Hey guy! Next Chapter's here! Let me know what you think! I did a Spencer-Madison met up, let me know how that works out...I might put another scene like that in if you guys like it. Enjoy!

Chapter 13: Spencer's POV

I rolled over in bed and found Ashley lying fast asleep next to me. She was exhausted from yesterday. We went and surfed the waves again, this time I think I actually might have surfed, and then Aiden invited us over for dinner. It was nice getting to meet Madison's family, but it felt a little awkward. They welcomed me with open arms, but still, it felt like Madison was still there.

I hauled myself out of bed. I found a clean change of clothes in my suitcase, before heading downstairs. Raife was at the kitchen table drinking coffee as he read the newspaper.

"Morning Spencer," he said looking up from his newspaper, "coffee?"

"That would be great," I said taking a seat next to him as he went to go fix up some more coffee.

"Is Ashley still sleeping?"

"Yeah," I responded.

"Good, she was in need of a long sleep," he said returning to his seat.

"Raife can I ask you something?" I said reaching for the paper that Aiden had given me.

"I was wondering if maybe…I could see Madison before I left?" A gently smile appeared on his face as he put down his newspaper and gave me his full attention.

"Ashley means a lot to me, and I know that Madison also meant a lot to Ashley. I don't want…"

"Spencer…it's okay…I understand. You want to reconcile with Madison, get to learn her, talk to her, make sure that she's okay…and whatnot." I nodded. I was a little surprised that he was this understanding, but then again he was Ashley's father.

"Here," he said handing me a pair of car keys, "there should be a GPS in the car."

"Thank you," I said taking the keys from him.

"You know the first time Ashley introduced me to you, I knew you were special."

The drive to the cemetery was only about twenty minutes. I parked the car in an open row, before making my way up and down the columns. Madison's tombstone was regular sized, just like the others surrounding it.

"Madison Duarte. Those we love don't go away. They walk besides us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near. Still loved, still missed and very dear," I read to myself. I ran my fingers along the cold black stone. I did something that I thought that I would never do. I sat down in front of Madison's grave.

"Hey Madison, it's Spencer. Spencer Carlin, you probably don't know me," I said to the tombstone.

"Spencer Carlin," I heard someone say, "I've been waiting to meet you." I turned around trying to figure out if I had actually just heard that.

"No Spencer, you're not going crazy," the voice, said, "You can hear me. It's Madison."

I glanced around, that's when my eyes landed on the top of the tombstone. Sitting on top of the black stone, was a smaller looking girl with dark skin. She was smiling back at me. I recognized her immediately from the pictures; it was Madison.

"How?" I asked with my mouth handing open.

"This is where I am. I can talk to whoever I want to, even you," she said. I couldn't find words to respond; I was still shocked by the fact that I was talking to a dead person.

"So you're Spencer Carlin," she said.

"Yes, yes I am," I said straightening up.

"Tell me about yourself."

"Well I'm 17, almost 18. I play lacrosse for the King High Knights. I have two older brothers. Clay who's the lacrosse coach at King, and Glen who's in the Marines. What else is there to know?"

"Ashley's told me a lot about you."

"Like what," I asked praying that there weren't any embarrassing stories.

"About how much she cares about you, and that you're the first person that she's had feeling for since me."

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"For getting in between you two. I know that Ashley meant a lot to you and you meant a lot to Ashley. I feel like I've cut into the middle of it. I don't want to ruin anything that you and Ashley have."

"Spencer, you have nothing to be sorry for," she said hopping off the tombstone and sitting down next to me, "Feelings are feelings, everyone has them. Yes, I care about her very much, but there's nothing more that I can do, except look over her. That's the only physical connection that we have left. Spencer, don't hide what you feel for Ashley. You two have more special, meaningful. Nothing like I have ever meet before. Don't squander it. Ashley loves you very much and you love her too. That's all you need."

"Madison, you're just like Ashley said you were, a kind, compassionate, understanding young woman. I'm sorry that I never got to know you," I said getting up.

"When I first heard Ashley talking about you, I knew that you were special. Promise me one thing, take care of her."

"I promise."

"I'll see you around Spencer Carlin," Madison said getting up from the ground and walking back toward the tombstone, "remember what I told you."

I watched as her hand reached out to touch the stone, and then she was gone. I stood there staring at the tombstone of Madison Duarte, thinking of the conversation that I may or may not have just had. I stood there for a few more minutes before turning and heading back towards the car. I pondered what Madison had told me on the drive back to Ashley's. Madison's words were swimming in my brain as I parked the car.

I walked back into the house. It smelled like pancakes and bacon. I walked into the kitchen where Raife was flipping pancakes. I placed the keys next to him thanking him for letting me use the car.

"How was it?" he asked pocketing the keys.

