Until Dawn: Reclaiming Life
Chapter 7 of my Until Dawn story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or its characters.
Chapter 7
Chris waited nervously, glancing at his watch, he was worried. He was waiting for Ashley, she was late and, given her recent issues, it concerned him. Luckily, at that moment, he saw her arrive; due to his worries he had arranged to meet with her, privately.
He was glad he did; for it was clear Ashley certainly wasn't doing any better. She was paler than ever, still trying awkwardly to hide her facial scars with her hair.
"Ash."
She nodded, doing her best to smile; but it trembled. "Hi Chris."
She sat down next to him, there was an awkward silence. Chris wasn't sure how to approach this; but in the end, his worries won out.
"Ash, what's wrong?" He asked at last. "You've been..."
She quickly shook her head, looking like a deer in car headlights all of a sudden. "What, nothing, I..."
He spoke gently. "Ash, don't...don't do that. Just, tell me. I can see there's something wrong; I don't know why, but you've been avoiding me, I just want to help you."
"Help me?"
"Ashley, please, just talk to me." He said.
There was a pause again; this time, Chris felt as if maybe he had pushed things too far, Ashley looked as if she was struggling, as if, at any second, she was about to just, lose it.
Finally, she let out a shuddering gasp, the tears just spilled forth and she shook her head.
"Oh Chris, it's just...so stupid; I feel like..." She choked out.
Chris gently reached out, taking her hand in his. "Ash, please, just, tell me."
With a choked sob she shook her head. "I just, I felt like...Look at me, I've been disfigured so badly. My face is ruined, I've got scars all over my body, how can anybody bear to look at me. I'm too scared to even go out, I know what people think when they see my scars and, and..."
Chris tightened his grip on her hand and was about to speak.
"Now I can't even, I can't even stand to see myself and, and..." She continued. "What's the point, what's the use?"
Chris shook his head. "I thought you said your family..."
"Yes, they, they don't mind." She confirmed but shook her head sadly. "But they're my family, this is, this is different I just..."
"Ash, what exactly are you afraid of?" He asked at last.
She sniffled and shook her head. "How can we still, act as if...you can't possibly still care about me Chris, not like this, not now I'm..."
Chris sighed, he might have guessed it was this.
He turned closer and took both her hands.
"Ashley; look, I get that this is...I'm not very good at this, so I'm just gonna say it." He said at last. "I love you, I told you that; I still do, these scars, they change nothing. For me, they're just...part of you now, a sign of how you survived."
She sobbed and shook her head. "Chris?"
He nodded. "It's; it's hard that's true, people will look, will talk, will judge. But you have to think, who is that matters, only their thoughts are the ones to concern you with."
Biting her lip; Ashley shook her head. "Oh Chris, you make it sound so...simple."
"Ashley; I love you, I always will, nothing will change that."
There was a long silence, broken only by Ashley's sniffles. But finally, he felt hope, hope that he had got through to her.
For when Ashley finally looked up at him; she let her hair pull back and then pushed it back, till it looked more like he remembered it.
It wasn't until she smiled this time that he was certain that the truth had finally shone through for her.
Ashley could scarcely believe it. 'Chris he, all this time he, he never once stopped loving me. I feel so stupid now, but, but...'
She could feel her hope building and Chris could see the light returning to her eyes and grinned. She nodded, wiping away the tears and then, with no hesitation, they kissed, feelings of euphoria filling them as finally, Chris could see it, the girl he loved was back, Ashley was herself again.
End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.