Ride of Your Life
Ride of Your Life
Chapter Thirty: They Became One
A smile was on Ashley's face as she walked into John's house. John picked up on her good mood instantly and raised an eyebrow as he fed Faith.
"What's got you smiling?"
"Nothin'." Was her simple reply, yet John didn't buy it. Ashley threw the house key on the coffee table. "I'm looking for a new place." She told John.
"I hope it's close to here. I'd like to see my kids a lot."
"I know." Ashley smiled at him before giggling like mad.
John placed the empty bottle down on the coffee table before going to burp the infant.
"Phin still with Randy?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think Randy should be here with him soon."
"That's good." Ashley sat down on the couch next to John. "How's mommy's baby girl?"
"She's doing fabulous, she's been sleeping a lot, and Ash. I actually changed her diaper."
Ashley looked at John strangely. "Did you just use the word… fabulous?". She knew that was a blatant reference John was making towards his father the one and only "Johnny Fabulous".
John blinked. "Yes, I did…got a problem with that?" he asked playfully.
Ashley didn't say anything, just stared at the wall before her and sighed.
"Who's the guy?"
Ashley looked to John quickly. "There is no guy."
"Yes there is. Name?"
The woman sighed. "Bob."
"…Bob?"
"Yes, Bob."
"Is he sexier than me?" Faith burped and John rubbed her back lightly. "Good girl." He told her.
"You'll have to see for yourself tonight. He's picking me up to go out to dinner." Ashley told him.
"Dinner? What the hell, Ash. You just met him."
"John, it'll be okay. It's time for me to start dating again. I think I'm ready. I think my heart is ready." Ashley took the now sleeping baby out of John's arms and went to put her down to sleep.
"But my heart isn't." John mumbled as he watched Ashley leave the room.
--
Randy arrived with Dean and Phinnigan less than ten minutes later. John was pacing as Randy walked in.
"Hey, man. What's up?" Randy questioned as he leaned down to help Phinnigan take off his coat.
"The worst thing happened."
"What happened Uncle John?" Dean asked as he threw his jacket on the couch.
John looked at Dean. "Nothing you should worry about." John smiled and ruffled Dean's hair. "Did you both have fun today?"
"Daddy, rowar."
"Roar?"
"Yesh!" Phinnigan yelled as he threw his hands in the air.
Randy laughed as Dean and Phinnigan ran out of the room to go to their room.
Randy looked to John, "so, what's up? Did Ash come back?"
"Yes, with a date!"
"She brought a guy here?"
John shook his head no. "He's coming tonight to pick her up for dinner! His name is Bob."
Randy laughed. "Bob?"
"Yes. She's not ready to date."
"You're not ready for her to date." Randy corrected. "Besides, how can a guy named Bob be better than you? She loves you."
John mumbled. "As a friend."
"You're the father of her kids."
"We're not together, though. Not like I'd want to be and besides, she deserves to be happy."
"Yeah." Randy agreed. "She does. Well, I can tell you once the guy comes here tonight, we are going to grill his ass like a sausage."
"Like a sausage?" John raised an eyebrow. "More like a hamburger! Or…or… hell - baby back ribs!"
"Baby back ribs is taking it a little too far John." Randy remarked as he sat down on the couch.
--
"John, Randy, this is Bob." Ashley greeted. "Bob, this is Randy and John."
"Hey, I'm Bob Younger." Bob had pale skin, and green eyes. He seemed to be in good shape and could give John a running for his money in the looks department.
"Mommy!" Ashley heard Phinnigan call. She smiled at Bob. "I'll be right back, I have to check on my son." She told him before heading to Phinnigan's room.
Once she left John and Randy's fake smiles faded and was replaced by intense glaring.
"I hope you know I'm Ashley's baby daddy."
"I know." He replied coolly. "I'm a huge fan."
"Oh you are, are you?"
"I just said so…yeah."
"So, you're only using Ash to get to John?"
"I'm straight sorry." He let them know.
"Ha, likely story!" John said putting a hand on the intruder's shoulder forcefully. "If you hurt Ashley, we'll break your face."
"You know you can go to jail for assault. No reason to be jealous, John. Though, I understand…look at me. And tonight I plan to have her screaming my name while we enjoy hot wings and wild sex." Bob laughed as Ashley came into the room. She smiled at the men and John took his hand off Bob's shoulder, glaring at the man intensely.
