. She didn't have much time to think about this though, not with Glen suddenly gripping his t-shirt and whipping it off, his shoes being toed off at the same time.
"Last one in does the dishes tonight!"
Ashley frowned for a second, not sure when exactly she'd ever had the need to do dishes in her entire life, but quickly deciding it wasn't something she was about to get acquainted with. So her own tank was quickly discarded, her shorts following and she thanked the heavens she listened to Glen and wore her bikini underneath her clothes this morning. Glen had a head start, but Ashley was small and fast and sailed by him at the very edge of the dock, slicing cleanly and coolly into the water before her.
It stole her breath, the cutting sensation of unexpectedly cold water across the length of her body, but she ignored it, kept her body buried deeply in it's depths for as long as her aching lungs allowed. When she finally broke the surface, head and shoulders first like a screaming new born baby, it was to the sight of Glen not far away from her. He smiled brightly at her like he had from the first day they met, all the while shaking the water from his hair like an over enthusiastic puppy.
"Told you this would be sweet!"
She couldn't argue, had honestly done enough arguing over the last year to last her a lifetime, so she smiled back and nodded her head.
"Yup, first time in awhile you weren't just completely full of shit about something. This is great."
She dunked under once more, the shock finally subsiding as her body adjusted to the temperature, her legs kicking out as she propelled herself forward. She moved smoothly through the dark water, enjoyed the sense of isolation as she listened to the muted sound of voices, of birds somewhere high up in threes. Coming up for air again she spotted Glen in the middle of the lake, seemingly treading water as he spoke to the girl she had seen previously.
She didn't wait for an invitation, simply cut through the water with firm strokes and headed towards them. She knew it had to be Glen's sister, had heard him speak of her once or twice with an irritated fondness that she as an only child couldn't quite grasp.
"...should have told me, Glen. You know..."
The girl stopped speaking when Ashley neared them, her head turning slightly towards the sound of water splashing, giving Ashley a good view of a rather wholesome profile. The nose was straight and smooth, the eyelashes long and moisture heavy as firm lips settled together, making for an attractive, if stern, expression. Ashley new she'd just intruded on something, had somehow already caused tension, but with a mass of water around them she had nowhere to retreat to, nowhere to run to. So she lazily moved her arms about to keep her afloat, giving the girl a small smile.
It wasn't returned.
"Uh...Ashley, I'd like you to meet my sister, Spencer. Spence, this is Ash, my friend from school."
Ashley watched bemused as Glen leaned over, took Spencer's hand and lay it against her own cheek. She would have started or pulled away normally at such contact, but as he had done so the girl fully turned to her, exposing the right side of her face. A scar, thin and white against her tanned skin, lay across her forehead and right eyebrow, cutting somewhat jaggedly across her cheek before tapering off. It wasn't the stuff of horror movies or anything, was barely visible really, but Ashley hadn't expected it, hence her reaction.
A palm resting wetly against her cheek, fingers brushing across her brow finally broke her concentrated inspection of the girl's face. It was then that it dawned on her why the girl was feeling her out as it was.
"You're blind."
Spencer's hand pulled back sharply, droplets of water splashing against Ashley's face in the process.
"How very astute of you."
It came out tinted with sarcasm, making Ashley blush irrationally since it wasn't her fault she didn't know this.
"Glen never mentioned, sorry."
She turned towards him then, watched the surprised guilty look on his face and shook her head. She loved him, she really did, but sometimes she couldn't help thinking that her best friend had his head up his ass most of the time.
"Typical. Was this your idea of a joke, Glen, or are you really just that much of a thoughtless, insensitive prick?"
Spencer didn't wait, just swam in the direction of the dock, leaving Ashley to wonder how she seemed intuitively to know in which direction to go. When she finally glanced back towards Glen, he was floating on his back and staring almost straight into the sun.
"That's bad for your eyes, I heard you could go bli..."
She stopped herself before the thoughtless words slipped out, meeting Glen's eyes contritely.
"Don't worry, I know you're not being an asshole about this. Unlike me apparently...Look, I honestly thought I'd mentioned the fact that my sister was blind to you before. It's not like I hide the fact or anything, I just assumed you'd heard if not from me, then from someone else at school."
