Diclaimer: Ok I forgot to do this for the first 5 chapters but I only own the characters that you don't recognize. Everyone else owns themselves.
Chapter 6 : This is How the Heart Breaks
December 1993
Christmas was in one day and of course Ashley waited to the last minute to shop for John's present. Marc and I decided to go with her.
"Marc, what do you think John would like?" Ashley asked.
"Get him anything I know he'll love it because you bought it" Marc replied some what hesitantly.
"You ok sweetie?" I asked.
Marc gave me a half smile, I knew something was up. Ashley finally picked out a gift for John, she bought him a Rolex. Marc drove us home, Ashley happily went to our room to wrap the gifts she had bought. Marc and I sat in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate.
"Seriously what is wrong with you?" I asked after a considerable silence.
" I know something and it involves Ashley and my cousin, it's not good" he said.
"What is going on?" I asked already knowing what he is about to say.
"You know his friend Liz?" Marc asked.
I had never met Liz but I had heard about her on many occasions aka when Ashley was bitching about her and John not being able to spend some alone time because John always wanted to hang out with Liz too.
"Yes" I replied.
"Well apparently John has been wanting to get with her for a while but he doesn't know how to break up with Ash" Marc explained.
"Oh my God! I am going to beat the shit out of him and his new plaything" I yelled/
"You can't" Marc said "we aren't supposed to know"
"So what I'm supposed to let my sister get her heart broken?" I asked.
"You have to" Marc said "and believe me I don't like this anymore than you do"
I was so frustrated at this moment John was going to hurt my sister and there was nothing I could do about it.
"I'll see you later tonight" Marc said.
I nodded and Marc kissed me on the cheek before leaving. Ashley entered the kitchen, she grabbed a soda and had a seat next to me.
"You look irritated what did Marc do now" Ashley said.
"Ashley we are sister right?" I asked.
"Last time I checked" she replied.
"You know you can talk to me about anything right?" I asked.
"Addie, you are scaring me" Ashley joked.
"Damn it I am serious!" I yelled.
"Ok something is up, what do you know?" she asked.
"Maybe we could stay in tonight and watch movies" I suggested.
"What are you talking about… John will be home tonight and besides when have we ever not spent Christmas eve with John's family, Carol and John are like mom and dad's best friends"
That Christmas eve seemed to takes days to end. John came over at about 6 and asked if Ashley wanted to take a walk. I watched her from our bedroom window she was smiling but her face when she came home was nothing like that.
"You knew" she said when she got home.
"Marc told me this afternoon I wanted to tell you but you wouldn't have believed me even if I did" I replied.
"You want to talk about it?" I asked.
"I don't even know where to start… it's like my mind understands what is going on but my heart doesn't"
I could see that she was desperately trying not to cry, I wanted to cry for her.
"He isn't worth it" I said.
"I want to believe you but it hurts too much right now" Ashley said.
It took Ashley a long time to get over John, it seemed like she never would. But then one day she woke up and decided to live again. I think Maddie living with us helped out a lot. Her parents had been killed in a car accident and our mom and dad adopted her, they had always said she was like another daughter to them anyways. Ashley went on to go to Tufts Medical School in Medford Massachusetts and she got her bachelor's degree in medicine. She became a physical therapist. John's football skills got him into Springfield collage. He and Liz dated for 6 years and were engaged, to this day I don't know why he called it off and I really don't care. John was never my favorite person and he probably never will be, we have our issues with each other. But you have no idea what I am talking about but you will.