Thank you so much for the reviews! Without them, I don't think I would have gotten this up so quickly! Now, I really hope you enjoy this chapter... I know I enjoyed writing it! Thanks again for the reviews!
Disc: I don't anything accept for Ashleigh :p
Small Warning: There is slight swearing in this chapter!
Chapter Two:
Secret's Revealed
Dear Diary,
I'm leaving tonight to head down to wherever it is Randy John is taking me. They both have some time off so they decided to take me to some place they claim 'Will get my mind off of things' I sure as hell hope so! It has officially been two days since Bryan broke up with me and John Randy have been here since last night. I cried myself to sleep again last night, this time I wasn't alone. I was curled up in John's arms. I am very lucky to have him as a friend. I have to say though; I am rather surprised that he didn't turn his back on me after I pushed him and Randy away. If he did, I wouldn't be mad or upset. I would deserve it. I was nothing but rude, not to mention cold hearted to those two while I was dating Bryan, even when I did realize what kind of bullshit I had gotten myself into. I could have called either of them and told them I needed help and they would have come, but I didn't. I pushed them away. This summer is not going to be easy at all, I know that. I have a lot to accomplish before I return to school. Because of that stupid bastard I didn't graduate with my friends like I had planned, instead I'll be graduating next June. A year behind everyone else. Well, accept for my cousin Angel. She may not talk to me anymore but at least she'll be there. My first step in this… How can I possibly take a first step when I don't even know where to begin?
Ashleigh closed the black journal and threw it into the bag beside her on the bed. Ashleigh sat there for a moment, looking out of the window and towards the moon. It was bright and full, its light beaming down on earth with radiance unlike anything she had ever seen before. She let out a deep, heavyhearted sigh and stood up. She looked around her bedroom for a moment, unsure of what to do next. The walls of her room were red with two white stripes surrounding the room in the middle of the wall, much like a hockey jersey. This was the only thing Bryan never touched. He never got the chance to. The posters of Ashleigh's hero, Steve Yzerman still covered the walls, as well as various Detroit Red Wings memorabilia. Ashleigh walked over to the large black multi-disc CD player that rested on her black and red dresser and pressed play, the sound of a synthesized keyboard began to flow from the speakers followed by a smooth bass riff. 'Crawling in my skin…' escaped the speakers loudly. Ashleigh closed her eyes, she loved Linkin Park. It had been such a long time since she had been able, or allowed to listen to them. She stood there in the middle of the room, carefully listening to the song as it played. For the first time since becoming a fan a few years ago, she could relate to the song and fully understand the meaning of it. Ashleigh shook her head and turned the stereo up. She walked over to her dresser and opened up the top drawer. Earlier that morning while she was asleep, Randy, Christy and John had found the box of old clothes Ashleigh had and put them back in their rightful places. Ashleigh grabbed a few t-shirts and began throwing them into her bag. She paused and looked at a pair of bondage pants she wore and looked at the size. 11. They were much too big for her now. The pants she wore now were a size nine. The smallest she could possibly be thanks to her wide hipbones. She sighed and threw them across the room. Little did she notice John was standing in her doorway, watching her. John walked into the room, unnoticed and picked the pants off the floor. He stood there briefly; holding them then shook his head. He had a feeling she was hiding something, however, he could not figure out exactly what it was. Ashleigh stood up, went to walk over to her desk, and walked right into John. Only feeling the feel of a bare arm belonging to a man Ashleigh let out a horrific scream. John knew what she was thinking, grabbed a hold on her shoulders, and pulled her close to him. Ashleigh, thinking it was Bryan, was going to scream for John when she smelt his distinctive axe deodorant and calmed down. John pulled the shaken girl away from his body and lifted her chin up so that she would look him in the eyes.
"It's just me Ash," John said calmly, "Don't freak out. Bryan couldn't get through that door if he tried."
Ashleigh glared at her friend for a moment and then with all her built up frustration, she slapped him in the face. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again! Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack! My room was the ONE place Bryan could never come near me! Fuck, John!"
John looked at Ashleigh with sympathetic eyes. Tears had already begun to wilt in her eyes. "Ashleigh, why do I get the feeling that Bryan did more to you then you let on?"
Ashleigh pushed past John and grabbed the duffle bag off her bed. "I don't want to talk about it, alright? I'm really not in the mood for it right now."
"Ashleigh, why won't you tell me? I thought I was your friend."
Ashleigh was ready to snap. She turned around and with all of her strength, she pushed John. She stared at him with a cold, dead stare. It looked as if every inch of her soul had been sucked out of her body and replaced blackness. "You have NO idea what the fuck I have been through! Telling you anything would just be pointless! Why even bother? Huh, John? You wouldn't be able to help me. This is my fight! My problem! Not yours! I never once asked you or Randy for any help!"
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe Randy I care about you! Did that thought ever even cross your mind once!" John shouted, startling Ashleigh, "No, I don't think so. Randy and I happen to care a deal about you, especially me! When Randy told me what that bastard was doing to you, I flipped. I wanted to come down here and kill him! But no, we don't fucking care!"
Before Ashleigh could say anything in response, John walked out of the room, leaving Ashleigh standing in the middle of the room dazed. Ashleigh sighed heavily and sat down on her bed. Once again, she pushed her best friend away from her. Ashleigh looked up and straight into the mirror in front of her. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail it was in, played with it for a moment before she stood up, and grabbed her wallet and car keys. She could not stand the sight of what she seen anymore. She needed a change. As she ran down the stairs towards the front door Randy grabbed her arm with a concerned look on his face.
"Where are you going? We're leaving in about two hours to head to the airport."
"Randy, look I have something I have to do." Ashleigh said sweetly, "Just meet me at the airport terminal. I'll be there on time, don't worry, alright?"
