Second Generation

Finally Free

Ashley's POV

It's been four days, which means that I have to go back to New York with Mom. Thankfully, Amanda's been watching Taylor. Mom would've forgot about feeding her. I don't really want to go back. I missed Dad so much, and he's finally acting like a father. Kathy is really nice too. The blizzard slowed down a little bit, but it hasn't officially stopped. I closed the curtains and start pack my clothes.
"Hey, I have hot chocolate." Kathy said walking in. She's wearing black leggings with a light pink sweater.
"Thanks," I smiled. I took the hot chocolate out of her hands and placed it on my white desk.
"Are you taking all of your clothes with you?"
"No, I'm leaving some here so I don't have to pack so much stuff next time."
"Maybe Elliot and I will buy some stuff while you're gone," she suggested.
"You don't have to, I have so much clothes anyway."
"Okay... Well maybe we could go shopping when you come back then." She replied.
"Yeah, I haven't been to the mall up here yet." I agreed.
"It's huge!" She laughed. I zipped up my travel bag and took a sip of my hot chocolate. Dad came in and sat on my bed.
"Olivia just left, she'll be here in a couple hours. She said that there's a lot of traffic."
"Okay, who wants lunch?" Kathy said excitedly.
"I'll help make tomato soup," I volunteered.
"Ashley, we had grilled cheese yesterday," Dad complained.
"But Kathy's grilled cheese is the bomb!" I said skipping to the kitchen. I heard Kathy laugh.

We were all sitting by the fire place, enjoying our lunch. There was a deck of cards beside me from last night. Kathy tried to teach me to play poker, but that game is impossible. Dad was watching the news to see if the weather was finally going to change.
"What are we gonna do for Thanksgiving?" I asked.
"I don't know," Dad said.
"We can invite Kathleen and Maureen, they haven't met Ashley yet." Kathy said.
"Who's that?"
"They're Kathy's daughters."
"Kathleen is 16, and Maureen is 14. You guys should get along." Kathy assured me. Before I could speak, there was a knock at the door. Dad got up and let Mom in.
"It's freezing out there!" She said, "Ashley, are you ready?"
"Yeah, let me get my stuff." I got up and walked in my room. Kathy followed me.
"I'll see you in a couple days," I said giving her a hug.
"We'll go shopping," she promised. I walked back out and Dad walked me to the car.
"I'll see you soon, I love you." he said, hugging me.
"I love you too." I said. He closed my door and went back in the house.
"How was it?" Mom asked from the passenger seat. Brian was driving and for some reason, Nick was beside me.
"It was actually really fun, Kathy's really nice too." I said. There was an awkward pause.
"You're staying with Nick for a couple days, until we get everything sorted out." Mom said.
"It'll be fun! Fin and Amanda are waiting for you," Nick said putting his arm around me.
"How close are you from arresting Austin?" I asked. Mom looked at Brian.
"Pretty close, we just need some strong evidence. In a couple days, he'll be behind bars."
"Great," I breathed.

Nick opened his apartment door for me. I walked inside.
"Welcome home!" Amanda said running up to me.
"Thanks," I smiled. Fin was setting up board games and Barba was putting chips in a bowl.
"Are you hungry?" Amanda asked.
"We bought a pizza and chips, we have ice cream for dessert too," she said. She acts just like a mother. She makes sure I'm comfortable and well taken care of.

We played some board games and ate pizza until we fell asleep. At 3am, Nick got a phone call. Everyone was up and scattering around.
"What's happening?" I asked, yawning. Amanda looked at Fin.
"You have to come with us, we can't leave you here." Fin said.
"She'll have to stay back and not come near the scene. This is a very delicate situation," Barba warned.

We drove to Austin's house. Mom was already there.
"Stay here with Barba," Fin ordered.
"What's happening?" I asked Barba.
"The neighbors reported gun shots from this house. If it was Austin who shot someone, we won't have to worry about what he did to you. We'll have solid evidence on this case. We can just close your case and not worry about it ever again." He said. I was so relieved. I won't have to tell everyone my story. Mom led Austin outside and read him his rights.
"Austin's going to jail for a while," Fin said driving us to the precinct. After so many months, I finally feel free again. The End

***Author's note!***
Soooo, that was the final chapter! I'm making a sequel called "Ashley's New Life." I'm so excited about it. I hope you guys liked this story, but please read the next one.