So, here is the next chapter, a little shorter than my other ones, but probably my favourite one so far. Why? You'll find out when you read ;). You might hate me by the end of it, though. but enjoy anyway!
Chapter Four: All I Need
I looked at my reflection in the mirror, wincing at my appearance. My eyes had swollen up to the size of a grapefruit, though Kyla kept telling me I was just over-exaggerating. Still, I continued to ignore her, instead choosing to wallow in my own self pity. Selfish, I know. I should be worrying about Spencer right now, instead of worrying about how my appearance looked. It doesn't mean I don't care about her, of course. My stomach churned as I realized that I had left Spencer with a very pissed off Carmen. Great.
I turned to Kyla, who was sitting beside my bed, in one of my comfy lounge chairs. "Yeah, this was a really great plan, Kyla." I told her, sarcasm practically dripping in my voice. I turned back to the mirror and made a disgusted face at myself before throwing the mirror back down onto the bed. I twisted around so that I was facing Kyla, who was innocently playing with her hands, pretending that she had done nothing wrong. This was usually her strategy for when a plan of hers went wrong: pretend that she had nothing to do with it.
"Look on the bright side," she said, holding her arms out as she stretched lazily in the chair. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave me a small smile.
"What bright side?" I asked.
She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Okay, there is none. But it could have been worse."
I thought about the pissed off Carmen, and the torment Spencer might be going through right now. I gestured to my eye as well. "How could it have been worse?" I was starting to lose my patience.
She pursed her lips and thought again for another few seconds. "Okay, it couldn't have been worse."
"Kyla!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the air.
"I'm only trying to help!" She yelled back, pushing herself off the chair. She walked over to the beads that served as my door and pushed them aside, peering into the living room.
"Kyla," I repeated, a little calmer this time.
She twisted her head around to look at me. "Yes?"
"Stop helping." I snapped, throwing my feet over the edge of the bed. I stood up and pushed roughly past her into the living room, headed for the kitchen. What I needed right now was possibly some strong coffee. I shook my head. That's not what I need, I thought. And I knew what I needed at that moment. I needed to know Spencer was okay.
I half-heartedly threw a couple spoonfuls of coffee grounds into the coffee maker. Closing the lid, I prepared the coffee while Kyla paced around the living room. I looked up. "Kyla, what are you doing?" I asked. "You're making me nervous."
"I am nervous," she replied, stopping her pacing for a few seconds to look at me before returning to it. "Carmen knws where we live. She could send her friends after us." She looked nervously at the door, as if expecting it to slam open any second.
"Us?" I replied. "I was the one who practically stole Spencer from her and then punched her in the face. If she's coming after anyone, it's going to be me." I watched as the coffee slowly poured into the mug, wishing it would hurry up. I needed a serious dose of caffeine, and I needed it now. I heard Kyla let out a screech as the door slowly opened. I snapped my body up straight and looked over, my heart racing.
"Aiden!" Kyla screeched, smacking him in the chest. "You're such an asshole! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" She ran a hand over her face, her other hand placed on her chest. She was clearly shaken.
I stood in the kitchen, watching as Aiden laughed and leaned over to give Kyla a kiss on the lips. My mind flashed with images of Spencer, and I felt a surge of jealousy rage through my stomach and chest. "Hey, pretty boy, what're you doing here anyway?" I asked, trying to keep the envy out of my voice.
Aiden straightened up and wrapped an arm around Kyla's shoulders. He turned to look at me. "I came to make sure you girls were all right, after everything that happened last night." He bent down and kissed Kyla's cheek. I felt myself gag.
"Aw, our own personal bodyguard," I replied sarcastically. I heard the coffee machine beep and walked over, pouring some into a mug that was laying on the counter. Taking a sip, I grimaced. Too bitter. Shrugging it off, I took another sip anyway.
Aiden beamed a little bit, and I instantly regretted feeding his enourmous ego. His hands slid down to Kyla's waist and he nodded his head towards the door. "Want to go get something to eat?" He couldn't keep the hopefullness out of his voice.
Kyla looked at me for a second before turning her attention back to Aiden. "It's three in the morning."
