Mason Park - Chapter Four

Three hours later.....

After Chandler had returned from Monica's apartment, he had taken a short nap and then set about his tasks for the day.

Everybody had gone off to work and wouldn't be back until at least five, that gave him plenty of time alone.

He dug through the drawers in his room, looking through stacks of papers, searching through his night table until he finally found what he was looking for.

He stared down at the piece of paper, reading the few words it had on it.

Ashely Carson -

555-1708

He stuffed the small paper in his pocket and went into the kitchen, searching everywhere until he came up with the phone book.

The large book had thousands upon thousands of names in it, but he only wanted to find one.

Carson, Aaron: Carson, Adam: Carson, Ashton . He slowly dragged his finger down the page, reading off each name as his finger touched it.

Carson, Ashely! He scribbled the address down on the same piece of paper and threw the phone book back in the drawer he found it in.

He put on his jacket, grabbed his keys, and wrote a quick note to anybody that would come back to his apartment looking for him.

Went out for a walk and to get some other things taken care of. I don't know when I'll be back.

-Chandler

It was simple and enough to ease them from worrying about where he was.

He walked as fast as he could back into his room to grab his crutch and left the apartment.

Half an hour later, he was standing in front of her door with a small, nervous smile on his face.

He raised his fist and knocked on the door three times before stuffing his hand back in his pocket.

Footsteps could be heard and then the giggling of locks on the door before it opened fully to reveal a tall, skinny, beautiful, golden haired woman with eyes blue enough to match his own. She was dressed in jeans and a dark green t-shirt that fit her perfectly.

"Ch--Chandler." She stuttered, a smile crossing her face as she took a few steps forward to wrap her arms around him in a friendly hug. "What are you doing here? What's with the crutch, and the cast?" She asked, motioning to the crutch under his arm and the cast around his other one.

"It's, well, it's a really long story. I was wondering if I could talk to you?" He asked shyly. He had known this woman for two years, but to him, she was a complete stranger.

"Well-" She started.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you busy? I can come back later." He rushed, turning to walk back down the hallway.

"No! No, Chandler, I'm not busy." She laughed, pulling him back toward the door. "Come on in."

Chandler hesitantly walked into the large apartment with Ashely gently pushing him from behind.

"Wow." He said quietly, gazing around at the perfectly decorated room.

"Wow? Chandler you've been in here like 800 times." Ashely laughed, walking over toward the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Um, coffee's fine." He said, running his hand across the back of the suede couch as he walked around it.

Ashely returned a few minutes later with two coffee cups, gently setting them on the table between the two couches.

"So, what brings you here?" She asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"Well, um," He cleared his throat and wiggled around on the couch a little bit. "I was in an accident, I guess, I don't really remember what happened, and-" He stopped and cleared his throat again. "I, kinda, got amnesia, I guess." He finished and picked at the padding on his crutch.

Ashley set her cup down and stared at him. "Oh my god." She whispered, coming over to the couch he was sitting on and wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, baby.

He dropped his crutch and held on to her tightly, burring his head into her shoulder when the tears came.

This was the first time he had let himself show any sort of negative emotion that he felt toward the situation, and he was glad to have this woman's shoulder to cry on.

Heavy sobs wracked through his body and he began trembling.

Ashely rubbed her hand in circles over his back, trying to get him to calm down.

"Shh, Chandler, it's OK." She put one hand on the back of his head and began slowly rocking back and forth as if he was a small child.

After about ten minutes, it was clear that Chandler had fallen asleep, so Ashely carefully maneuvered herself out from underneath him and covered him with a thin blanket that was on the back of the couch.

She picked up the coffee cups and went to dump them in the sink. Once she was done with that, she headed into her bedroom to make a phone call.

"Hello?" A man answered.

"John? It's Ashley."

"Where are you, you're supposed to be here!" John yelled.

"I'm sorry, John. I can't come into the studio today. A...family emergency came up. I'll be in tomorrow. Bye John."

"Ashely! Don't hang-" She pressed the off button and put the phone back in it's cradle before walking back out into the living room and laying down on the other couch.

She glanced over at the remote that was on the table between them and picked it up, turning the TV on but setting the volume low so it wouldn't wake Chandler up.

Five hours later.....

It was now six o'clock, and Chandler was still asleep.

Ashley had also fallen asleep, the TV still on, casting a dim glow across the room as the sun began it's final descent below the tall buildings of New York, cutting off most of the light from entering through the giant picture windows that lined the wall.

