Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with SoN.

A/N: I'm officially in my second semester of college, so, I am super busy with schoolwork. However, I do dearly love this story and I work on it every chance that I get. That being said, I hope I can hold everyone's interest with my slow updates. Thank you to everyone who reads this, and a huge thank you to those who give me feedback. Writing is just something I enjoy to do, it is not my major and to have people who enjoy a hobby of mine is so nice to hear…well, see.


"This shit kills brain cells," Ashley said. She was lounging on the couch with Spencer lying next to her.

"But it's so amusing," Spencer said. "Snooki is so ridiculous. She's drunk like every minute of the day."

"You find watching someone's liver fail on reality television amusing?" Ashley deadpanned. "Spencer, I had no idea you were so sadistic."

"Watch it," Spencer said. She pinched Ashley's side and snickered when the brunette jumped and squirmed away from her touch.

"Ouch! That just cements my theory," Ashley said. Spencer snorted.

"And what theory is that?" she asked.

"That you are secretly a dominatrix," Ashley said. "One day you will rule with an iron fist." Spencer burst out laughing.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard," she gasped between laughs. Ashley shrugged.

"Until the theory is proven invalid, it remains true," Ashley said.

"Okay, nerd," Spencer said, rolling her eyes. "You sound like a math textbook."

"Whatever," Ashley grumbled.

"Oh, baby. You're silly," Spencer said, kissing Ashley on the cheek. A smile broke out on Ashley's face.

"I love it when you call me that," Ashley said.

"Silly?" Spencer asked, smirking. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"No, baby," she replied. "And I don't know what you're talking about. I am not the silly one. That title is reserved for you."

"Mm, we're both silly," Spencer said, leaning up to kiss Ashley. She sighed when Spencer's tongue met hers.

"Do you want to go out with me sometime this week?" Ashley asked, breaking their kiss.

"Like a date?" Spencer asked, teasing Ashley. Her breath ghosted over Ashley's lips and the brunette couldn't help pressing her lips back to Spencer's.

"Yes, like a date," she replied, breaking the kiss again.

"I would love to," Spencer replied.

"How's Wednesday night sound?" Ashley asked.

"It sounds perfect," Spencer said, inching closer to Ashley's face. "Now shut up and kiss me."


"Ashley," a voice called out from behind her. Ashley slowed her 'I'm-on-a-mission' walk to a standstill and turned around.

"Yes?" she turned to face her father.

"Come to my office," Raife said. He strolled past his daughter and continued down the hallway. Ashley, left without a choice, followed.

Entering the spacious office of the man she called her father only because they shared blood, Ashley took a seat. Raife sat in his office chair and looked at his daughter.

"What's wrong with Kyla?" he asked, getting down to business. Ashley rolled her eyes. Trust Raife to bring her into his office to discuss something other than work.

"I couldn't tell you. I haven't spoken to Kyla in three weeks. Now, can I go?" Ashley asked, not expecting an answer.

"Sit," he said as Ashley started to raise herself out of the chair. The brunette sighed and sunk back down.

"Why haven't you talked?" he asked.

"I don't really think that it's any of your business," Ashley said. She wasn't about to tell Raife a damn thing about her personal life. He didn't care when she was a teenager; he sure as hell didn't care now.

"I think it is. Kyla is my daughter and I'm concerned for her welfare. She came to the house yesterday looking worse for wear," Raife said.

"You would be concerned about Kyla, wouldn't you?" Ashley said bitterly. "Look, I don't know what Kyla's problem is. She wouldn't tell me. And quite frankly, until she can act like an adult and talk to me without throwing a hissy fit, I don't care. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to get back to." Ashley stood and made her way to the exit and when she was about to turn the knob to the door, Raife spoke once more.

"You would treat your sister like that? You really care for no one but yourself, don't you?" Raife asked. Ashley spun around incredulously.

"Me? Care for no one but myself? If I do act like that, I certainly deserve to. Who took care of Kyla when mom died? Who went to every sports game, every school event, and every parent meeting? Who put aside their dream in order to care for a sister she shouldn't have had in the first place? I did. And where were you? Out drinking at bars every night, fucking a different woman every night. You were more concerned with yourself than anything, Raife," Ashley said, every word dripping with hatred. Raife blinked, obviously not expecting Ashley to lash back at him. "And last time I checked, you had two daughters, not just one."

"Fuck you and your high horse," Ashley said. With that, she opened the door and left, letting it slam on her way out.


