In The Last Days

Changes.

They both got into the car exhausted. Rose let out a deep breath.

"Did we really have to buy them all?" She whined.

"It was only three dresses, dear." Chloe chuckled.

She would make sure she chose a better location for the next girl's day out she didn't like shopping one bit.

Rose pouted.

"If you say so."

Chloe put on her shades as the car was an open roof, and they drove to Asher's.

They talked about their favorite things to do, their intended careers, and general girl stuff. A few minutes later, they arrived at the house.

The cars were already parked out. Rose recognized one of them as Michael's, which he and the boys probably drove in, but she had no idea who owned the other one. It was probably Asher's.

They both got down, leaving their shopping bags in the car for now. They climbed up the stairs leading to the front door only to find it open.

"These boys are way too careless. What if we were robbers?" Chloe chastised.

They entered the house and stopped dead in their tracks.

They saw Asher glaring at a very young woman that looked awfully a lot like him, sporting the same brown hair and eyes.

What made the whole thing a whole lot more bizarre were the apprehensive looks on the faces of the rest of their friends that surrounded him.

It would seem that they'd all been in the pool prior as their hair was still wet and with the way their eyes widened at their arrival, she reckoned that they weren't expecting them so soon, at least not then.

Asher seemed oblivious to their presence and was still glaring holes at the beautiful woman they were still to identify.

"Do you think it's that easy to earn my forgiveness?" She heard Asher say. Rose gasped. Asher sounded different- he sounded so unlike himself- vulnerable even.

His voice was thick with emotion but he didn't seem to care that there were people around to see him like that.

Michael held a hand to his shoulder.

"Asher—"

"Do you know how long it took to get over the fact that I had a mother somewhere who willingly left me and a little sister all alone?" He asked, his voice laced with pain.

Asher willed her to answer him, hoping somehow she could explain the reason she had abandoned her own children all these years.

Every emotion he'd hidden away for years behind the unfeeling mask came pouring out as the person he'd wanted most in his life stood staring at him without an answer.

His mother's brown eyes were flooded with tears as she gazed at her son.

"I hadn't wanted to leave you." She whispered as she shook her head dapping the tears with a handkerchief to no avail as new ones soon replaced the ones she'd cleaned.

"I was young and naive—"

"But you did," Asher whispered back. He'd hidden his pain so well but now he was so tired, he didn't bother hiding anymore.

"You left us with a man who cared more about his money than his own children." He looked away and sniffed.

"But I turned out alright despite everything. No thanks to you." Asher said wiping his tears away, his voice gaining back some of its strength.