Dissident: Chapter Two

Ashley grumbles unintelligibly into her pillow. Feeling as if she has only slept for a few hours. She unconsciously reaches over to the nightstand to stop the piercing sound coming from her alarm clock. Her hand flails lazily over the piece of furniture trying to locate the offending object. Growling in frustration, she pulls back her arm so that she can push herself up with her elbows. But the sleepy brunette only manages to raise her back up slightly before losing strength and flopping back down to the mattress.

She feels the beginning of an ache in her head as the repetitive buzzing continues. It takes a lot of of effort, but her eyes slowly blink the sleep away. She isn't quite sure what she sees when they fully open. This can be blamed on the fact that although she is awake, she hasn't completely entered reality yet. Or at least this is what she is telling herself as she tries to figure out why there is no alarm clock on her bedside table. The easily identifiable intrusion has to be coming from somewhere. She closes her eyes as if this will help her mind to work more efficiently.

Alarm Clock. There last night. Not here now. Alarm blaring. The only conclusion her groggy brain can come up with is that she must have knocked it off the table in her sleep. She grips the mattress and pulls herself to the edge to peek down to the floor. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion as her eyes search the ground. No alarm clock. No hardwood floors. This wouldn't be the first time that Ashley had woken up in a strange environment. But it is the only time in which she very soundly remembered going to bed in her own room. Thinking about the previous night, something dawns on her, and causes her heart to skip a beat. A blinking digital display of 12:00 a.m. replaces her awakened vision. The alarm wasn't set. And what happened to her hardwood floors?

Just as she is about to turn over, the sound that had suddenly become eerie to Ashley, stops. The mattress moves beside her and all she can do is freeze. An arm snakes around around her waist and feels a body press firmly into her back. Breath tickles her ear before hearing an unmistakeably familiar husky voice. "Good morning." But it's the intimate kiss to her lobe that causes Ashley's body to spring in what can only be described as super human speed. A loud thud would echo if she had been where she was supposed to be; In her own room with hardwood floors. But this room is foreign and also carpeted. So when Ashley falls to the floor, it barely registers on the Richter scale.

She looks up to the bed and is met with questioningly amused blue eyes smiling down at her. Ashley feels a little out of sorts, to say the least. Figuring she needs some answers, she stutters "I uh...did we... last night?" Raising an upturned palm, her index finger points to the bed.

The blonde glances over to the headboard that Ashley was pointing at before turning back and smiling sweetly at her. "If we did... do you think you'd still be in that?" She nods her head toward the brunettes clothing.

Ashley looks down and finds herself dressed in a white tank and over-sized plaid pajama bottoms. True. Had she engaged in any type of sexual activity, she would definitely not be wearing this. But what she can't get out of her mind, is the fact that she would definitely not be wearing this outfit to bed... ever. "Did you dress me, Spence?" She realizes how stupid that sounds as the words flow from her mouth. But this whole morning has been extremely weird, so she shrugs it off.

The question causes Spencer to frown. "You don't like them?"

"They're just... not me." The conversation was really bordering on insane in Ashley's opinion. It felt like they were beating around the bush. She wondered how she ended up at her ex girlfriend's house. If she was being entirely honest with herself, she would admit that it's not that unlikely of a scenario. Spencer still had it after all of these years, that was certain. After her journalist walked out the door, Ashley wistfully hoped that her she would take her up on the offer to meet again. She was just uncertain how the offer was apparently accepted without her remembering any of it.

"Well why didn't you say so, Ash?" Spencer swings her legs over the bed and stands up. Ashley watches toned thighs glide in front of her before she pushes herself off the ground. She would answer the blonde's question if she had an answer. Instead, her hand finds real estate in her brown curly locks as she tries to recall anything about the previous night after getting off the phone with Aiden. "I'm not a mind reader."

Ashley would have noticed the sadness in Spencer's voice had she not been so intent on trying to figure out what the hell had happened.

"Mommy!" Startled, Ashley whips around to watch, what looks to be, a mini Spencer bounce into the room. The blonde haired, blue eyed, look-alike, stares directly at the brunette. "Play video game?"

Ashley looks to Spencer for help, but she seems intent on rummaging through the drawers of her dresser. Turning back to the little girl, she offers a placating smile. She's never been good with kids. Briefly, she tries to recall if Spencer told her she had a daughter. No, definitely not. She never would have agreed to stay here knowing that little piece of information. "I'm actually going to be leaving soon." Her heart sinks as she watches the kid pout. "Maybe mommy will play with you in a little bit?"

Spencer sighs and turns around with arms crossed, leaning back against the dresser. "Honey, why don't you go into your room and get dressed for a sec?" She watches her daughter sulk out of room before she turns her attention to Ashley. "You really don't have enough time to play one game with her?"

"I really should be going." If she felt awkward before, Ashley was feeling doubly weird now. She never responded well to guilt trips. All she could think of was getting out of this house and back to her loft so that she could put this all behind her. It really felt like her ex girlfriend was making an attempt at re-kindling their relationship. She just wished that she could remember what they did last night and if she had given Spencer any type of false hope. Certainly her life couldn't accommodate any type of commitment.

Spencer walks up to Ashley and rests her hands loosely on her hips. "But it's Saturday." Pouting, the blonde rests her forehead on Ashley's shoulder.

The musician's breath hitches as she recalls this action from her past. Spencer always used to do this. And usually got her way, too. That damn pout got her every single damn time. Luckily, this was the present, and didn't have the same effect as it once did. She raises her arms and gently pushes the blonde away.

Spencer isn't sure what is bothering Ashley this morning, but she knows exactly what should cheer her up. She cups the love of her life's cheeks in the palm of her hand, leans in, and gives her a proper good morning kiss. Pulling away, she searches Ashley's face for the reaction she hoped to have elicited. Seeing the brunette's closed lids and face flushed a darker shade of pink, Spencer was certain her charm had worked.

