After this chapter, only one more. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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After sending the message, Ashley shook her head. "…only one thing left to do…" She rummaged around in her bags for a while until she finally found what she was looking for. She made her way to the bathroom, and took a breath. A flick of the wrist, and the blade popped out.
Whatever comes after has to be better than the hell I'm in now… she thought, holding the switchblade up to her neck, staring down her reflection.
She nearly dropped the knife in surprise when she heard a knock at the door. "…dammit…" she muttered.
"Ashley… open up, I know you're in there…" Max called out.
She glanced at her reflection, and then over at the door.
"What are you doing?" a voice behind her asked, causing her to nearly jump a foot in the air.
Sweet berries ready for two
Ghosts are no different than you
Ghosts are now waiting for you
Are you...
Sweet berries ready for two
Ghosts are no different than you
Ghosts are now waiting for you
Are you dreaming?
Dreaming the night?
Dreaming, all right…
"…get away from me…" Ashley muttered, covering her ears. "You're not real… it's all in my head…"
"Ashley… what are you doing?" Molly half-shouted.
"Got to get away… get away from you… got to get away… from you…" Ashley muttered, running a hand through her hair distractedly. Realizing she wouldn't be able to get past Max, she looked for another exit route…
When Max finally let himself in, Ashley's laptop was still on, open to the message she had just sent Keely, and the window was wide open, a slight breeze wafting in.
Do we, do we know
When we FLY?
When we, when we go
Do we die?
Ashley reached the car, and wasn't surprised to see that Molly was already in the passenger's side, waiting for her. She shook her head, stared straight forward, and started up the engine.
"Ashley, listen to me…" Molly pleaded.
"No. You're not real," Ashley muttered.
Molly seemed to find this endlessly amusing. "Ashley… what are you talking about? I'm here, am I not? I'm talking to you… of course I'm real."
Ashley shook her head. "It's all in your head…" she whispered to herself. "…it's all in your head. It's all in your head…"
"Yeah, yeah, amidst the mists and coldest frosts, with stoutest fists and loudest boasts, he thrusts his fists against the posts, and still insists he sees the ghosts… Come on, Ashley. I don't know what you're trying to do, but I'm not just going to vanish off the face of the earth just because you think I'm not real…"
Ashley bit her tongue.
"Ashley…"
…if you had any idea what the hell I'm going through…
Sweet berries ready for two
Ghosts are no different than you.
Ghosts are now waiting for you.
Are you...
Ashley passed the local radio station, KOMA ("Easy, peaceful listening…" claimed the slogan), along the street, still trying to clear her mind.
"Ashley, please… think about what you're doing…"
"I have thought about what I'm doing," she snapped.
"But… but…"
"I never thought I'd die alone…" Ashley muttered. "I never really thought about my own mortality until Bonnie died. Before then, I was the happiest girl you would've ever met… Who'd have thought it would've come to this…"
"Ashley, it doesn't have to!"
"I just hope that Keely and Mom realize that this isn't their fault…" Ashley muttered.
"No... Ashley, you-"
"I'm just too weak for my own good… whatever is on the other side has got to be better than this…"
Sweet berries ready for two
Ghosts are no different than you.
Ghosts are now waiting for you.
Are you dreaming?
Dreaming the night?
Dreaming, all right!
"It's funny. At night, a few years ago, when I'd think about death, it was horrifying; the thought of not being here anymore, the thought of not existing in this world… only recently, it's been helping me through the night… just the thought of being with Bonnie again… it's relaxing… I'll be with her again…
"It was so much better when I was 16... I was really alive back then… I felt like I was on solid ground… the world was so… different back then…
"I don't even feel alive anymore," Ashley mumbled. Molly was about to pipe up, but she cut her off. "But I'm ready to let go now. I've lost my fear of falling."
Do we, do we know
When we FLY?
When we, when we go
Do we die?
Ashley kept on driving, ignoring whatever voices she happened to hear.
Something caught her eye in the distance; a figure standing on the side of the road, holding something in front of it, though Ashley couldn't quite tell what it was, due to how far away she was from the blonde on the side of the road.
Once she got closer, she smiled, realizing just who it was.
LA LALA LALALALA
LA LALA LALALALA
LA LALA LALALALA
LA LALA LALALALA
Bonnie was standing on the side of the road, a noose swinging from her hand like a pendulum. A deep red mark stood out on her neck from where the rope had dug into it.
Do we, do we know
When we FLY?
When we, when we go
Do we die?
"Ashley… please… please, just rethink what you're doing…"
"…don't do it, don't do it, don't…" a tiny voice in her head begged.
"I know the pieces fit…" she muttered. She gave a final glance at Molly, then slowly turned her focus back to the road.
"I know the pieces fit…" she repeated to herself. "I know the pieces fit…"
She spun the steering wheel hard to the left, causing the car to swerve off the road.
Tires squealed, branches snapped, and the car crashed hard into a large tree.
And Ashley heard nothing.
LA LALA LALALALA
LA LALA LALALALA
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Had to beat the goddam system again tonight. Document Manager wouldn't upload...
"Question!"- System of a Down