Review Section
Daniela: Yay for something interesting! Yes, they stayed cute. It wouldn't be South Of Nowhere if they weren't cute.
MistyRiver17: Of course I went back to Spencer and Ashley. Is this soon enough for you to give me a hug?
Justlikeyou: Yay for me and capturing emotions. I always worry that I can't do that.
Author's Note
Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. It always makes me happy to know that people are enjoying my stuff.
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. They belong to Tom Lynch, the creator of South Of Nowhere.
Not Where We've Been
Chapter 6
By Persephone's Nautical Nun
I don't know how long Ashley and I stayed at the playground. We lost track of time. Funny thing, we weren't really doing anything. We just sat there in blissful silence. And she held me. She held me until I felt myself fall asleep. Then she nudged me gently and told me that we should probably go.
I didn't want to go home, though. I wasn't ready to face my mom, yet. And I wanted to stay with Ashley. She made me feel safe. I wasn't ready to leave that safety.
She seemed to read my mind, because she didn't take me home. She took me to her house. And that feeling of safety washed over me again. I felt her eyes on me as we sat in the driveway, waiting to see if I was okay with staying here tonight. I was more than okay with that. Home wasn't a good option for me. I just didn't feel safe, there.
I turned my face towards her, and she looked so strong and supportive, and so understanding. I melted at everything Ashley was. Here she was being exactly what I needed her to be, and yet, I knew that there was so much more beneath her strong exterior.
And I marveled at the fact that I was the only one who got to see all the sides of Ashley.
"Look," she started. "I understand if you don't want to stay here. I just thought that it might be easier for tonight, you know, with..."
I leaned forward and captured her lips with mine. I don't know why I did it. The situation didn't really call for it, but it felt right. Because she was so beautiful to me right now. "I want to stay here."
She flashed me her beautiful smile before getting out of the car, beckoning me to follow. We went directly up to her room, not bothering to even see if her mother was home so we could ask her if I could stay. She probably wasn't, anyway.
I flopped down on Ashley's bed and almost immediately fell asleep when I felt her presence standing over me. She had her eyebrow cocked and a phone in her hand. She handed the phone to me. "You should probably call home. Tell them you're safe."
I couldn't believe she was being the responsible one here. This was Ashley, wild, reckless Ashley. She must have seen the look on my face, because it wasn't long before she said, "Your mom already hates me enough. There's no way I'm letting her think I kidnapped you."
I smiled and took the phone, dialing my home number hesitantly. I was relieved when Clay answered the phone.
"Oh, my God, Spencer. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Clay, I'm fine." I paused for a moment, not sure of what to say. "How is everyone."
There was a soft sigh coming from his end. "Dad and Glen are out looking for you. Mom's in her room, crying."
Somehow, I wasn't surprised. "Clay, do me a favor. Call Dad and Glen and tell them that I'm safe. They don't have to be out searching anymore."
"Where are you?"
"Clay, I'm not going to tell you that. I know you can't lie, and if they ask you, you'll tell them, and they'll come running to get me. And I don't want to be gotten."
Silence. Pure silence was what I got for a while. "Spencer, you can come home, you know that, right? Yeah, she's pissed, but she's not going to kick you out, or anything."
"I know that, Clay, I just... don't want to be there tonight." A thought occurred to me at that moment. "How did Dad take it?"
"Honestly? He wasn't surprised. He said he knew something was going on with you since we moved here. He was just waiting for you to tell us."
"But, he's okay, right?"
"Yeah. You know this is nothing compared to what he deals with everyday."
My Dad was okay with this. That meant he might be able to do some damage control with Mom. "Look, Clay, just call them and tell them I'm safe. Tell Mom, too. And I won't be home tonight."
He sighed again. He wasn't happy being the messenger boy. "Okay, Spence. Just promise me that you'll come home and deal with this tomorrow."
I couldn't turn Clay down, and I knew I would have to face Mom sooner or later. "Alright, Clay. I promise. Good night."
"Good night."
And then I was left with a dial tone and Ashley. But, I couldn't find Ashley. I set the phone down and looked around her room. She really was nowhere to be found.
That's when I felt her arms wrap around my waist from behind, pulling me close to her body. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back onto her shoulder. I felt her breath on my ear. "Interesting move, not telling them where you are."
I spoke without moving from my position. "This moment right here. This is what I didn't want them to ruin. You and I both know that if I had told them, they would have come here to take me away, and cause even more drama tonight."
She pressed her lips against the base of my neck. "You're right. No more drama tonight."
I reached my hand behind her neck and grazed my nails along her sensitive flesh. I felt her moan onto my neck.
"Wait a minute," she said into my neck. "This isn't right. We shouldn't be doing this now." She released me from her arms and backed away from me.
I turned around and found her laying on her back on the opposite side of the bed. I crawled over to her and draped my arm around her waist, settling my head on her shoulder. I leaned my face up towards her ear and whispered, "That's good. Because I wasn't looking for that." I kissed her earlobe. "I just want to be with you tonight."
She moved her hand to hold mine, intertwining her fingers with mine. She turned her face to me and kissed me before turning off the light.
That's how we fell asleep, blissfully safe in each other's arms.