Chapter 5: What Matters The Most

All of a sudden, Ellie's mom storms in the place, drunk. She stumbles over to Ellie, who is in shock. She throws Sean off of Ellie.

"Get off my daughter," Mrs. Nash exclaims.

"Mom, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the rehab center in Michigan," Ellie said, concernedly.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that! You're not my mother! Now, what is this thing all about?"

"It's just a welcome home party for Sean…"

"You know what, I don't trust you. So, let's go home, Eleanor."

Mrs. Nash tries to drag Ellie to her car. But Ellie refuses to go. This makes Mrs. Nash very mad.

"I said, go home, Eleanor!"

"I don't live with you anymore, mom! I don't have to obey your orders anymore! You can't control me!"

"To hell I can't! Now, let's get a move on, Eleanor!"

"I'm not leaving!"

Mrs. Nash slaps Ellie across the face. Sean cuts in and shoves Mrs. Nash away from her daughter.

"Don't slap her," Sean shouted.

"You- you don't touch me," Mrs. Nash yelled.

"Mom, I live with Sean now," Ellie interrupted.

Mrs. Nash takes Ellie by her wrist and holds her tight with a knife against Ellie's throat. Ellie shrieks when this happens. The music is turned off and everyone stops talking and looks at Ellie.

"I can do this the easy way or the hard way, Eleanor," said Mrs. Nash.

"Mom, let go of me," Ellie cried out.

Craig and Ashley watched in shock. Craig took his phone out.

"That's it. Ash, I'm calling the cops," Craig whispered to Ashley.

Craig dials 911.

"Hi, this is Craig Manning. We have an emergency down at the Teenage Wasteland. There is a girl with a knife against her throat."

"We'll be there immediately," said one of the police officers.

Craig hung up. In a few minutes, the cops bust into the club, armed with guns.

"Back away from the child, ma'am," called one of the cops.

"That isn't what matters the most right now. I just want to get my child home. I really don't need this now," Mrs. Nash said, viciously.

"Ma'am, we are asking you kindly to put away the weapon and let go of the girl," another cop explained.

Mrs. Nash threw down the knife and put her hands in the air. The cops went up to her and handcuffed her. They put her in one of their cars and take her to the station. Ellie is sitting on the floor crying. Ashley sits next to her and gives her a big hug.

"Shh… It's okay now. She can't hurt you anymore. They put her away for good, now. Shh," Ashley whispered.

Ellie is immediately comforted and stands up.

"Are you okay," asked Sean.

"I'm fine, now that I know that she's gone."

"Good, because this party isn't over yet!"

At that, the music turned back on and everyone started partying again. The party continues like this for an hour, until it ended.

"All right, everyone, party's over! This place is now open to the general public! You can stay if you want," Craig shouted into the crowd.

Manny walks up to Ash, who is saying goodbye to a couple of people.

"Hey, Ash," Manny said.

Ash turns around. She looks a bit confused.

"What's up," Ash inquired.

"Didn't Craig tell you? I'm supposed to talk to you about… your condition. Seeing as I've been through it before, it'll probably help if I talk to you."

"Oh. Thanks."

"So, what do you want to do? Wait, first off, are you absolutely, 100 sure that you're pregnant?"

"I went to the doctor's office. I'm pretty sure."

"Good. So, are you going to have an abortion? Or are you going to give it up for adoption? Or are you keeping it?"

"I don't know…"

"Are there any family problems with you having a child at such a young age?"

"To tell you the truth, Manny, I haven't told my mom yet."

"You have to tell her before you decide. Oh, by the way, Craig told me that he wants you to keep it, but he doesn't care if you don't keep it."

"Why does he want to keep it?"

"I don't know. He did the same weird thing with me… he thinks it's his destiny or something… I don't know."

"Wow, Craig's weirder than I thought…"

They both laugh. By now, everyone is gone. There are some people hanging around the bar, but that's about it.

"So…?"

"I'm keeping it. I just can't bear the fact that I killed a child… and I think it would be too hard for me to let the child be adopted. I'm too attached to these kinds of things."

"I understand."

They are silent for a while. Then, Manny decides to strike up a conversation.

"What do you think is the most important thing in life? I'm just asking."

"I guess it all boils down to what matters the most, love."

"I guess you're right… How do you know if he's the one?"

"With Craig, I knew it when he asked me to marry him. At first I thought, wow, he's out of his mind. Then I thought, gee, he's serious, so he must really love me. And… that's when I knew."

"What did you say?"

"Oh, at first I said no. Then, after a while of drama, I called him and told him I'd marry him… eventually, when I was old enough."

"Wow, that must've felt so amazing."

"Do you think Spin's the one?"

"I don't think so. But, he'll do for the time being."

"If you don't think he's the one, why don't you dump him?"

"He's just too sweet. I can't break his heart like that."

"You should go out with JT."

"I've tried that once and it didn't go over too well."

"Why?"

"He just didn't measure up to… other guys I've been with."

"So, you're saying he wasn't as big as Craig and you dumped him because of it? That is the most conceited thing I ever heard. Love isn't about his size, it's about how you feel when you're with him!"

"That's heavy… We should hang out more often. You know, I always thought of you as someone who is totally boring and never has any fun."

"Me? Never have fun? What a joke! You know, I always thought of you as someone who doesn't care about people's feelings and only cares about herself."

"I am so not conceited! I actually care more about clothes than I do myself! Speaking of that… we need to get you a new wardrobe. It's just not saying the right thing… if you know what I mean."

"What does my wardrobe say?"

"Caution: Prudish, Angst-y Bitch Coming Through."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You should go for more of something that says 'Caution: Hot Mama Coming Through!'"

"Thanks. How about we go shopping on Saturday?"

"On one condition, you go to school tomorrow."

"Fine. It's a deal."

They shake hands. Ash looks at her watch. It's already midnight.

"Wow, I have to leave. It's really late."

"Yeah, me too."

They both leave the deserted club and go home. Well, in Ash's case, she goes to Ellie's house.

A/N: I know I know! Crappy Ending! yeah yeah yeah... please review. please tell me that it sucks and that my other story is so much rockinger than this. yeah right. chapter 1 of "Beautiful Mistakes" is total shit.