His Saving Grace

Chapter Twenty Six

I walked past the many tourbuses that crowded the huge parking area in one of the empty lots in this certain part of Phoenix. It was one in the morning and the place was eerie, sending chills down my spine. I had wanted to get away from the venue of the afterparty, so I told them I needed to take meds for a sickness I didn't have and said I'd return as quickly as possible, but as soon as I stepped out of the club, I stopped acting like I was sick and ran two miles all the way here, forgetting that public transportation existed.

The night was cold and silent. I felt my breathing slow down and the tiredness started to overcome me. As I weaved my way through the giant wheeled vehicles, I could hear someone crying.

I tensed. The eeriness around me was enough to give me goosebumps, and the pitiful crying just chilled me to the bones. As I walked further, the crying became louder and clearer. It wasn't a child's--that I was sure of.

I reached the end of the parking lot, where five tourbuses, including ours, were parked. I peeked behind our black and white tourbus, and saw a figure curled up against the cold metal of the bus. Her body was wracking with sobs, and even if I didn't know her, my heart tore up at the sight of it all. 

Slowly, I walked towards her, trying to formulate some sort of greeting in my mind, but her sobs reverberated through my skull--so loud that I couldn't even hear my own thoughts. I reached out and shook her gently, but she didn't budge. I cleared my throat, but she just kept on crying, her sobs drowning out any other sound. So I stood there for quite a while till my legs felt sore, and when her crying subsided, I shook her again, and she lifted her head, looking at me with teary, squinted eyes lined with smudged mascara.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she said, her voice quivering as she tried to stand up. I held out a hand and she took it, putting herself upright on her feet. She wobbled a bit, dusted the bottom of her jeans and ran her fingers once through her messy curls before she looked back at me, her eyes apologetic and innocent. "I didn't mean to, um, lean on your tourbus..."

"That's okay," I said, my voice creaking a bit. I cleared my throat. She tilted her head to the side and looked curiously at me, her big blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

She had beautiful eyes.

"You look different," she said.

"What?" I asked, her voice shaking me out of my reverie.

"You look different. Or maybe it's because of the wind, or because you look like you're gonna pass out any moment now."

"Have we met before or...?" I asked, puzzled.

She giggled. "Your face is on the bus, silly," she said, pointing at the tourbus beside us. "And of course we've met. I've been to almost all of your concerts. You just don't remember me, that's all," she said innocently, grinning at me. I grinned back at her, feeling a little stupid and probably a little conscious as well.

"I'm Ashley," she said, holding out a hand for me to shake. I stared at it for a while, and then held out mine and she took it, shaking it twice before letting go. "And you're Garrett, yeah, I know," she smiled. 

"Well then, nice to meet you," I said, stuffing both hands in my jeans pocket. 

"Maybe this time you'll remember me?" Ashley said, her voice sounding hopfeul. I chuckled, and she smiled sweetly, her eyes gleaming. 

I'd remember you, definitely, I said to myself.

~~

I tapped my foot on the pavement; not impatiently, but I was pretty bored, and the song was pretty good, so there. I had been sitting on one of the park benches for about thirty minutes already, but Ashley was still nowhere in sight.