Mary Lynette hadn't slept properly in weeks. She had drifted in and out of unconsciousness all night, just as infrequently as the tears had come. She had thought maybe she would sleep better in different surroundings, with Rowan or Jade or maybe even Kestrel in the same room, but she was wrong.
She woke early the next morning, before everyone else was up, to a sleeping house, quiet, almost peaceful, but empty.
She looked over at Rowan, who was sharing the guest room with her tonight. For some reason she hadn't wanted Mary Lynette to be alone, but Mary Lynette had been grateful for the company, for the soothing words of her sister whenever she felt that the pain would break her.
She padded through the empty house, through the kitchen, deciding she wasn't hungry, and into the back yard, sitting on the porch, as she had three nights ago, and watched the sunrise, hoping that it would bring a day better than yesterday, and praying that everything would seem better in the sunlight of a new day.
~oOo~
Ash was woken by the sound of a car approaching him, he sat up, wondering where he was for a second before he remembered. The sunlight was streaming down on him and he sighed, only then realizing that the car had stopped.
He stood up quickly, and immediately recognized the figure walking towards him, walking away from the mini parked behind his own car, in which Mark was sat.
"Jade?" Ash was reluctant to speak to his sister, although she had had no part in kicking him out of the house the night before, he was sure that she would not approve of him if Mary Lynette didn't. They were best friends, or at least they had been before he'd left.
"Ash." Jade nodded before gracefully slapping him across the face.
Ash recoiled, of course it hadn't actually hurt him, but his pride had been stung.
Before he could speak Jade spoke "That was for not calling Mary Lynette, no matter what's happening there really is no excuse. She's been worried sick."
She took a deep breath. "Anyway, I'm sorry about last night, they shouldn't have kicked you out without explaining. I mean, I didn't think that you deserved an explanation at first either, but then I sensed your mind and I knew something wasn't right." She gave a small, guilty smile when she informed him that she had read his mind, knowing that he knew that they had all promised not to use their powers in a bid to fit in.
"Oh" was all Ash could say, he must have been so distracted last night that he didn't even notice Jade in his head. "So can you please explain to me why Mary Lynette hates me now, I mean, I know it's probably because of all the stuff I did before but the only reason I left was so that I could put it right before I could be with her"
"Ash, Mary Lynette knows about what you were doing in Vegas. She overheard Rowan and Kestrel arguing about it, Kestrel was trying to convince Rowan that you were just the same as you had been before, that she'd heard that you were with a new girl every week. She was trying to protect Mary Lynette, trying to convince Rowan that it was better for her not to be involved with you"
"That's Mary Lynette's choice." Ash growled, furious that his sisters were so intent on keeping him and Mary Lynette apart. "And besides, there was a reason that I was with those girls. Will found out you were here, I managed to convince him that the Elders knew about it and were okay with it but he got suspicious of me. So before I could come back I had to convince Will that I was back to my old self, the girls, the partying, everything." Ash sighed, running his hands through his already messy hair.
"I never called because it would have put you all in danger, Mary Lynette especially, you never know, Will might have traced the call and if he ever found out…" Ash couldn't finish his sentence, just the thought of it caused him pain.
"It all makes sense now!" Jade was grinning "See, I told Mark that you had changed for the better." She was tugging on his hand "Come on, we've got to get back and explain"
Ash let go of her hand. "But what about all the things I've done before, before I met Mary Lynette?"
"She doesn't care, she never did. She never wanted you to leave, Ash, she missed you like crazy." She paused "Actually we all did. Now come on!"
"I can't just leave my car, I'll meet you back there" Ash turned towards his car as his sister skipped back to hers. Feeling higher than he ever had before, now that he knew that Mary Lynette might forgive him. The prospect of a future with Mary Lynette, a future he had given up on mere hours before, spread out before him. He smiled as he started his engine.
"Race you there!" he called out the window as he passed Jade and Mark, letting the wind mess his hair. He was going to go explain to Mary Lynette, and she would forgive him. He grinned as he stepped on the gas.
He sped through the town, taking in his surroundings, glad to finally be back after such a long time. As quiet and sleepy as the town may be, it was home.
