Ignore if you didn't watch the last episode or don't like to read venting... A few things to say about the last episode about EVERYONE. Hello, out of character, and THEY MAKE THE DAMN SHOW. They made Ashley so vengeful and whiny that it didn't even feel like her and they made Ricky put his foot in his mouth so many times that it was ridiculous. Adrian flirting with her doctor is like making her go backwards on her accomplishments for this series and actually go all the way back to before the series in developing her character. Grace, how was she ever described as popular? She was in the middle of Madison, Lauren, Jack, and Jesse/Jessie time. Enough said there. And Ben. WTF? There is character growth but now he's all complaining about a male doctor and not wanting him to touch Adrian, loving Amy, but kissing Grace? He gets around almost like Ricky now. When did Ben become hot? And remember people, his maturing moment was getting his braces off.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, zip, zero, anything you recognize... NOT MINE.
Ashley's Point of View
Before I went to bed I made sure Ricky locked both doors to the house, not wanting Ricky's stalker to go in while any of them were asleep. I locked the garage door too. Ricky said that he would handle it, but if he didn't and I got left anymore 'gifts' then I would be calling the police. Leaving dead creatures and cards had to be some form of lawbreaking, at the very least something to do with harassment.
I rolled over onto my back and winced in pain. I had been getting a horrible pain in my stomach all night and was unable to sleep because of it. This wasn't the first time I had gotten this type of pain, a week or so ago it was exactly the same pain in exactly the same place, but now it was back and this time with more force. I had had the pain for a day or two then, and I really wasn't looking forward to it again.
Another sharp pain hit me and I groaned in complete and total agony. The pain was a little bit below my ribcage. I sat up and felt like screaming at the pain it caused. I was never one to admit pain, or weakness, or one for whining, but I wanted to go run to my dad and cry until he made the pain go away, and that was saying something. I wouldn't though, I would just wait for it to pass like it did last week and hope it never came back again, nobody would notice anyway. If I wasn't outright telling someone something then nobody bothered. Usually I didn't mind, but right now I really did.
I took a few deep breaths and checked my phone for the time. It was 1:30 in the morning, and that meant that I hadn't slept fofr the two and a half hours that I had been trying to, and that I had been in pain for almost five hours. I groaned again, this time in annoyance, and put the phone back next to my pillow.
Since I wasn't likely to get any sleep I made my way to the spot next to the door where my backpack was. I picked it up and silently cursed the teachers for all assigning a test or homework that required the use of twenty pound books. I turned on the light and then walked to my bed and spilled out all the contents of my backpack onto the bed. I put away everything that wasn't garbage or something I could read or work on to pass the time. I tossed out all the garbage in the garbage bin that was in my room and then started reading Macbeth. That should keep me busy until at least six when the doors to the house would likely be unlocked. I could finish the act we were supposed to read, summarize, and then describe it, and then do that for the rest of the acts and be homework free all week.
By six in the morning I had decided that the only hardcore woman Shakespeare had ever written was Lady Macbeth. I mean sure, she was sadistic and all, but she knew what she wanted for her and her husband. That, and she wasn't as vain as most of the other women Shakespeare wrote about.
Careful to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on my stomach, I got up and put everything away in my backpack. I only needed to slip on a pair of sandals because I had on a white tank top and grey sweatpants. I unlocked my door and painfully made my way outside and then through the kitchen door, which was now thankfully unlocked.
Mom was in the kitchen. She had on her workout clothes so undoubtedly I would be watching Robbie this morning since normally Mom woke up first and looked after him while Dad slept as long as he could.
"Ashley, what are you doing up this early?" Mom asked.
"Couldn't sleep." I said, supporting myself against the counter.
"Oh." Mom said, looking through her gym bag, not paying much attention to me, "Can you watch Robbie when he wakes up? I want to go to the gym."
Oh yes, I had no idea that you wanted to go to the gym. The clothes and bag weren't enough to give me the hint.
"Yeah, sure." I said, trying for a smile, but got a grimace instead.
Not even the slightest bit of attention.
"Thanks, Ashley." Mom said, grabbing her keys off the table and running out the door, gym bag in hand.
"No problem." I muttered too late. I could open a babysitting business. I had babysat enough to certainly become good at it, and babysitting all the time just about made sure I didn't have much of a life. Griffin, however, believed that the cause was my anti-social attitude more than the constant diaper smell.