Aiden shrugged. "So? It's Los Angeles. Everything's open." He started walking backwards, dragging her along with him. "Come on, I'll buy you a taquito, on me." He opened the door with his free hand and waved her out.
Kyla looked at me and I nodded. "Go ahead, but bring me back one." She nodded back and ran out the door with Aiden. I heard her halfway down the hall screaming his name. I rolled my eyes and set my mug down. Before walking out of the kitchen, I turned the lights off, casting the entire apartment in darkness. I shivered a little and wrapped my arms around myself, quickly scuttering to my bedroom.
I jumped under the covers and wrapped the blankets around myself. Los Angeles was usually always hot, so why did I suddenly feel chilly? I closed my eyes and felt myself drifting into a deep sleep.
I woke up to the constant, annoying knocking on the front door. Still groggy, my hand fumbled over to the bedside clock. I looked at it. 5:00 am. Rubbing my good eye, I threw the covers off and slowly made my way into the living room. I placed my hand on the knob and turned, jerking the door open. "Kyla, did you forget your key again?" I asked, as the door opened. My hand dropped off the knob in surprise. It wasn't Kyla standing there.
"Spencer." I felt myself mouth the word, but I didn't hear my voice come out. Or if it did, it came out cracked. I don't know how long I stood there, staring at her, in my doorway. She looked so broken, so sad. Her head was tilted downwards, looking at the floor. Instinctively, my eyes grazed over her, looking for new marks. When I didn't find any that were visible, I felt my body loosen in relief.
"Hey." She said, finally turning her head to look at me. Her hands were drawn together, clasped by her stomach. I could see the sadness in her eyes as her eyes moved towards my black eye. Tears welled up in her eyes, but stayed unfallen.
"You should see the other girl," I replied, trying to make a joke. It obviously wasn't working. Her bottom lip trembled, and I opened my mouth to say something that would comfort her, something that would make her feel better. But I couldn't find any words. So instead, I stepped aside and gestured for her to come in.
Even though she had been here too many times to count, she still stepped in timidly, caustiously. She nearly jumped when I shut the door behind her. I looked down at my feet and only then realized that I was in my boxer shorts that I used to sleep in. I blushed. Not sure why. She had seen me in them before. I guess it just seemed different now that we were....just friends.
"Do you want something to drink?" I asked, heading to the kitchen. I realized that the apartment was still dark, so I turned on the light. I grabbed two glasses from the cabinet and turned around. She had come into the kitchen. She sat down at the table and I sat down as well, passing her a glass. Kyla had left the juice out again. I reached over to it and poured us both a glass.
I tapped my fingers along the glass, waiting for the silence to be broken. But I couldn't find anything to say. I looked over at her, and we locked eyes. I broke the eye contact first. It felt too awkward. "So..." I started. I thought I'd get the obvious question out of the way first. "What brings you here at five in the morning?"
She hesitated, obviously trying to find a way to answer. Instead, she took a sip of her drink. When she had swallowed her mouthful, she cleared her throat. "I wanted to see you."
This took me by surprise, I have to admit. In the last couple of months, she had been trying to avoid me. And right here, at my own kitchen table, she tells me she wanted to see me. I licked my lips as I thought of a possible answer. When I couldn't come up with anything, I did what she did. I took a large gulp of my juice. I swallowed it and started coughing. I guess I had taken too much. Way to go, Ashley. After my coughing fit was done, the silence returned. "I wanted to see you, too." Was all I could come up with. Lame, right? Then, realizing that Carmen was mightily pissed off when I had ran out of there, I asked; "What happened to you at the club? After I left?"
"I left before you did." She must have seen the surprised look on my face, because she continued on. "I snuck out after Carmen hit you. I'm sorry."
"It's fine," I said. I felt a great sense of relief fall over me. At least she was okay. For now.
She took a deep breath and took another drink. I waited patiently, watching her carefully. She finally placed her glass down, after chugging half the glass, and looked me dead in the eye. "Are you okay?" She asked gently.
She was the one in the abusive relationship, and she was asking if I was alright? This broke my heart. "I'm fine," I assured her, gesturing to myself. "She hardly got a hit in." I smiled crookedly, and I saw the hint of a relieved smile twitch at Spencer's lips. "Are you?" I asked, my voice serious now.
