Hey guys here the next chapter! I tried to get more of an Ashley-Madison family connection in here, let me know what you think. Enjoy!
It had been a few weeks since I got here. Usually I sleep late into the morning but today I awoke to the laughter of my father. I rolled over closing my eyes not wanting to wake up. It was too early to wake up…11am. I slowly pulled myself out of bed and threw on a sweatshirt over my sports bra. When I got down to the kitchen I could hear my father talking to someone. I couldn't make out the voice of the other man, but it sounded somewhat familiar. When I rounded the corner Aiden was sitting at the counter talking with my dad. The first thing I did when I caught his eye was jump into his arms and hug him. He chuckled and said a quick 'nice to see you too Ashley.' Aiden had been like the second brother that I never had. He went off to college when Madison and I were sophomores, but when we had time to kill we were always hitting the waves. Sid took Aiden's spot after he left.
"Morning sweetheart," my dad said coming over and giving me a kiss on the head while ruffling my hair. "Aiden dropped by to see if you wanted to hit the waves this afternoon."
"Are you kidding me! Of course I want to!" I said happily giving Aiden another hug.
We sat down and eat the breakfast that my dad had made. I listened to all the stories that Aiden had to tell. Some of them were pretty interesting, especially when it got to the topic of frat party and drunken idiots. I missed being around him; herreminded me so much of Madison and Sid, and one of the best guy friends that I could have ever asked for. When Madison died he was the only one that didn't lash out of me during the first days. He was standing by my side comforting me, telling me that it wasn't my fault.
"So how have you been," he said taking a seat on my bed.
"I've been okay," I let out taking a seat next to him, "I met with your parents yesterday."
"They've wanted you to come see them for a while, but when you moved they thought that they would never see you again."
"I didn't think that I was ever going to come back, well I'd come back only for my dad. But, now I'm glad that I came back. For the longest time I thought that your parents were never going to forgive me for hurting her, so we ran, I ran."
"Ashley, you know that my parents love you very much. They would always forgive you know matter what you did; it just took a little longer. They've come to terms with Madison not being there anymore. I've come to terms with my sister no being here. You've come to terms that the one you love you can never hold again. It's time."
"It scares me. Madison's in my dreams, I can see her, I can talk to her, but then I realize that she's not there. I'm afraid to come to terms. I'm afraid that if I let her go she's never wander into my dreams, I'll never see her or talk to her again. But every time I see her she keeps telling me to take a step forward."
"Maybe it's a sign that you should take a step," Aiden said glancing over at me. It is time for me to take the step that I've feared, but one thing I know is that I will allows have Aiden, Sid, my father, my mother, and Spencer.
We pulled over on the side road and pulled out gear out. The walk to the hidden cove was about a mile, but it was worth is for the waves and the view. I laid down my towel and bag and started putting on my wetsuit. The last time that I had been here was when Madison's parents found that we were a couple; we stayed out here for a few days. They were the most memorable memories I had.
"You still remember what you're doing?" Aiden joked as he grabbed his board. I gave him a 'are you serious' look before following him. I was a little rusty at first, catching my edge in the water, but I was able to redeem myself. The waves were so calm, yet violent. They were the perfect height, the perfect speed, the perfect everything. I watched as Aiden's board sliced through the water. He had improved since the last time I saw him. He was able to get some nice air. I was only able to get about half as much air as he did, but it still felt good to ride the waves.
"So how's Ohio treating you?"
"It's different…" I replied shoving my board into the sand.
"Different in a good way or a bad way?"
"Good way, I guess. It's small, smaller than here. You really get to know the people, their story. It feels more at home than here, but I miss it here because my dad's here and you and your parents," I said taking a seat next to Aiden on the towel.
"I get it. After Madison passed and I had to go back to college, it felt like a whole different world, college didn't feel like college anymore. It felt like a stranger's world I was living in. Home was where I wanted to be, but I wanted to be close to Madison.
"So what did you do?"
"I took the step, and told myself to keep moving on," he said letting out a sigh before lying down to face the sun. There was silent between us as we lay there tanning. When I turned over to see if Aiden wanted to leave, I noticed that he was quietly snoring. I decided to leave him there and take a walk along the cove's beach.
The cool water grazed my feet as it inched towards me. I took a seat at the end of the sand. The water reached half way up my leg before receding. The breeze ruffled my hair. The salty smell of ocean filled my nostrils. The sunset view plastered my eyes.
"I miss coming here," Madison said taking a seat next to me.
"It feels so different without you," I said turning to face her.
"So are you out here to think?" she asked taking some sand in her hands.
"You could say that. I guess I'm just trying to figure some things out."
"It's about what my brother said isn't it," she said. I felt her hand graze mine, but when I looked down it was just the breeze rustling the hairs on hand.
"I want to take the step," I let out. There was a long silence before I heard her say anything. When I glanced over at her she was smiling at me.
"I'm proud of you Ashley," she said. I faintly saw a tear stream down her cheek. I wanted to reach out and wipe it away, but I was afraid that my hand would go right through.
"So what happens to you when I take the step?"
"You will have come to terms with everything that has happened. I'll still be here right next to you, when you need me, but I won't be here like I am now. Are you willing to let that happen?"
"Yes, but I still need your guidance."
