Ash

Chapter 38

Ashton's POV

She stepped away from the wall and started walking towards me. She looked pissed. I let go of Erik's hand and met her halfway. I froze as she stared at me for a second before wrapping me up in a tight hug. She stepped back, "Oh boy, you're gonna rant again," I said softly. "Why did you do this again? I thought you were better! You almost gave me a heart attack!" She spoke loudly as she continued pacing back and forth. She stopped in front of me and hugged me again, but this time Aaron asked, "Who are you?" And she shot the question back before saying, "Sam Katherine Blackwood, I go by Katherine, but my friends call me Kat. You," she said while pointing to Seth and Aaron, "May call me Katherine." Again, when the hell did Seth get here? I could tell she didn't trust them. She never trusts anyone who adopts me. She has good reason of course.

"I've known Ashton since she showed up on the door step that night in the rain. When she was left there without a single goodbye or a second thought. I've been there when she had no one. I've been there when she tried to push me away, as she does when she's afraid. This girl has been through so much, and I won't stand by and watch someone hurt her. You must be Aaron, adopter number 37."

Aaron was about to speak again, but I said "She won't give up, you won't win." I gave Sam another hug and then I saw who was behind her. "Ch..Charlie?" The others had been walking to the car to give me a moment alone with Sam, but I heard one set of footsteps stop. Erik. I'll have to explain later. Right now, I'm going to see Charlie. I ran the short distance and jumped into his arms. He caught me and hugged me tightly, "Fallen Angel, where you been?" A tear slipped down my cheek as I remembered our last goodbyes.

Our last goodbyes were painful. You see, I used to be with Charlie. Well, sorta. We had feelings for one another. We did things couples do, but we never got the chance to make it official. I looked up at him with a smile before hugging him again. "How you been, Fallen Angel? Things been okay?" He asked me. I know his intentions were good, but that's not exactly the easiest thing to get over. I went to answer him and he kissed me. I froze for a second and then I pushed him away. "No, you don't get to do that to me again. The last time this happened you left me without any intention of coming back. Not to mention," I said, grabbing Erik's hand, "I found my happily ever after in love. Erik, this is Charlie, Sam's adopted brother and my.... I guess he's considered an ex. Charlie, this is Erik, Jade's brother, she's not here right now, and my future fiance." Erik's jaw was clamped, making his jawline more prominent. He was very clearly upset.

"Wait a minute, why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Sam asked. "Charlie, did you hurt her? If you hurt her I swear I will kill you. You know what I can do." I heard Seth whisper, "Let's hope she doesn't find out what I did to her..." Oh Seth, should've kept quiet. "Yeah? Do tell Seth, I'd love to hear it." I sighed, gently grabbing her arm, "Sammy, it's okay. Drop it," I said softly, my voice cracking from the memory. "No, it is not okay! He hurt you!" She then charged Seth, tackled him, and punched him in the face. I was shocked, but as she pulled her fist back a second time, I sprang into action. I quickly sprinted over and grabbed her hand, holding it back. "Sammy, come on, it's okay." Oh shit. I saw blood pooling from Seth's face. I looked at Sam's hand. Of course she punched him with her ring on. Charlie grabbed Sam, kicking and screaming, and pulled her off of Seth.

I tended to Seth's wound before helping him off the ground. He groaned in pain as I helped him up. "What the hell dude? That hurt!" I snickered a little, "Well, you did kinda deserve it." He gaped at me and looked genuinely hurt.

I looked back and I could see that Charlie's comforting blue eyes were seemingly cold as steel now. He must've been through a lot after we went separate ways. "We gotta discuss the car situation, so catch up with them and we will see you in a minute. Cars over there." Aaron spoke up, pointing in the direction to my left. I nodded.

It was now just me, Sammy, some other guy, and Charlie. Erik clearly didn't want to walk away, but I could see him watching from the corner of my eye. If Charlie tried anything, I had no doubt Erik would whip his ass. Or at least try to. Charlie can fight. I can recall one instance from when we were younger. This older boy, Charlie's age I think, had cornered me. I was 13 and in 7th grade at the time, this guy was 17 or 18, a senior in high school. He said I looked like his girlfriend, which turned out to be false. His girlfriend had curly, blonde hair and blue eyes, while I had straight, black hair and green eyes. My friend at school was 15 and she had forced me to come to a party with her because she didn't want to go alone. Well, she had been drinking and I was supposed to drive us home, illegally of course. Jemi had been flirting with this guy and they went upstairs. Once they did their thing, the same guy found me sitting by myself in the kitchen. I had found a can of Pepsi in the fridge and decided to drink it rather than all the alcohol. I sat my can down for a minute and turned to look in the fridge for a second can since I wanted more. Bad idea. Hunter was standing right behind me when I turned around. He laughed when I jumped, said he was just playing. I sat the unopened drink down and picked up the other one. I downed the last 4 swallows. Bad idea.

A few minutes later after I opened the other one, he made a joke and I started laughing. I felt like I couldn't control my body. Parts of me were feeling tingly and I didn't understand. I got up and he backed me into a corner. He grabbed my ass and put me on the counter. I can't remember if I actually said no, but I tried. He kissed me and kept forcing himself on me. Unbeknownst to me, Charlie was there too. Apparently Sam told him my friend forced me to go and he wanted to make sure nothing happened. Charlie saved me. He smashed the guy into a wall and then continued to beat him until the cops arrived. Turns out, he slipped roofies into my drink. I almost got raped. And I guess that's when the little thing with Charlie started up. We both knew it was illegal, but we didn't care. We didn't tell Sam because he didn't think she would approve.

I blinked and brought myself back to reality. "Hey, so this is Cole, my boyfriend. Cole, this is Ashton, the girl I told you about." He shook my hand, "Nice to meet you, lip ring." I rolled my eyes, "Don't start with me. I can kick your ass across the parking lot." He went to say something back, but Charlie butted in, "Easy girl. No need to go psycho on him yet." Cole glared at me, causing me to cross my arms. Sam laughed before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's go catch up with them, yeah?"

As we got closer to Aaron and the others I overheard Seth say he didn't trust Sam. Of course this upset her and she ran off to her bike. "Charlie, don't let her leave," I barked. He immediately went after her. "I'm disappointed in you. You guys haven't known her long, but I have. I've known her since I was 5. She took me under her wing and kept me safe as I grew with her. She's been there for me through everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly. You guys just got here. So don't go acting like you know her or me." I sprinted off to catch Sam.

"Sammy!" I shouted as I came to a stop. I threw my arms around her and held her tightly. "I got you Sammy. They can't take me away from you, no matter how hard they try." She let me go hesitantly and looked me in the eye, "Whatdya say we take a ride?" And with that, we left.

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THIS IS EXACTLY 1500 WORDS FOR THIS CHAPTER. CAN YOU SAY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE?!