As he passed the gas station a silver Mercedes caught his eye, and what he saw next caused his blood to run cold. Will, getting into the silver car, sunglasses perched beneath unruly hair. Ash slowed, hoping that Will hadn't noticed him, looking behind him and thanking God that Jade and Mark seemed to have taken a different route home.
Will drove off and Ash followed, trying to be inconspicuous, realizing that they were headed, in a roundabout way, towards the woods at the back of his Aunts farmhouse.
Please, please don't let him see Mary Lynette with any of my sisters. Ash thought to himself, still not entirely sure why he was following Will.
He was still contemplating whether or not to just confront Will, as it was obvious he was following him now, when Will pulled over into the forest and got out. Ash pulled over where he was, at the side of the road a little way away from Will, and got out, silently following after the vampire.
~oOo~
Mark pulled into the driveway and shot Jade and Rowan a look, they had picked Rowan up, upon her request, on their way through town, they had had to double back a bit, which meant that Ash should have arrived ahead of them.
"Where's Ash?" Rowan asked, seeming to voice everyone's thoughts. Jade had already explained to her what was going on, at first she had been skeptical but had reluctantly agreed that it did make sense.
"I'm not sure, maybe he parked somewhere else and we just missed his car" Jade herself didn't sound sure so she didn't say more because she knew she wasn't convincing anyone. "Let's go find Mary Lynette and Kestrel, maybe they've seen him".
They all made their way through the house, checking the rooms as they went, and eventually found Kestrel and Mary Lynette enjoying the sunshine in the back garden.
"Hey" Jade bounced over to Mary Lynette as Rowan appraised her with worried eyes, Mary Lynette was pale, with dark rings under her eyes as though she hadn't slept in weeks, which Rowan suspected was exactly the case. But that wasn't the worst of it, the worst thing was that the fiery light and persistence that everyone loved about her was gone from her eyes. Instead there was a blank numbness.
"Have either of you guys seen Ash?" Rowan suppressed a wince at Jades forwardness and then mentally rolled her eyes towards her sister. Rowan watched as Mary Lynette not-so-subtly sucked in a breath at the sound of her brothers name and decided to do some damage control.
"Listen, Mary Lynette, there's something we need to explain" Rowan tried to make her voice sound as comforting as possible.
Jade explained, whilst Mary Lynette listened in silence.
"And I sensed his mind whilst he was explaining, he was telling the truth, it was all to protect you" Jade smiled warmly at her, then seemed to realize something.
"Speaking of Ash, shouldn't he be here by now?" Rowan looked over at Jade and then towards Mary Lynette, both wore expressions of concern. It had taken a good 10 minutes to explain and convince Mary Lynette and Kestrel that Ash was innocent, and in that time he should have arrived by now.
"Shouldn't we go look for him" Mark, who had been quiet all through the explanation, finally spoke up.
"He'll be fine" Kestrel said almost icily "he probably just got lost, he'll find his way back somehow"
"I don't know, he knew how to get here yesterday" Jade reminded her.
"I'm going to go look for him" Mary Lynette stood "I owe him so much more than an apology"
Rowan smiled at her, noticing how Mary Lynette's eyes were sparkling again.
"I'll come with you" she said, just as Jade and Mark stood too.
Everyone looked towards Kestrel, who stood too, whilst mumbling something that sounded like 'overreaction' under her breath.
"Someone had better stay here, just incase he comes back. Besides, there's not enough room in the car for me" her eyes seemed to grow darker for a second and as the others walked away she called after them. "Be careful"
"Always am" Jade called back, swinging her and Marks entwined hands between them as she skipped to the car.
"Honestly Jade, what are you like?" Rowan rolled her eyes.
"It's what living in Briar Creek does to you I guess. Even search parties start seeming like fun in a place as boring as this" Mark grinned at his girlfriend and kissed the top of her head to show her that he didn't mean it as an insult.
Rowan and Mary Lynette sat in the front as Mark and Jade climbed in the back, and Mary Lynette started the car.
"Where to first?" she asked as she pulled out of the driveway.
"Maybe we should just check the roads around here, he might have taken a wrong turn or his car might have broken down. I'm pretty sure he'd be able to find his way back from the town"
Mary Lynette nodded and started swiftly guiding the car along the roads around the sisters' farmhouse.