After leaving her father's office, Ashley left work completely. She took half a day, and after telling Alex she was leaving, she got in her car and drove. She had no place in mind and before she knew it, she was outside of Kyla's apartment complex. The anger she had been trying to suppress suddenly flared up once more and she found herself marching toward Kyla's door. Using the key she had been given in case of emergencies, Ashley opened the door to the apartment.

Upon entering, she stopped. It was ridiculous inside. Empty food containers were everywhere, as well as an assortment of empty alcohol bottles. Clothes were scattered and an odd smell was permeating the air.

"What in the fucking hell?" Ashley muttered. Her sister was generally a clean person. It wouldn't seem so, however, from the sight in front of her. Concern waved through her and her anger was pushed aside.

"Kyla?" Ashley called. She received no answer. She walked further into the apartment and called out her sister's name once more. When she, once again, received no answer, Ashley began exploring the apartment. The messy streak continued throughout the living space, however Kyla was nowhere in sight. Whipping out her cell phone, Ashley dialed her sister's number. It rang until the voicemail picked up.

"Kyla, this is Ashley. I need you to give me a call back when you get this. We need to talk." Ashley hung up the phone and sighed. The apartment was a gigantic mess and she felt a strong urge to clean, but she didn't want to upset Kyla. With one last glance around the living room, Ashley left and returned to her car.


"So do you want to tell me what's going on?" Spencer asked Ashley. She took a bite of her noodles as she looked at the brunette that was seated in front of her.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Ashley replied. Spencer rolled her eyes.

"You obviously aren't. I don't appreciate you lying to me. So why don't you just tell me and we can talk about it," Spencer said. Ashley averted her eyes to the table behind Spencer. It was full with a family of four; a father, a mother and two teenage girls. They were smiling and laughing.

"I'm fine," Ashley said, taking a drink of her beer.

"Yeah, you're fine. You've been picking at your food all night, rather than inhaling it as usual. You've had three beers in the span of an hour and a half. Your leg hasn't stopped shaking since we sat down and you're hardly talking. You are just peachy," Spencer said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Fuck," Ashley muttered. She ran a hand over her face and through her hair. "I'm sorry, Spence. I should've just canceled tonight. I know I'm not being much fun."

"No, you're not. But something is bothering you and I would like to help," Spencer shrugged.

"How is everything this evening?" the waitress chose to swing by their table just as Ashley opened her mouth.

"Everything is great, but can we get the check and two boxes?" Spencer asked politely, with a small smile. The waitress nodded and left.

"Why don't we head back to your place and then you can tell me what's wrong," Spencer said. Ashley nodded and handed the waitress her credit card as she returned.

The ride back to Ashley's apartment was quiet except for the radio that was quietly playing. Ashley's hands were fidgety on the wheel and Spencer was clearly concerned. They arrived to the apartment complex and got out of the car.

"So what's up?" Spencer asked as she sat down next to Ashley on the couch. The brunette was leaning on her elbows and had both hands over her face.

"My father and my sister," she replied, sighing and sitting back. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

"What did they do?" Spencer asked.

"More like what haven't they done," Ashley said. She shook her head. "It's more than what's happened in the past couple of days."

"Well, I can't help you if you don't tell me," Spencer said.

"My family…I don't talk about them for a reason, Spence," Ashley said. She was quiet for a moment. "My dad…when I was little he was like my hero, you know? We did everything together. He took me to baseball games and we ate cereal together traditionally every night before bed. He went to all of my sports games and he treated my mother so well. And my mom, she was awesome. She was always there for me and I could talk to her about anything. She was the first person I told I was gay and she accepted me with open arms and a smile." Ashley stopped.

"That sounds like a good thing," Spencer said. Ashley smiled thinly.

"Yeah, things were good. But then, when I was fourteen I found out my father cheated on my mother. They fought a lot for a while. I could hear them from my room every night. It was always about something stupid, but it would end with my mom yelling at him for fucking another woman. Eventually they went to marriage counseling. Despite everything that had happened, they still loved each other. And things gradually got better between them. Granted, I was still angry with my father for what he did but he was my dad and I was slowly starting to forgive him. A year later, a woman showed up at our door with a kid and said she was my dad's. My mother and I both found out that he had never stopped seeing this woman behind my mother's back. The woman said she couldn't care for the girl anymore and she left her with my dad. That's when Kyla stepped into my life." Ashley stopped again but Spencer could tell she wasn't done.

