For clarification later in the chapter, the Italics are what is going on in Ashley's mind, and the regular type is the reality.
x-x-x
The sound of the gun pierced the room.
"Ashley?!" Tyler cried.
There she stood, pale and shaking with a gun in her hand and Chloe's limp body beneath her. Blood splattered over her clothes like splatter paint. "I...I..." she broke, falling to the floor as her actions set in.
Tyler came to her side, taking her into his arms as he tried to calm her down. Police sirens filled the thick air, soon doors were busted open and all the two could hear was the sound of boots stomping and murmuring of voices. Neither could comprehend anything being said to them, but Ashley was eventually taken away to the hospital and Tyler held for questioning.
Minutes turned to hours when Tyler sat at the cold metal table answering questions he hardly knew the answers to.
"When did the switch first take place?"
"I don't know... Monday? Maybe Tuesday..?" Tyler hung his head in his hands
"Do you know who the other girl was? Why she switched now?"
"I-I don't"
"Did Ashley mean to kill her?"
"It was self-defense, the other girl threatened to kill both of us"
It went on for hours. Mindless, numbing questions only half-heartedly answered as he thought about Ashley. "Can I go?" The boy blurted, "I need to see her." They eventually released him and he went straight to the hospital to see the real Ashley. Walking to where the front desk had pointed him to go, Tyler stopped when he heard her being mentioned in the hallways.
"I just can't believe what happened to room 231. The girl has a broken ankle, bruised lung, second-degree rope burns, a positive rape kit, other minor cuts, and probably shaken up seriously. They don't even know when she'll wake up... How does something like that even happen? At least she will be in good hands with Dr. James." The nurses talked to each other as they slowly walked down the hall.
Tyler's jaw almost dropped as his heart hung heavy in his chest. Ashley was hurt, his Ashley was hurt. How could he face her knowing that all this as partially his fault or not protecting her and realizing the switch sooner? He could lose her forever after only just starting to get to really know her. The boy quietly snuck into Ashley's room, knowing he shouldn't be there, but he had to see her.
"O-oh my..." he stuttered, finally seeing Ashley's pale and lifeless body laying on the hospital bed, tubes and chords strapped to every inch of her.
The brunette sat down in the chair next to Ashley's bed and took her hand in his. He heard the beep of her heart monitor suddenly rise and fall as he touched her. Tyler smiled small to himself, happy that she could at least feel his presence. He sat there for minutes, his head rushing to find the right words to say as if speaking would somehow ease both of their pain.
"So..um..I'm Not really sure what to say, but this wasn't how I thought our evening was going to go, you ruined my romantic plans," he smiled to keep from crying, "Tonight is our one month anniversary. I was going to take you to the little cafe that you love on Sunset that I can never remember the name of, and then we were going to go see a drive-in movie. You're always complaining about how they're so cute, but no one ever takes you... But I guess we'll have to do that another time..." His voice trailed off as his thoughts overwhelmed him. "God, Ash, I"m so sorry. I never should've let this happen. I should have noticed it wasn't you and found you sooner and kept you safe," Tyler's voice became angry. "This is all my fault! How could I have been so dumb and not recognized it sooner? I'm your freaking boyfriend, I'm supposed to watch out for you."
His anger turned to sadness, tears finally spilled over his cheeks and his voice broke as he rambled on.
"I just need you to wake up... Please, just wake up..."
x-x-x
"Where are we going? Tylerrrrr!" Ashley whined, fidgeting in the passengers' seat with a colorful blindfold covering her baby blue eyes.
Tyler laughed, "I already told you, it's a surprise. You're just going to have to wait and see."
He looked over and saw the blonde pouting, to which he smiled to himself, and took her hand in his, "You'll just have to trust me."
She huffed. "Fine."
Thirty minutes later, the pair parked at Sunset Cove beach, where Tyler knew the sand and the water was warm, and there would be no one else to disrupt them. He carefully lead Ashley out of the car and grabbed their belongings from the back of the car. Tyler linked his arm through the blonde's and led her down a series of steps, then to a little spot on the beach next to a cove where they could sit and watch the waves. He heard her laugh nervously as the sand touches her feet for the first time.
"Okay, two more minutes and then you can take it off," the boy stated.
He set up what he had brought, then told Ashley to take off her blindfold.
"Oh my..." Her words fought in her throat as she poked at everything surrounding her.
The sun gleamed halfway in the sky, reflecting off the gentle ocean waves that crashed on the white sand. Just in front of her laid a blanket with the makings of a picnic and stargazing equipment. It was like a scene straight from the movies. She turned towards her boyfriend, tears welling in her eyes, "You did all this?"
"Yep, I even put in a good word with the man up there," he pointed to the sky, chuckling slightly, "to get the perfect lighting."
She laughed, "It's beautiful Ty...I love it..."
His arms wrapped around her waist, "I'm glad."
"..And I love you." She gently kissed him
x-x-x
"When do you think she'll wake up?" Tyler asked the white-clad doctor.
The doctor sighed, "We really don't know. Because of the different injuries and the varying levels of their severity, it is hard to tell if she will ever even wake up."
Tyler's breath caught in his throat.
