Chapter 3: Relationships and Kicking Ass
January 1992
Ashley and I were now freshmen in high school. Ashley had done a complete 180, she now dressed in tight jeans and t-shirts, which was the style in those days. To say she was beating the boys off with a stick wouldn't be too far from the truth. Ashley was currently dating a sophomore named Ben Davis. Ben was a pretty boy in all sense of the word. He would later on become a model but that isn't here nor there. Ben was good friends with John which is why I think Ashley had been so eager to date him. John was single and that is the way he seemed to like it. Ashley and John were still friends but their relationship was very complicated.
Ashley had one arm wrapped around Ben's waist, they were talking about something. Out of the corner of my eye I could see John watching them and he didn't look like he enjoyed the scene in front of him.
"You know if you keep staring at them like that people might notice" I said to John.
He returned to putting the books into his locker.
"I have no idea what you are talking about" he said.
"Why don't you just admit that you like her?" I asked.
"I don't like her" John said through gritted teeth "and I'd really wish you would stop saying that"
I sighed at this moment I couldn't believe that I ever like this stubborn ass. That little phase didn't last too long, it was about the time that I found out that my sister had kissed him that I lost interest, or that is what I kept telling myself.
"Ok John if that is what you want then I'll stop" I said to John sweetly.
"Thank you" he said "I have football practice but you, Ashley and Maddie are still coming bowling with me and my brothers and Marc tonight right?"
"As far as I know" I replied.
It was our Friday night ritual to go bowling with John and the boys. Nobody ever missed our Friday night hang out session for fear the other people would kick the crap out of you.
"You ready to go home sis?" Ashley asked as she slung her arm across my shoulders.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked looking at her.
It was obvious that she was drunk which was nothing new but I never thought my sister would actually get drunk during school hours.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You are drunk!" I softly exclaimed.
Ashley laughed a little "I am not".
We could barely walk out of the school normally. Our house was a 10 minute walk from school but it would have taken us a lot longer if I hadn't run into John's brother Matt who gave us a ride home.
"So she's drinking during school hours?" Matt asked as we sat on the front porch.
"I guess so" I replied.
"This Ben guy is a really bad influence on her" he said "she is 14 for Christ's sake!"
"I know" I said "but what are we going to do?"
"We can't just let him ruin her life" he said.
"And here I thought that John was the one going to ruin her life" I said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Ashley has had a crush on John for years… well that was until she met Ben" I informed him.
"Wow totally missed that one" he said.
"She's very secretive that way" I said.
"Well I'd better get home and finish my homework before tonight" He said.
"Ok see ya later" I replied.
It was about 8:30 that night and Ashley was getting ready.
"Ash we're gonna be late if you don't move it" I yelled.
She walked out of the bathroom.
"I'm not going tonight I have a date with Ben" she informed me.
"But Ashley we always go bowling on Friday with the boys" I pointed out.
"Yeah well that was before I'm with Ben now and I want to be with him" she replied.
"Fine whatever" I said as I left the house.
I met up John and the rest of the guys just outside the bowling alley.
"Where is Ashley?" John asked.
"She's with Ben" I replied.
John got this incredibly angry look on his face but he quickly shook it off.
"Well why are we standing out here let's bowl" he said.
About a half hour into the game John excused himself saying he didn't feel well. I went along with him figuring if he didn't feel well it would be better if he wasn't walking the streets alone. We had just come up onto our street, we could see Ashley and Ben just up ahead. They looked to be arguing but then he punched her in the face. In a split second John had left my side, he was kicking the shit out of Ben. I ran to my fallen sister she was bleeding from her nose and her lip, her jaw was swelling already.
"John she's unconscious" I yelled.
John stopped hitting Ben long enough to look over at Ashley. He let go of Ben's collar and let him drop to the ground.
"If you ever come near her again I will kill you" John's voice was deadly.
"Fine man whatever, the bitch wasn't worth my time anyways" Ben said staggering to his feet.
"She needs to get to a hospital" I said.
"Run in the house and call an ambulance" John ordered.
I left Ashley side and ran into the house. I called an ambulance and ran back outside. John was sitting with Ashley, he was running his hands through her hair.
"She's awake" he said to me.
"I should wait for my parents to get home" I said.
"I'll go with her" John said.
I nodded. The ambulance came and they loaded Ashley into it, John took the seat next to her. He never let go of her hand. When John found out I was writing this book he wrote down what happened next for me.
The whole ride I was scared to death. I was so afraid that she was going to die. I swore to God that if he kept her alive that I would tell her how much she meant to me and never let her go.
We arrived at the hospital and they rushed her away somewhere. I sat there for about 45 minutes before they would tell me anything and the only reason they did was because I lied and told them I was her brother.
"Mr. Mercer?" the doctor asked.
"Yeah" I replied.
"Your sister has suffered a concussion and a broken nose" the doctor said. "can you tell me what happened?"
"Her twin sister and I were walking home and we saw Ashley with her boyfriend, he hit her and she fell and hit her head on the sidewalk"
"She was bleeding from the back of her head we had to put stitches in" the doctor told me.
"Is she going to die?" I asked him.
"Of course not" he replied with a laugh.
"Can I see her?"
"I don't see why not" the doctor said. "when are your parents going to get here?"
"My sister is waiting for them at home, they should be here soon" I said.
The doctor showed me where Ashley was and I just sat there watching her sleep. I was so greatful that she was going to be ok. She started to stir.
"Hey" she said.
"Hi" I replied.
"Did you get the number of the truck that hit me?" she asked.
"Sorry I didn't" I joked.
"Aww well there is always next time" she said.
"What were you and Ben arguing about?" I asked.
Ashley sighed and thought about it for a while.
"He wanted to do stuff that I didn't" she finally said.
"He was a jerk anyways" I said "you can find someone so much better".
"I don't know" she said.
"What if I were to tell you that I wanted to be your boyfriend?" I asked.
"I'd have to say I accept and what the hell took you so long" she replied.
"Let's just say it took a punch in the face to get me to wake up" I said.
She yawned "Painkillers are working nicely I can barely keep my eyes open"
"So go to sleep" I said.
"You know I hate hospitals" she said.
"How about if I lay with you till your parents get here" I suggested.
"That'd make me feel better" she said.
I laid down next to her and put one arm around her. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, I guess I was more tired than I thought because I fell asleep also. The next thing I knew Ashley's dad Russell was shaking me awake.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"10:30 in the morning, and your parents were going crazy looking for you" Russell replied.
I quickly shot out of the bed.
"10:30 i…in the m…morning" I stammered.
"Oh yeah you've been here all night son" Lisa(Ashley's mother) said.
"How long have you guys been here?" I asked.
"Since about 2 this morning and let me just say you are impossible to wake up when you don't want to be" Russell said.
I smiled weakly.
"I'm going to get it so badly when I get home" I said.
"No you won't we called your mom and dad and told them where you were" Lisa said. "they were just mad that you didn't call"
"If I was thinking clearly I would have" I said.
"What happened?" Russ asked.
I explained to them all of what happened last night. Russ shook my hand when he found out about the beating I gave Ben.
"My little girl is lucky to have you around John" Russ said.
"I will always be around if she will let me" I replied.
If only that were true…