Randy hesitated for a moment but finally he realized her arm, "Alright Ashleigh, but please, be careful."
Ashleigh nodded and kissed her cousin on the cheek, "I will, promise."
At The Terminal
Randy, John and Christy all stood on the other side of the security check eagerly awaiting Ashleigh's arrival. Christy was lying calmly on the floor reading a magazine with her head in Randy's lap while he watched his best friend pace back and fourth. Randy sighed and shook his head, laughing.
"Johnathan man, calm yourself down," Randy said leaning his head on the wall behind him. "I'm sure that Ashleigh's fine. The plane doesn't leave for another hour or so."
"I know that Randy! But what if that asshole Bryan got his hands on her?"
"I wouldn't worry about that." Christy said with a smile on her face looking towards the security check.
"John!" Ashleigh shouted from behind John, startling him. John turned around and picked the girl up in a bear hug. "Worried about me huh?"
"Yes!" John laughed. He went to give Ashleigh a kiss on the top of her head when he realized something odd, Ashleigh was wearing the hat she got while playing hockey, however, her hair was tucked into the hat. John raised his eyebrow and released the young girl. "Why is your hair under your hat? You usually have it up and sticking out of the hat. What did you do to it?"
Ashleigh sighed and took off the hat. John and Randy's eyes both widened at the sight before them. Ashleigh's hair fell over her shoulders, the new layers perfectly framing Ashleigh's oval face, the beautiful blonde hair Ashleigh had for such a long time was gone; it was replaced with cascades of a bluish-black.
"I love the color!" Christy shouted jumping up to give Ashleigh a hug. "See, a color change always helps. It's like getting a new identity."
"What the hell did you do!" Randy shouted, "You're hair… it's…"
"Black," John finished in a much softer tone of voice then the one his friend used. "I actually like it. It really makes the blue in your eyes stand out."
Ashleigh felt her face go red. She was blushing, "Thank you John. God Randy, calm down."
"I am going to get on the plane, have a shot of vodka. But until I do that, do not tell me to calm down." said Randy in a rather quiet tone, "Your father is going to kill you."
"He saw it already." Ashleigh laughed, "It was black before Randy. You just never got the chance to see it."
"It would have done my heart some good."
Baltimore, Maryland
Dear Diary
I'm in Baltimore now. We got here sometime this morning and I went straight to bed. Let me tell you, flying is not exactly my thing but I managed to pull through. I am sharing a hotel room with John since Christy and Randy want some alone time. LOL. Naw, I don't mind. John and I have an agreement. He won't blast hip-hop or rap and I won't blast my metal or punk. We both have MP3 players with headphones so that's how we get our fix. Actually, it was quite comical this morning. I come out of the bathroom after my shower and John is dancing around the hotel room in his boxers. He didn't know I was standing there but when he realized I was… lets just say I have NEVER seen John so embarrassed in my life, and he never gets embarrassed. I mean, this is a man who will walk around with a fro wig, gold shoes and a g-string! I don't know about him sometimes. Then again, I cannot complain. I would be lost without him. We may be so different but he's my best friend. Whenever I have needed him, he's been there. You know, I can still remember the first day we met. Randy introduced us at one of the Pay per Views, Wrestle Mania 19 to be exact. I called him an Eminem wannabe and he called me the spawn of Satan. It was only until Randy dragged us both out to Appleby's that we learned how to get along and what can I say? The rest is history. I'm actually very thankful for Randy and John. They are giving me exactly what I need this summer, a chance to get away from Toronto so that I can begin to heal and move on. Today is officially the start of it. Let us see how everything goes.
Ashleigh's thoughts were quickly interrupted when John walked into the hotel room with a box of pizza. Ashleigh's stomach turned at the sight of it. John walked over to his bed, put down the box, reached into the bag beside it, pulled out a Diet Sprite Zero, and handed it to Ashleigh.
"I seen you drinking it before we got onto the plane so I figured you'd like that," John said opening up the box of pizza. He put two slices of the deluxe pizza onto a plate and handed it to Ashleigh. "If I remember correctly, this is your favorite."
Ashleigh hesitated for a moment before she finally gave in and took the plate from John. "Thanks John. I'm surprised you even remembered."
John looked up at Ashleigh with a hurt look on his face. "Did you seriously think I would forget about that? Ashleigh, you're my best friend, I think I would know you better then that."
Ashleigh took a small bite out of the pizza and gave John a weak smile. "This is good pizza John."
"I know." John said as he reached into the bag in search of a coke, when he didn't find one he put his plate on his bed and grabbed his keys. "I forgot the coke in my rental. I'll be right back."
Ashleigh nodded and took another bite out of the pizza before John left the room. As soon as John was gone, Ashleigh reached for some tissue paper off the night table and spit the pizza out onto it. She threw the tissue, along with the remainder of the pizza into the garbage and made a dash to the washroom. When John returned to the room, he froze. Ashleigh was gone. He walked over to the two beds and noticed the pizza in the garbage. He then heard some coughing coming from the bathroom. He ran over to it and pressed his right ear against the wooden door. Coughing and vomiting sounds echoed through the door. John closed his eyes tightly. She was forcing herself to throw up. He slowly and quietly reached for the doorknob and turned it. Ashleigh made one big mistake; she forgot to lock the door. John pushed the door open and just as he suspected Ashleigh was throwing up. The sound of the door hitting the wall made Ashleigh jump up, she knew she had been caught. She grabbed a near by towel and wiped off her mouth and hand. She slowly turned around and seen John standing in the doorway, arms folded with a look that resembled pain and anger. She knew she was in some serious trouble now.
"I don't believe this Ashleigh," John said, his voice breaking. "You've been starving yourself. My best friend is a fucking anorexic."
That's all for now! Hopefully I'll have another one up shortly!
