Here's the new chapter. The showdown. Drum roll? No? Okay... well enjoy it anyways.
R & R.
Chapter 28 – Ashley Davies versus Paula Carlin
Spencer's POV
As Ashley and I pulled up in front of my parent's house, a huge knot in my stomach formed and I had the sudden urge to puke and then run for it. I felt Ashley's hand graze over mine and squeeze it lightly and the feeling in my gut subsided. It was amazing that just a simple gesture as that could create a stillness within me that made me believe everything would all be alright.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ashley asked, now caressing my hand with her thumb as she weakly smiled at me as I stared past her at the house.
"I think so." I mumbled, taking a big breath in and letting out an even bigger sigh as I glanced at my parent's house and looked back at Ashley sitting beside me. "I just didn't realize how scary this was actually going to be... telling her."
"I'm going to be right here beside you Spence, the whole time. I promise you... everything's going to be fine." One of the many reasons I loved Ashley, she always made me feel safe. And even if things weren't going to be alright, I knew she'd always be by my side to make it better.
"Thank you, that means the world to me, Ash. I know it sounds horrible, but I always loved my mom less for not seeing what I saw in you, and now... I-I can't even imagine you not being in my life. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Spence." Ashley whispered, leaning in and kissing me passionately, I couldn't help moaning at the simple touch of her lips on mine. Ashley still had that effect on me.
"She's not going to like it," I sighed, parting from Ashley's lips as I leaned my forehead against hers. "But she's just going to have to accept it." I formed a weak smile as I got out of the car and walked around to the other side to grab Ashley's hand.
"Who knows, maybe she'll have warmed to me after ten years of being away?" Ashley suggested, cupping my face and playfully grinning at me as I rolled my eyes and shook my head at the brunette. "What? The Davies charm does work in mysterious ways, you know..."
"Somehow I don't think it has the same effect on my mother as it does me on."
"Only one way to find out for sure." Ashley replied, raising her eyebrows up and down and giving me a comfortable grin as she leaned her forehead against mine and intertwined our fingers, tightening the grip as we stood in the driveway. "Come on lover, time to tell the rents."
"Here goes nothing..." I breathed out, closing my eyes tightly and turning the door handle and knocking as I opened the front door.
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Ashley's POV
Spencer's grip on my hand tightened as she took her a step into her parent's house. She glanced back at me and I smiled back and nodded for reassurance, although honestly, I was probably freaking out just as much on the inside being in this house again. "Mom? Dad?" She yelled out for them, scanning the rooms that we could see from the doorway.
"Spencer? What a surprise!" A loud deep voice shouted from the kitchen, only seconds later to have Mr. C. emerge from the room. "And, oh wow... Ashley? Ashley Davies... in the flesh!"
"Hi, Mr. C., it's good to see you." I said politely, smiling at the man who looked like he had seen a ghost. I guess it had been ten years since he had seen me. This time it was me who tightened the grip on our hands as it drew Mr. C.'s gaze to onto Spencer and I.
"It's good to see you too, Ashley. I guess a welcome back is in order." He smiled at both of us, and then hugged me tightly before waving us further into the house. Mr. C. had always nice to me, I was going to love having him as a father-in-law.
"Is mom home, dad? I wanted to talk to you two about... er, something." Spencer nervously asked, I could feel her hand getting clammier by the second. I had forgotten how adorable Spencer was when she was nervous.
Mr. C. glanced down at our hands again before smiling and nodding at us, gesturing us to the living room to take a seat. "I'll go get her, she's just upstairs."
"So far so good." I whispered to Spencer as she began looking even more nervous as we went and sat down on the couch. "Babe, it's going to be okay." I tried to comfort her as I caressed her hand.
"My dad wasn't what I was afraid of... he'll be great. It's my mom that's going to be our problem."
"Well maybe I can talk to her... try to convince her that I'm not so bad." I crinkled my nose and smiled at the blonde, trying to get a smile out of her. A small smirk formed which made my heart jump as she glared at me shaking her head.
"We'll break the news to them first, and then if you want to take on thee Paula Carlin, I'll let you while I talk to my dad alone."
"Ashley Davies versus Paula Carlin? Hmm sounds fun." I chuckled as I tried to picture it.
"You do actually remember my mom right?"
"Blonde, blue eyes, and kind of looks like you? Yeah... I think I vaguely remember the woman." I smiled at the blonde as we heard footsteps coming down the stairs and both of our heads popped up to the open doorway.
"Probably not a good idea to use sarcasm with her... especially after we tell her the news." Spencer quickly whispered into my ear.
"Hey, honey. What a pleasant surprise you stopping by like this." Mrs. C. cheerfully smiled as her and Mr. C. came in from upstairs. Her gaze briefly stopped at me before a frown slightly appeared on her face. "Oh... hello Ashley." Mr. C. obviously broke the news to her that I was here with Spencer before they came down since her tone and reaction wasn't near what Spencer or I expected.
"Hi, Mrs. C." I couldn't help looking down as the older woman stared at me, getting this feeling in my gut that the Ashley Davies versus Paula Carlin showdown wasn't actually a good idea after all.
"So honey, what did you need to talk to your father and I for...?" Her mother asked Spencer curiously with somewhat of an annoyed tone as both her and Mr. C. took a seat across from us.
Well good news is that if either one of them faints, they're already sitting down... The bad news is if she wants to strangle me, she has a clear shot to my neck, sitting so close to us.
