Ashley : Divergence

Everything around me was a blur. I knew it was going to take a couple of days for everything that's happened to properly sink in. Kyla was yelling at me from afar, I saw from the corner of my eye as she jumped into her Civic. It was still safe to get away from this chaos. Chaos in the form of police squad cars, descending on us like an avalanche. The helicopter has already landed, and I watched Spencer run towards the EMTs, guiding them back to Madison and Aiden.

Spencer.

She was still on her feet. Despite a botched gunshot wound. Despite a mangled face, and probably a broken rib or two. Despite what I really hoped was a broken heart.

I just wanted her to feel what I felt; the pain, the betrayal. I never meant to shoot her. I never meant to turn out the kind of person that Kyla is. It wasn't in me to hurt people, even though all I wanted to do was to hurt Spencer. I just wanted her to know that I hurt, because she meant so much to me, but she made me feel like I didn't mean anything at all.

I probably didn't.

It didn't make it less painful.

"Ashley!"

I was rooted in my footsteps, conflicted about my options. Stay, or go?

Spencer made up my mind for me when she stopped, realizing with surprise that I was still here. Kyla was still here. I knew she was after Kyla. She started running towards us. And that is when I turned and ran towards my criminal sister. Blood is thicker than water, right?

"What took you so long? Get in!"

I jumped in and shut the door, my heart pounding in my ears as Kyla pulled away. I dared to look behind us. The hordes of police cars stopped at the crime scene. No-one was coming after us. We were getting away. Kyla was getting away…

I was slightly disappointed.

My mind played that dirty black-and-white-memory-reel trick on me. I remembered the first day Spencer came to the coffee shop. I remembered how I felt when I first saw her. Blonde hair in a loose ponytail, strands falling into her eyes, those big blue eyes, lit up by the most beautiful smile. She loved wearing her worn-down jeans, band T-shirts, and her black Converse shoes. She took my breath away. She carried herself with so much confidence, yet when we were alone, I saw a softer, gentler side. The side that made me fall in love with her.

In love…

I always thought it only happened in fairy tales. I knew now that it really did only happen in fairy tales. There was no such thing. Humans were too deceiving, too violent, too greedy. My own parents couldn't even stay in a monogamous relationship. I wondered how my life would have turned out if they did. They might still have been alive, Kyla wouldn't be in the picture, and I wouldn't be here, running away from heart-ache.

"…from Clay?"

Huh?

I saw Kyla's mouth moving but the volume was on mute. The pitch of her voice was just too much sometimes. Like now. I didn't even know why I got into the car with her.

I wasn't going to run. I wasn't going to go to Mexico with her. I didn't do anything wrong. I had nothing to hide.

Okay, I shot a cop, but she deserved it. She really deserved not to be standing right now. I wasn't sure if I wanted her down on the ground or down in my arms. She didn't deserve to be up and trying to save lives, did she? The line between love and hate got blurred somewhere.

"…fucking cop off my back!"

What?

"What?" I stared at Kyla, the volume back on.

She nodded towards the rearview mirror, profanities leaving her mouth in strings that never ended.

My heart felt like it just got revived by a defibrillator – and I frowned – I haven't even realized that it'd died. I stared at the mirror, and kept staring, at an orange spec that grew bigger as it came closer to us. Soon it was all I could see. That, and the occupant inside the car. Blonde hair in a loose ponytail, strands falling into her eyes, those big blue eyes. There wasn't a smile, but I didn't care. What mattered was that she was there…