"I hated Kyla at first. I was so mean to her. She represented everything my father truly was to me. A liar, a cheater. So while I was fighting with Kyla, my dad and my mom started to fight again. My mother started to drink heavily and my dad started staying at the office most nights, though I'm sure he was never alone. Two years after that, my mother was a full-fledged alcoholic and my dad was almost never around. My mom was fired from her job because she was always drunk. By that time, I was okay with Kyla. And I knew that if things kept going, my mother would lose custody of me and Kyla and I would be sent to the state for foster care. So I got a job. I still went to school, but I had to quit sports because I had to work. And my paychecks would go to helping out with the bills. My dad still dropped in and gave us money, but there's only so much that can do. Soon enough, one job wasn't enough and I had to get two jobs. I worked and went to school every day. I took care of Kyla when no one else did. In effort to let her have some resemblance of a normal childhood, she still played sports. I attended all of her games. I went to parent meetings to see how she was doing in school. My whole life was school, work and supporting Kyla and my mother. When I turned seventeen, my mother drank herself to death. I found her on the kitchen floor one morning. I panicked and called 911 but she was already dead. So then my dad moved back in so we had an adult to take care of us. But he didn't really take care of us. I didn't have to work after that, since my dad was the C.E.O of his company. I kept one job though, so I had a steady source of income for myself. My grades, miraculously, had stayed above average and when my senior year rolled around, I was accepted to Berkeley. And as soon as I graduated, I was gone. Kyla was a year younger than me, so she was still in high school when I started college.

College…was my downfall. I got caught up with the wrong people. I started drinking and doing drugs. I would wake up in random houses and not remember how I got there. I slept with a different girl almost every night. By the end of the first semester I was on academic probation and by the end of the second semester of school, I was suspended completely. I continued partying. But then one day Kyla got a hold of me. She told me that she didn't like what I was doing to myself. She said that out of all the people she knew, she thought I had more common sense to let myself go like I did. She said she had looked up to me, and that she had once been able to say that I was the best thing that had ever happened to her. I stopped after that. I got a job again and got clean. After a year, I applied to CSULA and I got in. I got my degree in Public Relations after four years with honors and my dad hired me to work for the company. I didn't want to work for him, but I knew I didn't have a lot of options and none of my available options paid as well. So I took the job and I've been working for him ever since.

Kyla and I got back on good terms and I made an effort to be a part of her life again. My friend, Aiden, helped me get back on my feet. Kyla and Aiden met and they instantly liked each other. A few months after meeting each other they started dating. It was awesome. My sister was happy, Aiden was happy and I was happy. And then I met Madison and we hit it off. We dated for a year before she cheated on me with a girl named Carmen. I haven't been in a relationship with anyone since then until I met you. And then recently, Kyla and Aiden started fighting. And then they broke up. And something is wrong with Kyla but we got into an argument when I tried to see what was wrong and we haven't spoken in three weeks and I'm ridiculously worried about her. And my dad and I got into it today, which really isn't anything new. We fight all the time. The last time we had a civil conversation was when we buried my mother," Ashley said. By the end, tears were streaming down her face and she was hugging her knees to her chest.

"Ashley," Spencer said, clearly at a loss for words. When she asked Ashley what was wrong she expected something like having a bad day at work, not a fucked up family past.

"I'm so sorry," Ashley croaked out. And then her tears turned into sobs and Spencer had no choice but to hug the brunette to her chest and let her cry.

"It's okay baby. There's nothing for you to be sorry about," Spencer whispered. Sobs wracked Ashley's body.

"She's my sister, Spence. No matter what's happened, we've always been able to count on each other. And she obviously can't do that with me right now and I don't know why," Ashley said through her tears.

"Shhh," Spencer said. She held Ashley's head to her chest and rocked her gently from side to side. "When Kyla's ready she'll come to you, Ash. You're her sister and she knows you love her."

"I just want everything to be okay again," Ashley said.

"Things will get better, sweetheart. They may not be okay right now, but they will get better," Spencer said. Ashley continued to cry and Spencer continued to hold her.

Eventually Ashley cried herself to sleep and Spencer carried her to her bedroom and tucked her in.

"Spence?" Ashley murmured, opening her eyes slightly. She held her arms out and Spencer climbed into the bed with her favorite person after turning out the light. Ashley curled into Spencer's side and fell asleep once more. Eventually, Spencer did the same.

A knock woke Spencer up. Ashley's alarm clock read three-thirty. Another knock sounded throughout the house. Gently, Spencer rolled Ashley onto her side and got out of the bed. Carefully, Spencer made her way through the apartment and to the door.

"Hello?" Spencer said, opening the door. In front of her stood a small brunette who was clearly drunk and or high.

"You're not Ashley," the brunette slurred.

"Er, no, I'm not. Who are you?" Spencer asked.

"I'm Kyla," the girl said before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell forward, landing at Spencer's feet.

"Oh shit," Spencer breathed.