ASH POV
"Good morning," I whisper, happily.
Ian takes in a deep breath, but remains asleep. I bring my hand up, to rest on his chest. Something about the way he looks when he sleeps makes me feel peaceful.
"Was this what it was like for my mother and father?" I wonder, to myself.
I'm suddenly startled by a knock at the door. I sigh heavily.
"Just a minute," I call softly, trying not to wake Ian.
I roll out of bed and walk across the room. With one quick glance back at the bed, I quietly pull the door open. Fang stands in front of me.
"Hey," he says," Is Ian asleep?"
"Yeah," I whisper," Why, what do you want?"
"I just wanted to invite you and Ian to a work function tonight," he says.
"What type of work function?" I ask.
"It's a ball for all of the company's owners, investors, officiates, and sponsors and their families," he explains.
"So in other words, there's a ball for your company's rich people?"
"I guess," Fang nods.
"I don't know, I'm not really a people person."
"Please, I had to arrange for the party to be moved all the way to here, Seattle," he tells me.
"Okay," I say, feeling guilty," I'll be there."
He gives me a soft smile and he begins to walk away. Just before he reaches the end of the hall he, turns to look at me.
"Ash?"
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Please choose something that doesn't reflect on what type of pajamas you wear. I don't want my colleagues to get flashed."
I look down at what I'm wearing. All that I have on is a t-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts. I look up at him confused. But I can tell what he means when I see the look on his face. He looks concerned, the way a father would.
"Can I please go to the ball, mom, please," Kinsey begs Nudge, as we sit in a hair salon.
"I don't know Kinsey," Nudge tells her," I think it's pretty much an adult event, so my answer is no."
"Fine," Kinsey pouts.
"Anyways, moving on," Nudge says, turning to me,," What are we going to do with your hair?"
"I want to cut about three inches of and then I want to have them dye it back to my natural color," I tell Nudge.
"Okay," She nods.
I takes them over an hour to go through the whole process, but once they finish I see that it was all worth it.
"I wish I could have red hair," Kinsey moans.
"Shush," Nudge says," You look beautiful Ash."
I thank her and look back at my reflection in the mirror. My hair now comes just above my waist and glows an almost unnatural bright red.
The hairdresser asks if I want anything done to my hair and I tell her that it want it up. She smiles and continues on. Once she finishes I thank her and I look at myself in the mirror again.
"I missed the red," I sigh, happily, when we are finally leaving the salon.
'Well I think your father will think it's beautiful," Nudge laughs," He had quit the thing for redheads."
"Great," I say, sarcastically," That's not creepy at all."
"Your mother hated red hair," Nudge tells me.
I grimace. I hate being reminded that I don't have a mother. Whenever anybody ever talked about their moms I always felt instantly out of place.
"I'm so sorry Ash," Nudge blurts," I didn't mean to make you feel sad."
"It's okay," I lie.
"Are you sure?" she asks.
"Yeah," I tell her," Let's go get our dresses."
"Turn around," Nudge gasps.
I spin around obediently. I don't understand why she gasped, until I see myself in the mirror.
I stand in a vivid red dress, with a plunging V-neck that reaches just where my ribs end. The dress flows perfectly. The only thing that worries me is that the dress is too long, but that can be easily fixed by wearing high heels.
"It's perfect," Nudge tells me.
I smile in agreement. I don't think that I could look any better
"Excuse me for a minute," Nudge says, before quickly getting up and leaving the dressing room.
A few minutes later she comes back with a pair of bright red high heels. I can tell that they're at least six inches high.
"They're too high," I tell her.
"Too high?"
"I don't want to be taller than Ian," I explain.
"Oh," she says, turning to leave," We'll just get the four inch ones."
"Nudge?"
"Yeah?" she asks, looking back at me.
"Thank you," I say," This really means a lot to me."
"No problem," she smiles.
I'm startled awake by a phone ringing. My head whips around as I try to remember where I am. I see Nudge fumbling with her cell phone.
"It's Fang, can you you answer it?" Nudge asks, handing me her phone.
I take it from her and hit the answer button.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ash, it turns out that I have to go to the party early, so I won't be here when you guys home. I'll send a car to pick you up," Fang tells me," Will you tell Nudge?"
"Sure," I yawn.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just woke up," I tell him.
"Oh, sorry," Fang says," I'll let you go, so you can get back to your nap."
"It's okay, thanks though," I laugh," I'll see you in you in about an hour."
"Alright, bye Ash."
I hand the phone back to Nudge. Hers eyes stayed glued to the road as she takes it from me.
"What did he say?" Nudge asks.
"He had to leave for the party, but he'll see us soon."
"Alright," she says.
"Ian, we're leaving," I yell, up the stairs.
"Okay," he calls," I'll be down in a minute."