"Uhh...we're going to go now." Ashley replied.
John hugged Ashley, surprising her.
"Have fun, and if he hurts you I'll kill him." He whispered in Ashley's ear.
Ashley smiled and whispered back. "Remember John, at the end of the day, you're the one I'm coming home to."
Bob cleared his throat and Ashley and John pulled away.
"Ready?" Bob asked Ashley, putting his arm around her waist.
"Yeah." As Bob opened the door for Ashley, Bob looked at John and smirked.
John's teeth grated together in annoyance.
--
She sighed, distressed as she laid on her back in her canopy bed. She didn't know how she could be so dumb, and got herself into this situation. Her parents were not going to be happy. The timer on her nightstand rung loudly in her ears, making her jump slightly.
Lying on her stomach was a piece of plastic that would defy her fate. She picked it up slowly and shut her eyes. Once she had it above her eyes, she opened them. She groaned.
"I'm such a dumbass." She muttered before turning it to the correct side. The digital test gave her the result.
"Pregnant." She spoke before taking a deep breath and having a tear roll down her cheek. She threw the test; it didn't go very far, though. She threw like a girl.
'I guess I should tell him…' her thoughts trailed. The fire that was usually in her eyes was dead at the moment. She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number.
"Hello?" he answered.
She was silent.
"Hello? I hope you're not trying to prank me. You know I have caller ID, Becky."
"I'm pregnant." She blurted out.
The phone line went dead on her end. He didn't hang up, she did. At that moment she regretted telling him.
Her phone rang again, he was calling. Becky pressed the ignore button, she couldn't talk to him after that call. She shut off her phone before snuggling up to her pillow and putting the covers over her head. She hoped tomorrow would be a better day.
--
"I love this place." Bob told Ashley as he pulled out her chair for her to sit.
"Thanks." She told him.
One he was seated, he began to look through the menu.
"This is a nice place." She observed. "Do you come here often?"
He had taken her to a very casual restaurant.
He looked up. "Uhh…no."
"You say that pretty hesitantly." She noted.
"Sorry, just being with you makes me nervous."
Ashley laughed. "I bet you say that to all the girls."
"No, just you."
Ashley giggled and the waitress walked over to their table.
"Hello, I'm Sierra, I'll be your waitress. May I get you a round of drinks while you're deciding what you want?" She asked shyly.
"Sure, I'll take a corona."
"And you," Sierra looked to Ashley. "I'll take a diet Pepsi."
Sierra smiled. "I'll be right back with your drinks."
"Thank you." Ashley said politely, as she turned her head to Bob.
"No alcohol?"
Ashley looked down, she didn't feel the need to tell him about her alcoholic past. "I'm not a drinker."
He looked surprised. "Really?"
She nodded yeah. "Can you excuse me, please? I have to use the bathroom."
"Alright."
"If the waitress comes back can you tell her I want the grilled chicken meal?"
Bob nodded and Ashley smiled. "Anything for you."
Ashley giggled as she stood and walked into the direction of the rest room
Bob rolled his eyes. If she wasn't drinking, this would be harder than he expected.
Once the waitress came back, she rested the glasses in the correct spot.
"Ready to order?"
He nodded and ordered the food. Once the waitress went away. He looked around and then pulled out something from his pocket. He leaned over the table slightly and poured the small little baggie into Ashley's drink.
Across the room, a guy watched, angrily. But before he could do anything Ashley sat back down in her seat, oblivious to what occurred seconds ago.
"Drink up." Bob raised his Corona bottle and Ashley raised her diet Pepsi glass.
"To us."
"To us." Ashley repeated and was about to take a sip.
The guy stood up fast and ran to try to get to the table, but before he could he was beat by another man.
"Robert!" the man exclaimed.
Ashley smiled, confused as to who the guy was and put down her drink before the poison could grace her lips.
"…Terry." Bob mumbled.
"I must say." He looked to Ashley. "Your wife looks very different than what I had seen two weeks ago at the reunion."
"Wife?" Ashley gasped.
"I can…explain."
"Uh…oh, sorry…" Terry replied before quickly scurrying away.