"Mom, dad, Ashley and I..." Spencer stopped for a second as she glanced over at me and smiled. "We're getting married." Her gaze didn't leave my eyes as she slowly spoke those three words so softly, all I could do was smile back at her.
"You're WHAT?" Her mother spat out, almost sounding like she choked on her own saliva while saying it as she coughed out afterwards and held her chest with one hand and Mr. C. with the other.
Oh boy, that look isn't good. Please don't strangle me.
"Getting married, mother. We're engaged." Spencer said again, this time more slowly as our grip tightened and both of us sat still on the couch.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Uh no...
My gaze went from Spencer's parents back to her as I saw her look down at the ground for a second. "Mrs. Carlin, you know how much I--"
"Ashley, no. Don't you dare open your silly little mouth right now, you hear me!" The woman cut me off in an angry rage, pointing at me quite violently as she stood up and started pacing quite dramatically. "This is all your doing. You couldn't have just stayed in Europe where you belonged."
She did NOT just cut me off. Hell no.
"No, I won't be quiet." I replied, standing up and stomping over to her so I was standing in her face, Spencer jumped up after me and tried to hold me back. "I know I'm not the one you want Spencer to be with, but I'm the one she chose. And no matter what, I'm always going to be there for her as long as she needs me to be."
"Ashley..." I felt Spencer grab my hand as she crept out from behind me and joined me at my side in front of her mother.
My gaze was no longer on her mom, but on Spencer as I couldn't hold back a huge smile. "Spencer, she need to hear this. There's not a thing in this world that I wouldn't do for your daughter."
I looked over at Spencer again who stood beside me stronger than I've seen her, not nervous at all anymore as she gripped my hand tighter as she glanced back at me and smiled. "And although she'll never admit it, she does want your approval for this wedding which means I do too because I know how important family is to her. And that's why we are here right now, telling you that we are going to have a future together. So... you can either accept that I'm going to be in your daughter's life and be a part of our new life together, or--"
"Or what..." Her tone was sharp as her glare did not falter off of me. I didn't waive either as I stared back, clutching Spencer's hand firmly.
"Or you can have your daughter resent you for not taking the chance to get to know me and giving me a real shot. Either way, I'm going to marry your daughter, Mrs. Carlin. We would just rather we do it with your blessing."
"I don't know what I'm exactly supposed to say to that Ashley..." She replied, coming out as hard sarcastic laughter as she crossed her arms unappreciatively in front of me and quirked her eyebrow. "Other than I think both of you are making a huge mistake."
"And why is that mom?" Spencer spat out, emphasizing 'mom' in a harsher tone than I was used to hearing from her. "The only reason you think this is a mistake is because it's Ashley."
That was enough to get Mr. C. to get out of the couch. He had been quiet though this whole thing, but I guess with the hostility vast approaching, he thought he needed to step in and say something. "Spencer... stop, you have just thrown all of us off, that's all. We didn't even know Ashley was back in the country, or that you were back together and here you are telling us you two are getting married. Everyone just needs to calm down so we can talk about this rationally."
"No dad... If it was anyone else, she'd be jumping in the air right now, but no... the one person I actually do love, and she can't be happy for me. I love Ashley and she loves me, why can't you just accept that, mom?"
Is it wrong for me to be smiling right now? Because I definitely am... I'm smiling my ass off at my girl.
"I will never accept that--"
"Paula!" Mr. C. yelled, trying to stop her from saying anything she would regret.
"Arthur, please... I don't accept it because I don't think Ashley is good enough for you, I don't think she's stable enough for you. What's to say that she won't run off to Europe again when you two find yourself at a crossroad. I don't accept this because Ashley isn't the type of person you spend a lifetime with."
"Paula, stop!" Mr. C. yelled again, this time his wife listened to him as he pulled her back from us and began walking her out of the room. "I'm sorry girls, maybe you should go..."
"I think we better too, dad. I can't believe for a second that she might actually be reasonable about this..." Spencer cried out, grabbing my hand firmly and dragging me out of the front door. I could tell she was more than fuming as she slammed the front door behind us and almost ripped the passenger door off my car when she got in.
"Are you okay, Spence?" I asked, grabbing her hand instead of putting my keys in the ignition. Her hands fell to her face as her body semi collapsed. "Spencer?"
Her lifted her head to me, her eyes looking like they were about to tear. Her eyes exhibited nothing but pure sadness. "So much for being subtle and talking to her alone..."
"I'm sorry, subtle was never my thing..." I apologized, leaning my forehead against her and cupping her face gently as I sighed out softly.
"Thank you Ashley, for doing this with me." She whispered, kissing me softly and weakly smiling. "I can't believe you said that all to my mother..."
"I wasn't going to let her talk to us like that... and besides I love protecting you, Spencer. I will always protect you, from whatever the world holds for us in the future, I'll protect you as best as I can."
Her lips were on mine again as I felt her hand slide down my face and rest on the my neck. "Well, you definitely won round one in my books."
"You did pretty well yourself there, babe..." I laughed, patting her lightly on the thigh as she smiled back at me. "I didn't think you had it in you, obviously I was wrong. Spencer Carlin is feisty."
"Well I guess round one goes to both of us then."
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A/N: So there it is, let me know what you think.
I don't have anything planned out after this chapter, so updates will be much slower so I'll have to decide where I want to go with the story.
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