I looked in the fridge for something to drink, but found only milk. Apparently nobody bothered to go grocery shopping. I found a clean glass and poured some milk and drank it. I put the milk back in the fridge and put the now empty glass in the sink. Almost as if on cue, Robbie cried. I made my way to the nursery where Robbie was and picked him up. I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from making a sound and waking John up.
I carried Robbie into the living room and started making his food, not hard, but not fun either. A little over twenty minutes later, Robbie was fed and some of my pain was gone.
Robbie and I sat down together and watched some TV. Elmo, a classic TV show.
I set Robbie up against some pillows that way I wouldn't have to hold him and got comfortable.
"You need a ride to school or are you ditching?" Ricky asked.
I opened my eyes fully and noticed that I had a blanket over me and Robbie wasn't next to me.
"Robbie? Where is he?" I asked worriedly.
"Fine. I woke up a little while after you had fallen asleep and picked him up. He fell back asleep too." Ricky said.
"I shouldn't have fallen asleep." I said, getting up and then taking a sharp intake of breath at the renewed pain in my stomach.
"You okay?" Ricky asked.
"Uh...yeah." I said, trying to blink away the tears that had sprung to my eyes.
"You didn't sound fine." Ricky said.
"Drop it." I snapped. I walked to the kitchen and felt Ricky's eyes on me the entire way as he followed me.
"Did you sleep okay?" Ricky asked.
"Not really. What time is it?" I asked, turning to face him with a hand on the counter.
"A quarter to eight in the morning." Ricky answered. "Does your head hurt?"
"No." I responded. "If I get ready in fifteen minutes can I get a ride to school after we drop John off?"
"Yeah, hurry. Do you have a fever?" Ricky said.
"No I don't, Dr. Underwood. I'll meet you in the driveway in fifteen minutes." I said, effectively ending the conversation. I walked out the door and went to my room. I put on a dark blue shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. I also put on my favourite necklace. It was a silver 14K white gold & diamond heart shaped locket. Dad's mother had left it for me when she died, Amy was really upset that I got it and she didn't, but I didn't remember that. I was only six or so when the woman died and I wasn't even allowed to wear the necklace until I was twelve. I liked it though, and it held a family value to me. Sometimes I wore it as a bracelet or under my shirt, but the majority of the time I kept it in my backpack or purse.
I brushed my hair quickly and put on a little lip gloss. My teeth were okay, I'd just have to brush them after school or something. I wasn't really one for morning breath anyway.
I put on a pair of black flats and grabbed my backpack and walked out my door. Ricky was putting John in his car seat when I walked up.
I opened the door and my elbow accidentally hit my stomach and I squeezed my eyes shut for a few moments in pain. Ricky noticed. Of course he did.
"Ashley, how bad are you really hurting?" Ricky asked, closing John's door and staring at me.
"Not too bad. Let's go." I said.
"Ashley, you can't even fake feeling fine. That's a sign that something's wrong." Ricky said.
"Are you giving me a ride to school or not?" I asked tiredly. I was running on a little over an hour of sleep, and I was not in the mood for crap. Either I was getting a ride to school or I wasn't.
Ricky didn't answer, just walked around to his side of the car and opened his door and motioned for me to get in. I got in and closed the door.
We were halfway to the church when Ricky started talking.
"Get your dad to take you to the doctor. He will if you ask." Ricky said.
"Ricky, I will ask, but this will pass just like last time." I said, before realizing my mistake.
"Last time?" Ricky asked.
"A couple days last week. It passed, just like it will this time." I told him.
We hit a pothole in the road and I couldn't help the few tears that escaped when I shifted violently.
"Ashley?" Ricky sounded surprised and unsure. He'd seen me after I cried but never really as I cried.
"Just drive." I muttered, hating how pained my voice sounded.
Ricky did as he was told and we drove to the church in silence. It was a comfortable silence, despite Ricky's worry for me. Ricky really wasn't making my possible feelings for him any easier with his worry or flirting...I hated that word.
"I'll go in with him. Just stay here." Ricky said.
Like I'm going somewhere...
"Okay." I said. If he was offering to take in John and I wouldn't be required to move, I was all for it.
I took a few deep breaths and decided that I would go to the doctor. I did want the pain to go away.
I must have fallen asleep again because when I opened my eyes again I was at school and Ricky was trying to wake me up without touching me.
"Ashley!" Ricky said loudly.
"What!" I said, just as loudly.
"The first bell is about to ring. We need to hurry." Ricky said.
I nodded and asked, "How's my hair?"
"A little messy, but it works for you." Ricky said.