"Now." Spencer pinches Ashley's abdomen playfully and grins. "Go play video games with your daughter before you leave."

--

Ashley didn't really think before she ran out of the room, grabbed unfamiliar keys from the entry table, and stormed out of her ex-girlfriend's house. The only thing she was sure of, was that something had gone terribly wrong with with Spencer Carlin. And while it was hard for her to imagine the blonde going crazy, clearly that was exactly what had happened in the last seven years.

She nervously glances at all of the mirrors in the vehicle as she speeds down the freeway in the modest Toyota Camry. Ashley was only now realizing she had stolen a car and was worried that Spencer would call the police. That was something she definitely didn't need in the press. Her publicist would kill her.

Pulling up to the building that never felt more like home to her in her entire life, she cuts the engine and rests her forehead on the steering wheel to take a much needed breath. Could it be possible that she hadn't been breathing the entire morning? It felt like that to her, as she pulled the keys from the ignition. Ashley turns to grab the door handle when she's startled by a knock at the window.

She looks up and reliefs floods over her as she lays eyes on the familiar doorman. Opening the door, she steps out and gives the doorman a bone crushingly long hug. She thinks briefly to herself, that she will hug him every day for the rest of her life for bringing her back to reality on this very day.

The uniformed man pulls from the embrace. "You can't park that car here."

The celebrity looks at him quizzically before she realizes what he means. "Oh... I'm just borrowing it." She couldn't really say that she was now officially a criminal and should be booked for auto theft. "You can actually... just call to have it towed or something."

She walks past the doorman and heads for the building's entrance when she feels someone latch onto her arm, bringing her to a stop. "Excuse me. Is someone expecting you?"

Ashley turns around in confusion. She wonders why it seems like the whole world has gone crazy this morning. "Yeah." She tugs her arm away from the doorman. "My bed."

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He reaches for her arm again which causes her to quickly step back.

"And I'm going to have to ask you to keep your hands off me." Crossing her arms across her chest protectively, she adds "Or you'll the be the one leaving." She watches as the man looks over her shoulder with a slight nod. Following his line of site she notices a large security guard making her way toward her. But before he has a chance to reach her, she is forcefully yanked away from the situation.

"Ashley! I've been looking all over for you!" This woman pulls her to the stolen Camry and pushes her into the passenger seat. Hopping around to the driver's side she opens the door and flops into the seat next to the brunette. When she turns to face her, Ashley recognizes her as the make-up artist from yesterday. "Keys?" The woman extends her upturned palm across the center console.

Tentatively, Ashley hands the keys over. It's only until the car is in motion that she finds any words in her throat. "What's going on? What's happening?"

The driver flashes, what Ashley would consider to be, a sickeningly evil smile. "You're life just got worse." Ashley couldn't argue with that logic. This morning has been a disaster. "It's time for you to see what your life would have been like."

"Is this some kind of prank?!" The musician screamed in frustration. It was starting to make sense now. Why else would Spencer Carlin request an interview out of the blue? It had been seven years! She was seriously contemplating firing her whole staff for going along with something like this. She knew that the reasons for their break-up was her fault. She just, never in a million years, would have guessed her ex-girlfriend would be willing to take part in a scheme like this out of revenge. That just wasn't Spencer's style. Then again... it had been a long time. And what did she really know about her former girlfriend anyway?

"You can call it that if you want." The car jerks and suddenly they are flying across the freeway, weaving in and out of vehicles, and switching lanes at dangerous speeds. "I haven't driven in so long! Weeeeee!"

Ashley holds on tightly to the handle above her door. "Slow down! You have precious cargo here! Hello? Multi-million dollar artist?"

The woman laughs and shakes her head. "Not anymore."

Growing tired of the woman's cryptic answers, she decides to take a more direct approach. "Bitch, you better tell me what the hell is going on right now, or-"

"I am!" The driver shrieks. Then in a super sweet tone mutters "You're just not listening." Sighing, she continues. "I'm your guardian angel. Last night you yelled 'God, Can my life get any worse?!' so I thought you needed to experience something else, to appreciate what you have."

"Let me out of the car." Ashley's voice was barely audible. She didn't want to scare the psychotic woman. Her life was in danger, and she just needed to extract herself from this situation as soon as possible. The rocker couldn't be sure what the troubled driver would do if she pushed her buttons any further.

"I'm taking you home."

Ashley couldn't help but chuckle a little bit seeing as how the girl just forced her into a car and was driving her AWAY from home. "Please. Pull over."

"Ashley, your life is different now. You never broke up with Spencer. You live together and have a daughter. I'm taking you the-"

"Let me out of the fucking caaaaaaaaaar!" Ashley loses it.

The car quickly swerves through traffic to exit off a ramp and comes to an abrupt stop as soon as they reach a surface street. Ashley yanks open the door so hard that she is surprised that she didn't break the handle. Both women hop out of the car.

"Ashley wait!"

"Get away from me!" Ashley scurries down the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding head on collisions with other pedestrians.

"You have no where to go!" The woman follows behind her. "Ashley, stop!" She was now getting frustrated that the brunette wouldn't listen to her. "Look around you! None of these people even know who you are."

This gets Ashley to pause. She looks around at the people walking past her. There is no recognition on their faces. She grabs a twenty-something female and frantically asks, "Do you know who I am? Do I look familiar to you?" But it just results in the girl giving her an odd look before walking away.

She slowly turns to her 'guardian angel'. "What's your name?"

"Angel."

Ashley laughs and rolls her eyes. "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Come on." Angel latches her arm with the brunette's. "Spencer's probably worried."