"In the event that she doesn't wake up, we need someone to be here for the next 3-4 weeks to decide when we should take her off of life support. Where are her parents?"
"Um..They're... Oh, they are traveling, in Spain, I think, but.. they said they wouldn't have any cell usage..."
"Okay. Any siblings?"
"One sister, but she's in Milan modeling. She could come back but not for that long, she's on a contract..."
"Is there anyone else in her family or someone she would trust to make that decision?"
"I-I guess um... Her best friend, Shay?"
"We don't typically like to have best friend's do it... they postpone the decision. How are you related to her?"
"I'm her boyfriend. We've been together for about four months now."
Dr. James bit his lip and sucked in a little gasp of air, "Well, It's not ideal seeing as it has been such a short time between you two, but given the circumstances... I think you are the best option as of right now."
At that moment, Ashley's life was in Tyler's hands. The moments blurred, the doctor droned on about different procedures and how to handle each situation and when it might be time to end the fight. Tyler knew he should have been paying attention, but the words seemed to fade away as he just looked at the broken blonde laying on the hospital bed in front of him.
x-x-x
"Cut!" yelled Norman, the co-director of Pretty Little Liars.
Ashley laughed as she took in the scene in front of her, "You can go put on your clothes now, Blackburn."
Tyler blushed, remembering he was standing in a shower with only a speedo on. And it was also his second week on the set. He quickly got out of the shower, throwing on the robe that sat on his chair. He was about to run back to his dressing room to practice lines, and curse himself for being so awkward when Ashley piped up.
"That was a great take," She smiled, "I know it was kind of awkward, but that's what we thrive for, right?"
He chuckled, "Not me."
Ashley laughed and put a hand on his arm, "Well, I think you've now officially earned your spot here. Plus, with a body like yours, I'm sure Hanna and Caleb will have many more scenes like this."
And with that, the blonde was gone. Tyler gathered his things, knowing he needed to hurry out before Lucy and Ian started to shoot their scene.
"Tyler!" yelled a little voice.
He turned around to see Lucy briskly walking towards him.
"Hey," he smiled.
"I wanted to catch you before you ran off. We're all going to see that new horror movie tonight, The Cabin in the Woods. You should come!'
"Sure, sounds like fun."
Lucy was about to say something when the pair heard Ian call Lucy's name to tell her they were starting soon.
"I gotta go, I'll text you the details," the little brunette ran off the somewhere in Rosewood and Tyler headed back to his dressing room to get ready for the evening.
Three hours later and the entire cast of Pretty Little Liars sat in theatre 2 of Universal City Walk's theatre, preparing themselves for the movie. They all passed around popcorn, some candy, and a few split drinks. The three guys sat together, Keegan on the aisle seat, Ian in the middle, and Tyler of the outside. They were all settling down when Ashley came next to Tyler and asked if the seat was taken. He shook his head and the blonde sat next to him, with the rest of the girls sitting next to Ashley and down. Their murmuring stopped as the lights dimmed and the projector started to roll the commercials.
"You know, I'm not really one for scary movies," Ashley whispered to Tyler.
"Me neither," the two laughed a little.
"Then we can be scared together," she smiled warmly.
Tyler smiled, genuinely happy to be there next to the girl. The lights faded out completely and the opening scene for The Cabin in the Woods came on. Tyler felt Ashley grasp his hand in anticipation for what was to come. The next one-and-a-half hours was spent screaming at jump scares, a few popcorn kernels flew, and Ashley's head buried into Tyler's side for about half of the movie.
"Is it over?" She would ask every time something popped out or anything she didn't like appeared and her face went to the boy's side.
Most of the time he would give her the all clear when it really was over, but every now and then he would tell her it was okay when the scene was still happening. She would look, jump, smack his chest lightly, then go right back into his side like she was before, causing him to laugh.
The lights finally came back up, and as the pair looked at their fellow cast members, most were either frozen in fear or laughing about how corny the movie was. They all walked out into the chilly night air, surrounded by the towering stores and the whirlwind of bright colorful lights that almost seemed to illuminate the sky.
"Ash looks like you and Tyler seem to know each other pretty well now," Shay commented as she linked her arm into the blondes.
"Shut up," Ashley laughed, "We all know each other well, I just happened to be sitting next to him. And I do spend most of my time with him now. Seeing as how he is my new love interest," she emphasized.
Shay wiggled her eyebrows, "Ryan better watch out."
Ashley laughed and rolled her eyes, but part of her felt a flutter when she thought about her and Tyler together... He was definitely a great guy, and he was on the show because the two had undeniable chemistry. Maybe there was something more there? She shrugged the idea off, that was a problem for another time, tonight had been for fun. She ran and jumped onto Tylers back as the crew walked to get ice cream.
x-x-x
Ashley's heart monitors spiked, drawing Tyler's attention over to her, worried that there might be something wrong. He saw a smile dance across her face, showing her dimpled that he loved so much. Then her eyes began to flutter open.
"Ashley?" Tyler softly took her hand in his.
"Tyler?" She mumbled out.
Ashley's heart monitors spiked and her eyes drifted closed again.
x-x-x
AN:
I'm back :) New updates soon for chapter 15 of this story, a new one-shot, AND chapter 4 of Falling Fast! Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween!