I huff. It's interesting how women are always portrayed as taking the longest to get ready.
"Is the car here?" Angel gasps, running down the stairs, as she tries to fasten a bracelet to her wrist.
"Yeah, it's been here for a while," I inform her.
"Shit," she mutters," We need to go."
"I know," I agree," But everybody is taking a long time."
"Get down here now!" Angel yells.
I hear something drop upstairs and then there is a small cry. Nudge then rushes down the stairs.
"Really Angel?" Nudge asks, pushing an eating into her ear," You made me drop my makeup all over the floor."
"Too bad," Angel tells her," We're leaving."
It takes us another fifteen minutes to get out the door, because Kinsey begins to complain that she can't find the movie she wants to watch while we're gone, and Ian can't figure out how to tie his tie. In the end, Nudge tells Kinsey that she can watch whatever she wants to watch (even if it's rated R), out of desperation and I tell Ian that he can't wear a plain tie, he has to wear a bow.
It turns out that Fang sent a limo to pick us up, which Nudge is thrilled about. I on the other hand am not. It's so odd to have grown up on my own and then suddenly enter into the world of the rich.
We arrive at the front of the building and the chauffeur opens the car doors for us. Camera lights blind us as we exit the limo. Before I can bring my hand up to cover my eyes, the flashing suddenly stops.
"What just happened?" I ask Nudge, softly.
"I don't think we're who they hoped that we were," she whispers back," Celebrities get invited to these type of events."
"Oh," I murmur.
We walk through the building doors and enter into a giant lobby, which is holding the party. I gasp in disbelief.
"This is amazing," Ian says, taking my hand.
I nod in agreement. I've never seen anything like this in my entire life. Everything is so formal and foreign.
In the center of the lobby people or dancing, while on the outskirts of the room, there are dining tables. At one end of the room there is also a stage set up for speeches.
"Why don't you two go and get some drinks," Angel says to me and Ian," I'll go get us a table and Nudge can wait here for Fang."
"Okay," I answer her, and Ian and I begin walking toward the bar area.
"I'll have four glasses of wine," Ian tells the bartender.
"Ian, I'm too young to drink," I whisper.
"It's okay," he insists," They don't check I.D.."
"If I get caught I'm blaming you," I inform him.
"Relax. Its not my fault that you're two years younger than me," Ian laugh, kissing me on the cheek," I'll be back in a few minutes, I have to go to the bathroom."
FANG POV
I weave in and out of the crowd, trying to search for Ash. I look down at my watch. They should have been here by now. I scan the room again. I spot Nudge near the entrance of the room and I begin to walk towards her.
As I get closer I gawk slightly. She looks amazing. She's wearing a deep purple, strapless mermaid gown. Her hair is curled in perfect tendrils, that reach just below her shoulders. For the first time, I realize that she really is a woman. She is no longer the little twelve year old girl that I last saw twenty years ago.
"Hey," I mutter.
"Oh my gosh, Fang," She gasps," You should have told us where to meet you."
"Sorry," I whisper," Where is Ash?"
"She went to go get drinks," Nudge tells me.
"Oh, okay."
I suddenly spot a splash of bright red hair across the room by the bar. Whoever it is, is wearing a seductive red dress. Something about her calls out to me. I sense Nudge following my gaze. I take a step forward.
"No Fang, stop-," Nudge says, but before she can finish, I am pushing through the crowd, trying to reach the mysterious red head. I hear Nudge calling my name, but I don't listen, i just continue making my way through the massive crowd. Some people turn and give me dirty looks, but instantly stop when they realize who pushed them. I pay them no mind. My head is focused on one thing, the alluring red head.
I stop when I am five feet away from her. I search my mind, trying to figure out what to say to her.
"Where did you come from?" I whisper, seductively into her ear.
Her head turns to look at me. Her eyes widen in shock. I don't understand why, until I realize that I am looking into a pair of familiar chocolate brown eyes. Her breath hitchs slightly.
"Ash," I murmur, in embarrassment.
"Yeah," she gulps.
"Your hair," I squeak," It's red."
'Yes," she nods.
"Why?" I ask, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.
"This is my natural color," she says, reaching up to touch her hair, as if I just insulted it.
We both stare at each other in shock for a few moments, until I hear someone say my name. I turn to see Mark standing behind me.
"Hey, Mark," I say, trying to recover.
"Who's this," Mark asks, suggestively (as if she's my girlfriend or "mistress"), motioning to Ash.
"Th- this is my uh daughter," I stutter.
"Oh," Mark coughs, in surprise. I can tell he feels bad for insinuating that we have a "romantic" relationship (Mark's definition of being romantically involved with a woman is meeting her, getting her number, taking her to dinner, having sex and then not calling her again (unless she happened to be really good in bed) and then moving on to another woman).