The man walked to the table just as Ashley stood up and threw her drink in the married man's face.
"Drop dead!" Ashley grabbed her jacket and turned to the man in the hoodie. "…John?"
"Let me take you home." John grabbed Ashley's arm before glaring at Bob.
"Stay away from her! If I ever see you in the street I will kill you."
--
Ashley got into the car and John followed suit. "Ash, I'm sorry."
"You were stalking me."
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were protected."
Ashley didn't say anything. What could she say? She felt like a fool. Tears escaped Ashley's eyes as she folded her arms and leaned back into the seat.
John looked at Ashley. He leaned over her to put her seat belt on. Once it was on, he glanced at Ashley and wiped her tears. He then kissed her forehead.
"Let's get you home." John put on his own seat belt before driving the car to his home.
--
John and Ashley walked into their house to see Randy lying on the couch with Dean. A blanket draped over them both as they snored away.
Ashley smiled at the sight, she sniffled. "I'm going to go check on Phin and Faith."
"Alright." John spoke before they walked upstairs to the rooms. John went into his room, and Ashley into Phinnigan's. As soon as Ashley walked into Phinnigan's room, she walked quickly back out and ran to John's room. John was just taking off his shirt.
"John! Phin's not in his room." She told him, worried.
"What?" John replied, throwing his shirt on the bed. "he was before I left."
John and Ashley both exited John's room to begin looking for their son. The first place they checked was the bathroom and the second placed they checked, was where they found him.
"Oh John…look." Ashley gushed, smiling sweetly. She stood over Faith's crib to see Phinnigan and Faith sleeping together. Phinnigan's arm was over his sister protectively.
John smiled. "Looks like the sibling jealousy is over."
"Yeah." Ashley looked to John. "You're a great a father."
"And you're an even better mother."
"I wouldn't be able to do this without you."
"That's not true, you can do anything."
"No, I can't. I can't stop being the other woman."
"You're not."
"You and Kelly, and now this. When am I going to find what I'm looking for?"
"It could be closer than you think."
"I want to be happy. It may sound stupid to you, but I always wanted kids, boy and a girl, which I have. I want the happy ever after…the white picket fence. The husband. Maybe I'm just not going to get that."
"You will."
"Will I really? We both know my history with guys. And I'm so stupid."
"You're not stupid."
"I let one of the best things to happen to me go. I coulda fought, but I didn't."
John nodded. "I'm sorry about Shane."
Ashley leaned down and kissed Phinnigan's forehead and then Faith's. She turned and walked out the room.
--
John was laying in the bed under the covers with the lights out trying to sleep, but he couldn't.
John heard his bed room door open so he faked sleep. He knew it was Ashley.
Ashley was in her PJs as she got into the bed with John.
"I didn't mean Shane." She said quietly, she was referring to the conversation she and John had in Faith's room.
John wanted to ask her who did she mean, but he didn't want her to know he was listening.
"I meant you." Ashley got under the covers and snuggled onto the spare pillow. "I let you get away so many times, John. I coulda fought both times, but I didn't. I still love you, as more than a friend." She whispered.
John turned around in the bed to face Ashley. "Ash…"
Ashley's mouth dropped open slightly. "I didn't…know you were up. I'll leave." Before Ashley could make any movement John put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
"I don't want you to leave. Ever." He told her.
Ashley smiled.
"I want to be that guy."
"Which guy?"
"The one you're with. You know, the really sexy Prince Charming." John laughed. "The guy you see yourself riding off in the sunset with. The one with the kids, white picket fence and all."
Ashley smiled. "Good, because I want you to be that guy too. You are that guy, the one I want."
"You have me." John leaned forward and placed his lips on Ashley's. They kissed passionately, which turned into something more. That night, they became one.
John woke up in a sweat. He groaned as he looked over and realized that Ashley wasn't with him. It had all been a dream ... he cursed himself for being so foolish. He vowed from that point forward he would get Ashley back if it took him the rest of his life he would not give up.
A/N: I wanna give a really big shout out to Tiffany who wrote this chap. Great job it's amazing. But then again you already know you are an amazing writer. Sorry, I had to change the ending cause I'm just not ready for that just yet lol. More to come soon hopefully maybe either tomorrow or Wednesday if I feel like writing. Peace out homies luv ya all.