I gave a little nod and he moved out of the way, allowing me to get out of the car.
Ricky walked slowly behind me, probably wanting to make sure that if anything happened he would be there.
The morning classes passed by. Most people didn't care to notice how I was feeling. Griffin did notice that something was wrong, but didn't notice how painful it was, and that was only because I avoided sudden movements that would hurt more. My teachers also did notice that something was wrong and I just told them I wasn't feeling too well.
I was walking out of math class with Griffin and some girl whose name I didn't know when I ran to the closest garbage can and threw up.
"Oh my God!" The girl shrieked, of course drawing everyone's attention, "Are you pregnant?"
Damn. This was one of those times where if Amy had never gotten pregnant I wouldn't have people staring at me. Pregnancy wouldn't be on the top of the list and I really didn't feel like announcing to the world that I was a virgin. I really didn't.
Madison and Lauren were in the hallway, and of course they started talking about this. I could practically see them trying to come up with who a possible father would be in their heads. People alternated between staring at me and talking with their friends about me for a minute before I looked up and yelled, "NOT PREGNANT! SICK!"
Everyone kept talking and I heard a comment someone said, "Yeah...morning sickness."
Oh. Crap. Maybe I should have told Ricky that I was ditching the day.
Griffin moved so that he was right next to me and he handed me a tissue to wipe my mouth clean. This didn't go on my top ten moments of embarrassment, but if I extended the list to fifteen it would be number twelve.
Griffin lead me outside the school and I could hear Madison talking to Jack, who had appeared beside her, "Do you think he's really gay?"
"Not if he's the father." Lauren said.
The location of our math class was both bad and good. Good because it was close to the main exit and bad because it was located in the main hallway where everyone usually was right before lunch.
Once we were outside Griffin spoke, "You're not really pregnant right? You'd tell me if you had sex, wouldn't you?"
"No I'm not pregnant and there is no way in hell that I am." I said.
"Okay...so...why did you throw up?" Griffin asked.
"I know that this might be hard for the people around here to believe, but I AM SICK!" I said angrily.
"Okay. Relax." Griffin said.
"I can't relax. My stomach feels like it's made of metal that people are melting and twisting and welding, I now have a headache from lack of sleep, and everyone thinks I am pregnant. Relax? You're really telling me to relax, oh wise one?"
"Why don't we get Adrian and ditch the afternoon? She can take us to a clinic and you can get checked out." Griffin suggested.
"No, not after what happened in there." I said.
"You want to go back in today feeling the way you do and with what everyone thinks?"
"I have to. If I don't, everyone will just think that they're right and will start suggesting baby names."
"People suggested baby names when Amy was pregnant?" Griffin asked, not seeing the point at all.
"GRIFFIN!" I shouted.
"Okay, but we're spending lunch out here." Griffin said.
"That's fine. I don't think that I can eat anyway."
School that afternoon was almost unbearable. People were looking at me all afternoon. If people weren't there at the big show, their friends were, and that made the gossip version of it all the better. Even my teachers were looking at me like I was a whole different person. At least I could sympathize with Amy better now.
When I got home that afternoon I poured myself a glass of milk and did what little homework I had while I babysat John. It wasn't too bad and the milk seemed to help with the pain a little bit.
The door opened, Ricky came in, and the door slammed closed.
"Bad day?" I asked. Then I smelled him, he smelled like perfume and not a light scent that suggested that he was with a girl, but a smell that made it seem like he bathed in the perfume.
"Very." Ricky said.
"I take it that you talked to your stalker and she didn't understand well." I said.
"She sprayed me with her perfume to mark me as 'hers'." Ricky said.
"How much spray did she use?" I asked.
"Almost half the bottle." Ricky said.
"See, some dogs pee to mark their territory, Camelia, however, uses perfume to mark her territory." I said, coughing a little.
"Hey, about today...are you..." Ricky tried, but didn't seem able to form the words.
"No. I'm not pregnant. And if I have to pee on a stick in the bathroom and gather everyone in the school gym to see the results to prove it, I will."
Ricky looked relieved.
:D The people in that school have nothing better to do than gossip. Okay, so I liked the part where Ricky's bio mother comes back so I will be adding that, with my own changes of course :P and you'll find out what is wrong with Ashley in the next few chapters, either chapter six or seven.
Link to Ashley's Locket in Profile! And just so you know, I found it online and thought it was so pretty that I had to include it in a way that would make sense for her to have something so pricey. So the timing is probably very off, but I don't care.