"I'm Ashley," Ash says, from behind me.
"It's nice to meet you Ashley," Mark tells her, reaching out to shake her hand," Where's Hannah?"
"Who's Hannah?" Ash asks, confused.
She looks at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. I don't want to tell her, because I fear she might resent me because I raised Hannah while as grew up without parents. Although I guess it wouldn't be my fault, because Max never told me that she was pregnant, then again, I did tell Max not to look for me.
"I finally found you," Angel gasps, coming up next to me, which gets me out of explaining who Hannah is.
We all turn to stare at her, because she's interrupted our awkward moment. Angel wavers slightly, sensing the awkwardness. By the way she is looking at me, I can tell that she is trying to search my thoughts. If she gets so much as an inkling of what just happened between me and Ash she doesn't show it. Instead of revealing what she knows, she smiles sweetly, yet politely, at Mark.
"And who are you?" Mark asks.
"I'm Nick's sister, Angeline," She tells him.
"Well, Nick's sister, Angeline, would you like to dance?" Mark asks her, in attempt to flee the awkwardness.
"Sure," Angel smiles, taking his hand.
Mark gives me a look that tells me that we need to talk, as he walks away with Angel. I know he wants to know about why I never told him that I have a daughter, even though he's known me for the past fifteen years.
Ian happens to return just as Mark and Angel leave, and he takes Ash to dance.
ASH POV
Ian slowly spins me around, and leans me back. I stare into his bright, sea blue eyes. His lips almost reach mine, but before they can we hear a cough. We look up to see Fang standing less than a foot away.
"Can I steal Ash from you?" Fang asks Ian.
"Of course," Ian says, pulling me back up, so that we're both standing.
Ian kisses me on the cheek and then lets go of me. Fang gently takes my hand and we begin to dance slowly. We waltz around for a few minutes until Fang decides to talk.
"I'm sorry about earlier," he apologizes.
"It's fine," I tell him," Let's just not talk about it. Like ever."
"Okay," he laughs, awkwardly.
We dance in silence for a few songs. He looks as if he is about to say something, but then something else catches his attention behind us. I turn to see what he's looking at. At the entrance of the ballroom stands a girl.
"Hannah," he whispers, letting go of me, not looking away from her for one split second.
He begins to walk away. All I can do is stare. Once he reaches her, he pulls her into a hug and kisses her on the head. When he releases her I begin to notice striking similarities between the two of them.
She has the same dark hair, the same olive skin tone, and the same black eyes, which meet mine. I gaze at her for a moment, before I rush out of the ballroom, pushing and shoving anyone who stands in my way. I make my way outside, onto a balcony, where I begin to sob uncontrollably.
I'm not sure what hurts more, the fact that he moved on from my mother, or the fact that he never told me that he already had a daughter and he never told me about her. And worst of all l, she looked to be just around my age, which means that after leaving my mother he got another girl pregnant right away, unless, he had been cheating on my mother all along.
The last person in the world I thought that I could trust, the last person who might have been able to help me, the last person who I had to call family betrayed me, in the worst way possible.
I hope you likes the chapter! I worked really hard on it, its the longest one I've written so far. So please review! DON'T FORGET TO VOTE FOR WHO SHOULD BE THE FATHER OF MAX'S BABY! WE ONLY HAVE 2 VOTES SO FAR! AND REVIEW!
ALSO, THERE ARE THE LINKS FOR ASH's, NUDGE's AND ANGEL's DRESSES (FROM THIS CHAPTER) ON MY PROFILE PAGE!
AGAIN, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!
LINKS TO THE DRESSES OF ASH, NUDGE AND ANGEL ARE ON MY PROFILE PAGE
~Lillie :)
Hey, it's Lillie again,
I just wanted to ask you guys to please review, cause reviews equal inspiration and inspiration equals me actually finishing the story, so yeah. About 1% of you guys actually review (not even joking right now) and it makes me really sad. So if you want me to update and write more please review (the end is near, I promise!). There are less than 10 chapters to go in this fanfic. I PROMISE THAT IF I GET 40 REVIEWS (I SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE READ THIS FANFIC, SO IT SHOULDN'T BE THAT HARD! BUT YOU, YES YOU, HAVE TO REVIEW!) ON THE NEXT CHAPTER I POST (WHICH WILL BE IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS) I LILLIE KATERINA RIDE WILL WRITE THE REST OF ASH: A MAXIMUM RIDE NOVEL OVER MY WINTER BREAK (WHICH IS 2 WEEKS LONG) AND I WILL POST A NEW CHAPTER EVERY DAY ONCE I COMPLETE IT. How does that sound? Is that motivational? Do that and I'll do what I promised. There you go.
~Lillie :)