"And you'll always have it. I'll always be here to give you a hand. You'll never lose me. But I think that it is time to move on from everything that we had and create a new life with someone else."
"Spencer…" I breathed out. Madison smiled and nodded her head.
"I've seen the connect between the two of you; it's stronger than any other relationship that I have ever seen. Spencer cares so much about you, and you care so much about Spencer. Go for it Ashley, let your heart carry you."
"I love you Madison," I said turning to her and reaching my arms around her. I felt warmth around my body as Madison's arm around my body. When we pulled apart Madison leaned in and captured my lips. It felt like I was kissing her, but I wasn't.
"I love you too Ashley," she said staring in my eyes, "be happy, be loving, be love, no regrets about me." I watched as her figure slowly began to disappear until suddenly I was staring at the opposite side of the cove. I knew that would be the last time that I would ever see Madison in her entirety again. I took a deep breath before getting up and heading back towards Aiden, who was now packing up.
"You ready?" he asked. I nodded and grabbed my things. I turned around to look at the sunset view one last time before turning around and leaving.
The walk back was silent. I had decided to take the step, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders; I felt relieved. Madison was gone; I accept that now. I will never be able to hold her, kiss her again; I accept that. She will only exist in my memories now; I accept that. It's time for me to move on, and let my heart carry me; I accept that. I'm ready for a new life, a new start.
Aiden dropped me at the house a couple of hours later. My father was down at the studio working and left me an extra car in the garage. The first thing I did was shower and then I grabbed my phone. I searched through my contacts and searched for the two that I was looking for. I hit the first and waited, a few seconds later I heard my little brother's voice on the receiver.
"Ashlwy!" he said excitedly.
"Hey! How's my little man?" I asked.
"Is good, mommy took me to see Lewgo movie with Noah," he said. I listened to him tell me all about the movie. It seemed somewhat interesting, but then again children always tend to exaggerate things.
"I miss you Ashlwy," he said stopping mid-way through his sentence.
"I miss you too Sid," I replied. I really wish that he was here so that I could sweep him into my arms and hug him like no tomorrow.
"When are you coming home?" I heard his little voice ask through the phone.
"I'll be home in a week, does that sound okay?"
"Yeah, mommy and Is have a surpwise for yous!" he shouted excitedly through the phone.
"I can't wait to see what it is."
"Is thinks you will weally like it!"
"I'm sure I will," I said as I let a smile creep onto my face. We chatted for a little longer. I tried to get him to spill the surprise but he wouldn't budge. I was a little sad when I found out that Sid wasn't going to spend the summer with us, but my father said that after I went to college I probably wouldn't be able to see him a lot, so he was taking his advantage. After I finished my call with Sid, I skimmed through and found the other contact, but before I could hit the button to call her, she called me. I waited a few seconds, but everyone knows that you shouldn't be that person that picks up after the first ring.
"Hello?"
"Ashley! Hey!" I heard Spencer's cheerful voice.
"Spencer! To what to I owe this splendid call?" I asked jokingly through the phone.
"Well I could sense that you wanted to talk to me, so here I am," she replied with a laugh. It was a little strange that I was about to call her and she just called it…awkward. Can Spencer read my mind?
"I'm always up for a good talk! So what do you want to talk about?"
"Well," she started, "I'm getting on a plane California tomorrow…" My eyes quickly glanced at the calendar hanging in my room. I had clearly marked the day that Spencer was going to be here, but I was surprised that I had forgotten.
"That's tomorrow! You're coming tomorrow!" I said excitedly. I can't believe I forgot. I guess I got tied up with dinners at the Duartes, spending time with Aiden and his family.
"Yeah, I can't wait, god, it feels like I haven't seen you in forever," she said.
"I know! Is there anything that I can do? Pick you up from the airport?" I asked rapidly.
"A ride from the airport would be nice, if you don't mind," she said shyly.
"Of course I don't mind," I said happily through the phone, "what time does your flight get in?"
"1pm give or take an hour, you never know…airplanes run on their own schedules." I chuckled, she was right. Every time I have flown the plane either arrives before time or late…never on time…never.
"Great! I'll text you when I'm at the airport and we can figure everything out from there."
"Awesome, so have anything fun planned?" she asked excitedly.
"Well I've got a few things in mind, for one you should bring a swim suit, dress, and sneakers," I said.
"Do I get to know what we are doing?" she asked.
"Nope," I said happily. I heard her whine into the phone making me laugh.
"Fine Davies, so has California been treating you well?"
"It feels like home again," I said as I relaxed against a pillow.
"I'm glad to hear that. It sounds like this has been good for you."
"It has, for the first time I've come to terms with what has happened. To be honest, it feels like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, there's no burden for me to carry around with me, like I'm free."
We continued to talk late into the night. We only decided that it was time to go to bed, when Spencer said that her flight left earlier that morning. I rest my back on the bed and the thought of Spencer coming to visit for the rest of the summer made everything in my mind continue to spin. Spencer, Aiden, Sid had all help me with the death of Madison, and now they've help me overcome this obstacle. I was free from this burden of guilt, sorrow, regret, free from everything. But when I close my eyes I can see Madison smiling back at me and I know that even though I can't see her or talk to her I know that she will always be there for me, when I need her. And now my heart is telling me to follow Spencer and see what adventures await.