Chandler woke up and rolled over, unaware that he was on a couch. He rolled right of the edge and landed flat on his back.

His eyes frantically searched the room, his brain trying to place his surroundings.

Ashely's apartment. He thought and quickly glanced down at his watch. 6:03, crap. I hope they found the note.

He looked up at the other couch where Ashley continued to sleep peacefully.

The low thud his body had made when he hit the ground was not enough to wake her, which he was very grateful for.

He carefully pulled himself off of the floor and brushed off, placing the blanket over Ashley. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He backed away and stood with his hands clasped together behind him.

"Chandler, it's OK. You can be, you know, normal, around me. I've known you for over two years, relax."

"I'm sorry, I just..." He trailed off and ran his hands through his hair.

"And stop saying you're sorry." She laughed and stood up to stretch. "Hey, I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat."

"Oh, I um-"

"Oh, do you have plans?" She interrupted.

"No, but-" He stopped when she cut him off again.

"Well then let's go." She walked past him and grabbed his elbow, pulling him toward the door with her.

She put on her jacket as he picked up his crutch. He took one questioning glance before she pulled him out of the apartment and shut the door.

"So, you can't remember anything?" Ashley asked over a plate of chicken wings.

Chandler shook his head and pulled at the straw of his diet coke. "They told me about you. By they I mean-"

"I know who they are, Chandler. We hung out all the time." She smiled and wiped her hands off.

"Do you just like cutting people off mid-sentence?" He joked.

"Sorry." She raised her hands in the air and leaned back. "So, what did they tell you about me?" She asked, resting her elbows on the table.

"Well, they told me that we went out for two years. They said you're a singer and the reason that we broke up was because that we couldn't really find time for each other, but we're still good friends."

"Do they have spies follow us around or something?" She laughed and picked at another wing.

Chandler shook his head and laughed. "So, how's the album coming?"

"Pretty good. I've got just a few days left before it's finished. It comes out sometime in November, I'm not sure of the exact date yet. So, why did you want to talk to me?" She put the wing down and stared at him intently.

"I'm not really sure. Something just told me that I had to get to you, that you needed to know, that you could fill some holes. I don't know what I was expecting from you, but this is nice." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Well, I'm glad you came to me. I'm not sure why, either, but I am." She rested her head on her hand and glanced down at her wrist. "It's getting pretty late. Do you have anywhere to be?"

"What time is it?" He asked, looking down at his own watch.

"9:17."

He shook his head and threw some money on the table.

"Let's go to a movie or something." She jumped up and took his hand, helping him stand up.

"OK." Chandler stood up and leaned back down to grab his crutch. "But I no longer have any more cash, so you have to pay."

She laughed and dragged him out of the small diner.

They walked hand in hand down the sidewalk, talking about random things and staying away from the subject of Chandler's condition.

"I really wish I could remember some of the things we did together." Chandler sighed and moved his arm up around her shoulders.

"It's not the things that made us special, Chandler. Every minute with you was special, and you wouldn't let it be any other way." She smiled up at him and leaned her head against his shoulder as they passed Central Park. "Oh the park! Let's go for a walk, I don't want to see a movie anymore."

She wrapped her arm around his waist and guided them toward the park.

They walked quietly along a path, no words needed to be said.

"You know, we took a walk along this very path after our first date." She said quietly.

"Really now?" He asked, glancing down at her as she turned her head up at him.

"Yup. And we had our first kiss right on that bench up there." She pointed her arm toward a bench about 15 feet up.

Chandler smiled and guided her over to the bench, slowly taking a seat when they reached it.

He laid his crutch down next to it and turned to face her.

He lifted his hand and gently caressed her cheek through his glove covered hand.

She slowly leaned in and brushed his lips with her own, deepening the kiss when he responded.

It lasted for a few long seconds before Chandler pulled away and looked down at the ground.

"Ash, I'm not sure we should be doing this. I mean, I know you, but then again, I barely do."

"I totally understand."

"You do?" He looked up at her.

"Yea, I know this must be hard for you. I don't want to make you jump into anything, you've been through a lot."

He smiled at her and then wrapped his arms around her. "You're too great."

"I know." She laughed.

"I should probably call Monica and let them know that I'm still alive."

"You can go home if you want, you don't have to stay with me."

"No, I want to. I just don't want them to get all worried and send out a search party."

She laughed and stood up, once again helping him stand.

