'She was a wild one, but some of us need the storm to feel safe.'
|| Book 1 in the Ashton Wright Series ||
|| Animal Kingdom ||
|| S1 - S3 ||
|| COMPLETED ||
No. 1 in #animalkingdom
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Ashton dried herself slowly in the main bathroom, wavering on her feet. The tiles were covered in washed out blood, her eyes bloodshot from holding back her tears. Her right eye was puffy and both her eyes were ringed with black as a result of her broken nose, cuts littering her face. Her head pounded and her lungs burned, but she was sure most of the water was out. The light outlines of bruises forming scattered along her ribs and stomach, her fingers ghosting over them.
She swallowed, wincing a little when it burnt before she wrapped her towel around her and wandered through the house. She stumbled into Craig's room, searching his drawers for clothes. She pulled on a pair of track pants, grabbing out a shirt; letting it falling over her body and finished just under her bum. The girl twisting her hair up into a bun, stumbling over to the desk to grab out Craig's gun before she made her way through the house.
'Can I use the phone?' She mumbled unable to meet Smurf or Pope's eyes; 'Mine drowned.'
'Of course, baby,' Smurf nodded.
She grabbed it off the wall, dialling Deran's number first. She wandered up the hall, leaning against the wall.
'Hey, it's Deran. Leave a message,' His voice mail played in her ear.
'Call the house back. Please, it's me. I need you,' She ended the sentence whispering.
She dialled Eli's number next, holding the phone up to her ear.
'Hello?' Eli answered.
'Eli,' She croaked.
'Ash? What the fuck? Where are you? What happened to your phone?'
'I need you to come pick me up from Smurf's.'
'What happened?'
'Please... Just- Come get me, please.'
A sniffled sounded as she wiped away the tear that escaped down her cheek, her throat closing up.
'Ok,' He sighed; 'I'll meet you out the front. I love you.'
'I love you, too,' She whispered.
She hung up the phone, placing it on the table in the lobby; wandering back through the house. Ashton found J sitting on his bed, his gun beside him and hands gripping the mattress. She stepped into the room, his gaze lifting slightly from the floor to look at her. She knelt down in front of him, cupping his face as her eyes raked over it.
'You did good,' She nodded.
'Did I though?' He mumbled.
'You were up against four guys, I'd say you did.'
'Are you okay?'
She shrugged, 'Just a few bumps and bruises. Are you?'
He didn't reply, his eyes moving over her face quickly. She smiled softly, pushing herself up.