Ashley knew he was telling the truth, not seeing what kick he could get out of this anyway. Besides, she knew him well enough by now to know he wasn't that kind of guy.
"It's okay, it's one of those things. I mean I've been pretty wrapped up in my own mess for as long as we've known each other anyway, so maybe it somehow just never registered with me."
Glen just nodded his head and continued floating, leaving Ashley to stare back towards the shoreline where she could see the blond on the porch, toweling her hair dry. Even from this distance she could see the tension in the younger girl's shoulders, could see the short, angry strokes she used when drying off her arms. She's made a horrible first impression with someone who she'd be seeing for the whole summer.
"I don't think she likes me much."
Glen tipped himself over and started kicking his legs to stay upright, his face somewhat clouded when he finally spoke.
"Don't take it personally, she doesn't really like people in general. The only person she'll talk to without biting their head off is my dad, so..."
Ashley found herself curious, found herself wondering about the girl that had treated her so coldly for some reason. In the last few months she had been so wrapped up in herself, so caught up in her own pain, she hadn't paid much attention to the rest of the world. Spencer Carlin had been the first thing to spark an interest in longer than she could remember really.
When she heard a door slam in the distance and realized it was Spencer going inside, she felt somewhat guilty that she was glad she had someone else and their pain to distract her from her own.
"Is this going to make things difficult for the rest of the summer?"
Glen smiled sadly and shook his head, the sun casting shadows over the side of his face as he turned away.
"No, she keeps to herself most of the time, so don't worry about it." He started to swim away then, but turned back with a guilty look on his face. "You're going to room with her though, but I doubt she'll be any trouble. Just...give her space and it'll be alright."
Ashley followed him with weary strokes, not looking forward to her vacation that was supposed to help her relax and move on, getting complicated by this. It was a selfish thought maybe, but Ashley was past the point of caring after the year she had so far.
When they got back to shore they unloaded the truck, slinging bags onto wet shoulders and ignoring the tension that both could sense had slipped in. When they hit the stairs the door opened, a tall man walking over and unceremoniously pulling Glen in for a hug.
"It's good to see you son, we've missed you so much!"
He had a jovial voice, his face kind and comforting despite the somewhat imposing figure he cut towering over them. When he finally released the somewhat embarrassed Glen, he pulled Ashley in.
"And you must be Ashley, so nice to meet you."
The unexpected hug was quick, but warm, leaving Ashley feeling like she was his long lost niece or something. The man really had a warm personality that pulled you in immediately.
"Thank you, Mr Carlin. It's good to meet you too and I just wanted to thank you for letting me spend the summer here."
He smiled then, his face softening even more if that was at all possible.
"Well, from what my son here told me you deserve a quiet summer away from...well, everything I suppose. This is a great place to clear your head and just relax, so enjoy it and make yourself at home."
A door was heard banging angrily shut from inside and Ashley felt herself compelled to tell him about the incident with Spencer.
"Uhm, Mr Carlin, earlier in the water there I might have said something to your daughter to upse..."
He cut her off with a wave of his large hand, a fleeting moment of sadness crossing his face before he smiled again.
"Oh, don't you worry about Spencer. Her bark is worse than her bite and it's sometimes best to just ignore her...surliness. She'll get over it."
He sounded more hopeful than Ashley thought he actually was, but she just smiled politely and nodded her head, following him into the house. It was cooler than she would have expected inside, the room large and airy and spotted with rugged furniture in front of a large fire place and an open plan kitchen looking over it all. She felt her shoulders drop and release some of the tension she'd been carrying, the sense of summer and the promise of at least some fun finally washing over her.
She couldn't honestly remember the last time she felt like that.
"So how about you two go and dump your bags while I pour you some lemonade?"
Ashley had the irrational urge to hug the man, simply because she couldn't ever remember a perfect stranger being this kind to her. He was taking her in for a summer, despite it obviously causing some tension with his daughter, just because he knew she needed some time to get herself together.
"Thank you, Mr Carlin, that sounds lovely."
He smiled again, then lay a hand against her shoulder and cocked his head towards her.