"Incredible," I responded.

"Did she talk to you?"

"How did you know?"

"I've watched Ashley a lot. I always thought that she was talking to herself, until she told me. I figured if you went to see Madison she'd probably want to talk with you."

"Yeah, I did talk to her."

"I'm glad you got to talk to her. I'm sure Ashley appreciates that you did. Speaking of Ashley, could you go upstairs and see if she's up. Breakfast is almost ready."

I made my way up to Ashley's room, when I opened the door I noticed that she was still in bed. Her small figured curled up under the sheets. Sitting down on the side of the bed, I gently shook the sleeping Ashley awake.

"Spencer?" she asked dreary, rubbing her eyes, "how long have you been up?"

"A while."

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked sitting up.

"I figured you could use the sleep, and I didn't want to annoy you with my early rising," I said, "and your dad said breakfast is ready."

"Okay, let me just find some clothes," she said getting out of bed. She threw a sweatshirt over her sports bra and shorts over her spandex. I followed her downstairs. Raife had set the table and the pancakes and bacon were placed neatly next to each other. We all quickly sat down and devoured our meals.

"So, if you two want to get packed, I'll take you to the airport in hour," Raife said looking at his watch. We both nodded and headed upstairs to our respected rooms. I quickly hopped into the shower before packing.

I managed to find all my clothes and neatly pack them into my sports bag. I took one last glance at the room before opening the door. Ashley was just closing her door. She was carrying her sport bag and suitcase, along with her lacrosse stick. We loaded everything into Raife's car. I was going to miss it here. It was so nice, so peaceful. I was a little sad to be heading back to Ohio, probably because I knew that I was going to meet my mother, then it would all go "what colleges are you looking at", "Spencer this is serious", or "you're not going to get into college like that." I sighed before hopping into the car. Ashley sat in the front with her father. I respect that; she doesn't get to see him that much so every minute counts. The drive over the airport was pleasant, with few simple conversations.

About an hour later Raife pulled into the airport parking garage. Ashley and I grabbed our belongings and started heading towards the terminal entrance. We set our bags down my security, due to the fact that Raife could not continue with us. Ashley pulled her father into the a tight hug, while saying her 'goodbyes'. I let them have a minute. I wish my dad and I were as close as Ashley and her father. When they had finished saying their goodbyes Raife looked at me.

"Spencer," he said beckoning me forward, "I know that you didn't get to come to the studio and look around. So I got you a little something." He handed me a white bag, but told me to wait until I was on the plane, if I didn't like it, I could give it to a random stranger.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you," I said, before he pulled me into a hug.

"Thanks for making my little girl happy," he said. We pulled apart, only to pull back for a "family" hug. I was really going to miss him. I hope he moves to Ohio.

"You two be safe, call me when you land," he said as we walked towards security.

We pasted through security and boarded the airplane. Ashley was a few rows up from where I was. I took my time to open the present that Raife had given to me. Inside there was a shirt that had a record on it and the words "Davies Records" written in gold on it. There was a CD that read "Ashley's Songs." There was a picture of a younger Ashley. Inside there was a note:

"Spencer I hope that you like this. I know that Ashley would kill me if she found out that I gave this too. This has all the songs that Ashley has ever written and recorded. I thought that you might like it, and you probably have more used for it than I do. Thanks for looking after my girl. I hope to see you soon. Raife"

I smiled at the CD. This I was never going to get rid of. There was one more thing in the bag, a medium size teddy bear wearing a "Davies Record" shirt. I laughed a little too loudly because people's heads started to turn. I quickly put the things back into the bag and stuck it in the overhead compartment.

I flight back to Ohio was smooth, with only one layover. I slept most of the time, but neither of the flights were Ashley and I sitting together. We arrived at home around one in the morning. As soon as we arrived at the baggage claim, Ashley was attacked by a little monster that clung to her leg.

"Hey buddy," she said pulling Sid off her leg and picking him up. I think he was almost at the stage where being carried around was going to be impossible.

"Ashwly I missed you," he said burying his head in her neck.

"I missed you too buddy," she said hugging him.

Ashley's mother and I grabbed our bags as Ashley carried Sid out to the car. Ashley sat in the back with Sid sleeping sweetly in her lap. A little while Ashley fell asleep. Christine pulled up into her driveway. Ashley woke up just as we were pulling in. She handed Sid off to her mother who carried him into the house.

"Thanks for coming to visit," Ashley said handing me my bags.

"Thanks for giving me one of the best weeks of my life."

Ashley gave me a shy peak on the lips before saying goodbye. I watched as she retreated into her house.

I entered my house and headed up to my room. I rummaged through my desk and found my notebook. Flipping to the blank page, I wrote one sentence.

After this amazing week, I've fallen in love with the one and only Ashley Davies.