"No." She answered, after a few moments of silence. "I'm not." She slid her chair back and stood up. I stood up as well and followed her as she walked out into the living room. She sat on the couch and I sat on the chair next to the couch, not wanting to get too close.
"I miss you, Ashley," she admitted, looking down at the ground.
My heart leaped in the chest. I felt myself twitching, my body wanting to react to that sentence somehow. But I stayed as still as possible as I waited for her to continue.
She looked up at me finally, and a tear slid down her face. "I need you." She wiped the tear away angrily and sighed loudly. "God, I can't believe I said that." She stood up. She was jumpy tonight. "I should go. I don't know why I came here." She started toward the door, but I jumped up and grabbed her arm, gently, and pulled her back.
"Wait." I pleaded, turning her around to face me. "Don't leave." I stepped a little closer.
She stepped back. "Ashley, please." She went to look down at the ground again, but I cupped my hand under her chin and pulled her face up to look at me.
"Don't go back to her." There was a sense of begging in my voice. I felt myself wanting to cry. This came as a slight surprise to me.
"I need to," she whispered.
I shook my head and my hand slipped down to her hand. "Please." I begged, and felt tears well up in my eyes. She looked up at me with such sadness in her eyes, which made my stomach drop. "You don't need her." I could feel my body quivering, my hands trembling as I stepped closer to her. She didn't step back this time.
"If I don't go back..." She didn't finish the sentence. We both knew what would happen. She started rubbing her left arm, nervously looking at the door every few seconds.
"Stay with me." I reached out and grabbed her hand. I started caresseing it with my thumb and smiled at her faintly, trying to comfort her.
"But what about Carmen?" She asked.
"I'll look after you," I promised. I leaned down as she started to open her mouth again. Before I knew what I was doing, my mouth was on hers. I felt her try to push me away, but after a few seconds, her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist.
She moaned a little in her throat and pressed herself against me, and I fell back against the wall, still managing to hold her in my grip. One hand ran along her back, the other running through her hair. My hands fumbled towards her jacket, and I unzipped it clumsily. She shrugged it off and threw it behind us.
She pulled back for a second, breathing heavily. I looked her over. "Spencer..." I started, but she cut me off with a quick kiss. She pulled away again and stumbled over to my bedroom, dragging me along with her.
We burst through the beads and onto my bed, me toppling on top of her. I hovered above her, not wanting to put all my weight on her. We broke apart again as my mouth moved down to her neck. Her breath was heavy on my face, and I felt her hands tugging at the belt of my jeans.
It was something I would regret later, but I pulled away from her, rolling over to the side. She sat up and looked at me, disappointment in her eyes. I stood up, pushing myself off the bed and turned to face her, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry." She said, getting up as well. "I don't know what got into me." She flushed a little.
"Don't be," I replied. I cupped her face with my hands and smiled. "I just don't want you to do anything you might regret later." I leaned up and kissed the top of her head.
She nodded in understanding and looked around the room. "My parents are out of town. Again. And Glen's at Madison's. Can I....stay with you?"
"Always." I replied without hesitation. "You take the bed, I'll go make up the couch." I started to head out of the room but heard her call my name. I twisted around, swatting beads out of my face.
"Can you stay with me?" She asked nervously, rubbing her arms. "I don't want to be alone."
I nodded and walked over to her, bringing her into a tight hug. I felt her arms tighten around me briefly, before she let go. She headed over to the bed and pulled back the covers on the father side. She slid into the sheets, and I followed suit. She rolled over to face me, and I smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist, and pulled her closer. She closed her eyes and her breathing slowed. I watched her for the next couple of minutes before my eyelids got too heavy and I closed my eyes.
"I love you." I whispered, before falling asleep.
Okay, don't hate me! There were three different directions I could have taken this chapter, but I chose this one for a reason. If I had let them continue in the direction they were going, it would seem too fast. So, being the good friend/ex-girlfriend that she is, Ashley had to put a stop to it before Spencer regretted it. But the question is, what will Spencer do now? And what about Carmen? Hope you enjoyed, and I look forward to your feedback!