"Look, I know I'm old and wrinkled by your definition, but please don't call me Mr Carlin. Be kind and humor the small bit of vanity I allow myself and call me Arthur so I don't feel so old, okay?"
Once again Ashley found herself smiling, probably the most she'd done of it in a while, and nodded her head.
"Sure, Arthur, I'll do that."
And then they were headed towards the back of the house and the stairs that Ashley assumed would lead them to the second story where the bedrooms were. Glen led the way, stopping in front of a closed door and giving her an apologetic smile.
"Uhm, this is Spence's room and I'm just down the hall there. You get settled in and I'll meet you downstairs in five, okay?"
She watched him walk away, stood another second or two and took a deep breath before she knocked on the door twice and opened it. Spencer was standing with her back to her, wearing shorts over her bikini bottoms now and seemingly staring sightlessly out of the large window.
"Uhm, hi."
Ashley didn't know what else to say, wasn't sure if there was anything she could safely say that wouldn't piss the girl off again.
"You can have the bed on the right."
Spencer's voice was quiet, somewhat gravelly even and it sent the hair on the back of Ashley's neck to stand upright. She walked over, ignoring the feeling, and plopped her bag down on the foot end of the bed, taking another deep breath before turning back towards Spencer.
"Look, I'm sorry about before. You can hold it against me all summer if you like and make this uncomfortable for us both, or you can accept my apology and we can start this over."
Ashley wasn't sure why she was making the effort, just knew that she didn't want to have to avoid the girl the whole time. She was tired of conflict, of having to keep her guard up the whole time and didn't want to have to do that with Spencer.
"There's nothing to start over really."
And with that the girl made her way towards the door and left Ashley alone in the room, feeling somewhat foolish for some reason and a little disappointed. She shook it off though and found a drawer for the few clothes she bothered to pack and went in search of a bathroom to store her toiletries.
She wandered downstairs again, following the sound of glass clinking against glass and the faint scent of lemonade. She stopped and watched for a moment as father and daughter worked quietly together, Spencer feeling her way along the counter to the glasses and helping her father fill them up. The girl seemed at ease then, her mouth curved up in a slight smile and Ashley wanted to stand there and just watch forever.
She wasn't sure where the urge came from, but she went with it, leaning back against the wall only to straighten up when Spencer turned and looked directly at her. Logically she knew the girl couldn't see her, but the way the gray eyes fixed so surely on her had her blushing guiltily.
"Do you want ice in yours?"
The casual question was spoken directly at her, leaving Ashley with no doubt that Spencer knew she was there. So she straightened up and walked towards them.
"Yes, that would be nice."
Spencer nodded once and dropped ice cubes into a glass, her previous cold manner somewhat dimmed in the presence of her father. Ashley wondered if it meant that she'd been forgiven for blurting out what she had in the lake, but didn't want to bet on it. She was long past the point of taking things for granted, or making assumptions, because life had lately taught her that no matter how things appeared to be, there were always things hidden from plain view.
Things that could catch you off guard, things you weren't prepared for, things that could break your heart and change your view of life.
For a second, standing there in a kitchen with Spencer and her father, she wandered what lay beneath the surface here. Were they the people they seemed to be? Spencer cold and disinterested, Arthur warm and carefree? Were their lives, just as everyone else's really, a story only half told? One part for all the world to know and one part always hidden?
Ashley stood and pondered that, wondered if you were ever really meant to know another's story completely, wondered if at the end the pain that came with that truth was ever really worth it. She didn't think so, not after what that truth did to her.
A hand, cool with condensation and impersonality, wrapped around her wrist and a glass was placed against her palm. Gray eyes, unseeing yet so penetrating, drew her from her thoughts as she gave a small smile in thanks that would never be seen.
"Thank you."
A beat went past with unsighted eyes still staring directly at her, hair at the base of her neck tickled by a sliver of electricity (that she couldn't quite comprehend), because of it.
"My pleasure."
And as Spencer walked away from Ashley, as Arthur stood and watched her curiously, she knew that despite everything there was a part of her that really wanted to know Spencer Carlin's story.
Every single word of it.
- - - - - - - - –
So what did you think? Want more? Let me know!