It's done.

I'm sorry if this ending is very abrupt, but I didn't want to drag this through the dirt for no reason. I'm not very good at sticking with stories and I really wanted to end this. Also, I suspect that my writing was a little disjointed in this piece because I'd write a chapter and then post it. As a result the chapters might not have flowed together as well as they did in my head. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and pointing out all the loose ends left in this story. I'm hoping my next one will be better.

Ashley's PoV

My cell phone is ringing.

I let it.

After it stops, I restrain myself for a whole ten minutes before digging it out and checking my voicemail. It's from Spencer, of course, because it always is.

"Hey, Ash. Guess what? Chelsea's pregnant again. I should feel upset though, shouldn't I? I mean, she was my brother's girlfriend, and now she's going to marry someone else. It all feels so long ago, doesn't it? For all we Chelsea and Clay might not have worked out in the long run.

"Kyla's coming over here for my birthday. I wish you would too. I get that you probably don't want to talk to me. It's been 3 years of me leaving these crazy messages and I haven't heard anything back. Guess I'm no good at taking a hint. Though really Ash, stop sending me these packages. I can't take a diamond again. I hope you haven't spent your entire trust fund already.

"Is it wrong that I can look back on three years ago and smile? We were a bunch of idiots and there's a lot of stuff that just went wrong. Clay's dead, who knows what happened to Aiden, Glen ended up joining the army, and you're- you're gone." Her voice cracks slightly. "God, Ash. I don't want to find out that you've driven off a cliff because you were following the GPS and not the road. Just... call me back for once. For all I know it might not even be you who keeps sending me a diamond on my birthday. Don't do it this time.

"Sometimes I wish I had tried a lot harder to find you. Kyla wanted to hire a private investigator and everything. But I told you that already. I don't think we could have worked this out 3 years ago though. There was too much pain, too many stupid things said, and too many mistakes. Right now, it's enough to think that you're listening to me babble. Love you, bye."

I haven't gotten a new cell phone in 3 years. For the last 3 years I've been holed up in Covington, Kentucky. Talk about random.

That day, I was so exhausted that I had no energy left to argue. Not enough to push Spencer away. Not enough to scream. It wasn't until I realized exactly what had happened that really woke up.

Spencer knew. Spencer would tell Kyla. Before I knew it, everyone would know and want to "help" me. That was ultimately why left. Maybe if I had stayed, Spencer and I would have fought, made up, and gotten through things together. Or maybe we would have only hurt each other more. What matters that I left. The Ashley Davies mentality winning out over anything else. I went to the airport with only a suitcase, my wallet, and a slip of paper with Kyla's address that I had found on the floor of my bedroom. The earliest leaving plane was for Covington, Kentucky, so I took it.

I didn't even know where Kentucky was.

I think I heard Spencer and Kyla shouting my name once I got through security, but no one can go past checkpoint without a ticket.

Kentucky was just strange. I now fully understand what Spencer must have felt when she moved to LA, except reversed.

I nearly killed myself a few days after landing. Finally, I checked my voicemail and listened to the flood of messages Spencer had left me. At first, they were angry. Then, she was crying and apologizing. It made me hesitate. I put the pills back into the bottle.

She was calling every night. I never picked up, but immediately afterwards, I would listen to whatever message that she'd left. Bit by bit my mind was slipping back to the bottle. Kyla gave up calling after a month, but Spencer kept calling. If not every night, then at least once a week.

Time and an annoyingly helpful psychiatrist can work wonders. Slowly, Spencer's messages became calmer and more soothing. Sometimes she still called when something was wrong and she'd cry and talk, but when she talked about prom, that summer, and the months that followed with less hurt and more thoughtfulness. It began to reflect in me too. Carmen, apparently, came back trying to make up for what happened in the park. Spencer wanted her to go talk to someone about anger management. When I first learned about Carmen was anywhere near Spencer, I almost hopped on the next plane back to LA. What would I do once I got back though? I forced myself to turn around again. i haven't heard anything else about about her so I'll assume that Carmen is long gone.

Angry red scars fade over time. So does anger.

For Spencer's eighteenth birthday, i sent her a diamond necklace with the year engraved on the back of the jewel. I proceeded to do the same for her nineteenth and twentieth, using Kyla's address as the return address.

Over the years, I've picked over the events of long ago so many times that I am thoroughly tired of thinking about them. They still haunt my dreams and flash before my eyes, but life is more than dreams and flashbacks. You want to know what happened in Europe? My mother more or less sold me to some creep, and I spent the summer in his basement. That's all I have to say.

I've been working at guitar. Really working at guitar. In LA, the guitar was just something I did because I was Raife Davies daughter. Now I practice every single day. More shockingly, I'm working as a waitress. My ever-so-helpful psychiatrist thought it would be good idea to get a job.

However, I was so bored after a while. There was no longer much of a reason for me to commit suicide, but I had no point in life. I had to find Spencer. Admittedly, it wasn't much of a search. She'd kept me updated in her messages, and I had been basically stalking her Facebook page. When Chelsea went to a French art school, Spencer decided to go there too. France, not art school.

Of course, Covington didn't have a direct flight to Aix-en-Provence, so first I got a flight to Boston's Logan Airport and left for Aix-en-Provence from there. On the plane I was trying desperately not to think about how my last trip to France ended.

All of which leaves me to now. Here I am standing in front of what I hope is Spencer Carlin's door, somewhere in southern France. I shut my phone off and knock. Something French is shouted in response.

Did I get the wrong address? What if Spencer isn't living here anymore. How the hell am I supposed to explain myself in French?

"Ashley!"

I think I'm smiling. I might be saying something. Perhaps I'm a two-foot tall elephant in Iceland.

All I know is that Spencer Carlin is hugging me and crushing my ribcage.

That's all that matters now.

Prom is stupid.

Personally, I hate this chapter. I'm probably too eager to finish this story. On the other hand, I'm just as eager to start other stories. Here's a list of ideas, tell me which you like.

1. Spencer and Aiden- Wait, Where's Ashley?

Spencer is Juliet and Aiden is Romeo, but where is Ashley? Can Ashley win over Spencer and prevent the tragdey of Spencer and Aiden? (Romeo annoyed me in the play, so here's my revenge.)

2. Eating Worms

Ashley has a broken past when she meets Spencer Carlin. She's shocked when Spencer accepts her invitation for a date, but is Spencer just out to break Ashley's heart? (Convoluted, will hopefully make more sense if I write the entire story)

3. An Interesting Life

Science-fiction-y. Spencer lives in a world where people are owned, bred, designed, raised, trained, bought, sold and used as entertainmentin gladiator-type fights. What are the consequences when normal Spencer jumps into the fighting ring to seem more interesting.

4. Wild Child

Spencer's always wanted to be a scientist like her parents. Then, she met Ashley, a girl who has been raised by another species. When she falls in love with Ashley, what lengths will Spencer go to in order to protect Ashley from her parents?

5. Runt of the Litter

What chance does an eplileptic, delayed Ashley have for Spencer Carlin's heart when most of her perfect siblings are after it too?