"You can call from my place if you want."

"Sounds great." They both began to walk back to her apartment, a smile on each of their faces.

"I'm gonna go make us some more coffee." Ashely pointed toward the kitchen as she hung her jacket up. "I'll be right back."

Chandler shrugged out of his jacket, carefully sliding it over the cast on his wrist, and hung it up next to hers.

He hobbled over to the couches for the second time that day. He heavily sat down and after taking a quick glance around the room, noticed that there was a fireplace.

He got back up and studied it for a moment before getting down on his knees and throwing some logs in. He stuffed some pieces from the pile of newspapers in between the logs and took a match from the box that was on top of it.

He lit the match and held it to as many pieces of paper as he could before it burnt down to his fingers. After flicking the remainder of the stick into the small fire, he stood up, brushed himself off, and sat on the small love seat in front of the fire place.

"OK, I got the coffee." Ashley came out of the kitchen, holding another two cups, one in each hand. "What's with the fire?" She smiled and sat down next to him.

He shrugged and took a cup from her. "I like 'em."

"Me too." They both took a minute to enjoy the sounds of the crackling fire before starting up a conversation. "So, what do you think you're going to do now?" She asked, taking a sip from her cup.

He chewed on his bottom lip and ran a finger around the rim of his cup. "I'm not sure. I haven't really had that much time to think about it yet. I mean, what if I never get my memory back? How do I just go back to living a life that I know nothing about?"

"I guess this is just one of those wait-and-see kind of situations, huh?"

He didn't reply to her question and stared thoughtfully into the fire. "I need some fresh air. I'm gonna go stand outside for a little bit, feel free to join me." He motioned toward the set of double doors the led out onto her balcony and stood up, not bothering to grab his crutch before heading out.

They had spent all night outside, she knew the real reason that he wanted to go out, even though he didn't.

She smiled and set her coffee cup down on the side table and followed him out. She had done this thousands of times with him before and she knew exactly what to expect.

She rested her arms on the balcony's edge and looked over to him, waiting for the words he always said.

"You can't see the stars." He said quietly.

"Yes, you can." She replied, earning a questioning look from him.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"You just have to look hard enough." She glanced over to him before they both looked back up to the sky. "Just because youcan't see them doesn't mean they're not there."

"Just because I can't remember it doesn't mean it didn't happen." This time it was her turn to throw him a look and he just laughed in response to it. "I know this has happened before. When you followed me out here, I knew exactly what to say, and exactly how to reply." He smiled and took her hand, turning to face her.

"Why has this happened before?" He asked.

"Joey." Ashley whispered, looking out over the city from the eighth floor.

Chandler nodded his head and turned to face the apartment, studying the cast that covered his wrist and part of his hand.

The pained look on his face was too much for any man to carry and she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his right arm around her and gazed down into her eyes.

Time seemed to slow down as he moved his head lower to meet her lips in sweet kiss, quickly building to be more passionate as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he slid his hands up her back.

He slowly started backing inside, moving over toward the fireplace. The apartment was a split level and they both knew that they'd never be able to stay apart long enough to make it up the stairs to her bedroom.

He gently laid her down and hovered over her, using his good arm to balance himself.

"Ashley stopped and firmly put her hands on his chest. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked, not really wanting him to say no.

"Positive." He leaned back down and smiled into their next kiss, both knowing where the night was going to lead them.

to be continued.....

Wow, am I tired or what? I didn't sleep at all last night, I was at an all night party that was just the best ever. We played giant monopoly, anybody know what that is? You play in teams of five or six people, and when you land on somebody's property, your whole team has to cram into a car and drive to a certain house in the city to pay the rent. We broke at least six laws all at once, but don't turn me in or this story won't get finished. We went midnight bowling, we played sardines, and we played diaper wars, I'll tell ya, running around outside at four in the morning really takes it out of ya! It was awesome though, at around six in the morning, not a couch or a row of chairs was to be spared, everybody was wiped.

But anyway, these reviews are really lacking. I got 14 for chapter one, 10 for chapter two, and I forgot how many I got for chapter 3. But I'm already guessing that this chapter isn't going to get many, and after I got all those reviews for the first two chapters, this just makes me want to cry. Are you guys still even reading this? Do you even care anymore? I'm not going to continue writing the story if nobody is reading this, I've got other stuff to do.

So please, if you're reading this story, take a few seconds to review and let me know you're still out there!

-McB