Ohne Dich (Sequel to Stirb Nicht Vor Mir)

Chapter 107

May 30, 2006

"Let's go," I grabbed Ashton's hand and we all walked inside of the house. 

"Ashton!" Someone shouted. 

"Hi!" Ashton hugged a little boy, then they ran upstairs. 

"Okay," Corey lightly chuckled. "Have you ever met any of his friends before?"

"Never," I replied. "This is his first birthday party he's been invited to. Do we go introduce ourselves?"

"Yeah, I think so," He lightly chuckled. 

"What?"

"You're at a kids birthday party wearing a fucking 'Mayhem' shirt."

"I'm sorry," I sarcastically said. "This is, like, one of the only band shirts that fits-hell yeah I'm going to wear it."

"You should grow out your hair," He wrapped an arm around me as we walked into the kitchen. "But keep it black-I like it black."

"Me too."

"Hi!" A woman walked up to us and shook our hands. "I'm Tiffany. Who are you-I know who you are, but-"

"I'm Adette and this is my fiancee Corey," I smiled. "Our son is Ashton. Thanks for inviting him."

"Of course! They're really close friends."

"Yeah, they are."

"Congratulations on the baby! How far along are you?"

"12 weeks."

"Wow! Oh, have a seat!"

"Corey, you can sit down."

"It's alright," He replied. 

I sat down and Tiffany started talking about her pregnancy. 

"It was very difficult," She explained. "I had morning sickness and the biggest swollen feet you could ever imagine."

"I never got swollen feet," I added. "But I'm really thankful because apparently my mom did and she hated it."

"Isn't your mother dating Keanu Reeves?"

I slowly nodded my head. "It's so fucking weird because I grew up watching his movies, and now all of a sudden they're dating."

"When are you guys getting married?"

"We don't know yet," Corey answered. "We're thinking of finding a wedding planner and slowly start to plan the wedding-but not too much since we don't want a lot of stress-but then we're going to have the baby, look for a house for our whole family, and then we're going to have the wedding."

"Sounds like a lot."

"On top of that, I have to go on tour."

"With 'Slipknot'?"

"No, 'Stone Sour'."

"Ah, I see."

Corey went on to talk about our family and how he misses us when he goes on tour. His eyes lit up and his smile was the widest as he talked about us. He really did love us and I loved him for that. 

"Mommy!" Ashton ran up to me, panting. 

"What?" I faced him. 

"Look!" He showed me his arm which had a huge cut on it. 

"Ashton, what the hell?! Come here."

I guided him into the bathroom where I turned on the sink and grabbed his hand to put underneath the faucet, but he pulled away. 

"Ashton," I told him. "Come on."

"It'll hurt!" He whined and ran out of the bathroom. 

"That little boy...I swear to God," I muttered, turned off the faucet, then walked out and found him upstairs. 

I walked upstairs, pulled him away from his friends, then kneeled down and faced him. 

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but this is not going to slide," I told him. "I understand that you're hanging out with your friends, Ashton, but you may not run away from me, do you understand me?" He kept looking away, so I pushed his face lightly so that it would face me. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes," He groaned. 

"Come on, Ash."

We walked into the kitchen and that's where I grabbed a paper towel, got it a little wet, then dabbed it on Ashton's arm and wiped away the blood. 

"All good," I kissed his forehead. "Go have fun."

He ran back upstairs and I sat back down after throwing away the paper towel. 

"That boy is going to be the fucking death of me," I groaned. "He just doesn't listen and I'm sick and tired of it. When we get back home, Corey, we're going to have a talk with him."

"Okay," He rubbed my shoulders. 

"Where's Tiffany?"

"She left."

"Okay."

---------------------------------------------

"Thanks for inviting him," I told Tiffany. 

"Of course! Maybe he can come over and spend the night sometime or something."

"Maybe," Corey grumbled. "Bye."

I furrowed my eyebrows as Corey grabbed Ashton's hand and walked out of the house. I followed him and we all got into the car. 

I didn't want Ashton spending the night at anyone else's house just because you never know what could happen. I didn't want him getting hurt or anything. 

I could see that Corey was tense, so I put my hand out and he put his hand on mine. I gently squeezed it and leaned back. 

When we arrived, Ashton went to his bedroom and I sat down on the couch with Corey. 

"I know he's not my son," Corey said. "But, I just don't trust anyone."

"Corey, you don't have to explain it if you don't want to."

"They're six, Adette! Why am I thinking about this?!"

"Corey, it's alright-I thought the same thing. Listen, your friend raped you, I know. And you're worried that might happen to Ashton and it's great that you're aware and worried because I am, too. You're scared for him and you don't want him getting raped-neither do I."

"His friends can come over here and spend the night. I just don't want him going anywhere."

"Okay," I nodded my head and hugged Corey. 

"I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Me too, Corey. Me too."