'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 strode down the driveway the second the cab pulled into the curb, throwing half a grand on the backseat as she went. She'd tried to leave Eli back in Hawaii, telling him she'd be back after Baz's funeral, but after a call from his mother to say his father been found dead from a shark attack, he came home too. And though she was smug that the plan had gone well, she'd cried from the second they'd reached Oceanside.
She pushed open the back gate, letting it hit the wall with a clang. She stopped when Deran raced out of the house, shaking her head as she began to cry harder. The man caught her as her knees gave way, everything he'd been telling her finally fully sunk in. She cried out as she leant into him, listening to his heartbeat thud behind her sobs. Ashton hurt, every inch of her body ached.
It didn't take much for Deran to begin to quietly sob with her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. And they stood like that for minutes, crying together, until Nicky interrupted them. The Wright girl was quick to wipe her face as they let her brother go, sending a tight smile Nicky's way as she sent her a sad one.
'Lucy just pulled up,' Nicky looked to Deran.
The man wiped his eyes and looked toward the gate where the Mexican woman hesitantly walked in, tears welling in her eyes when she saw their tear stained cheeks. She shook her head, Deran moving to lead her over to a seat. Ashton stood by the pool, blinking back the continuous amount of tears that threatened to flow down her cheeks. Her ears pricked up when she heard a car door slam shut out the front, slowly turning her head to watch Deran approach their older brother who looked furious. Lucy looked toward him after a couple of seconds, Nicky standing beside her; watching her worriedly.
'Is he really dead?' Lucy asked.
'Were you there?' Pope replied.
'I couldn't stay. The cops were coming.'
'Did you see who did it?'
'It all happened too fast... Oh, God, I can't believe Baz is dead.'
'My dad's dead?' Lena's small voice came from behind them all.
Ashton's hand flew up to her mouth at the sight of the little girl, tears dripping down her cheeks once more. Pope turned and glared at J, before he scooped his niece up into his arms and carried her away. Lucy drew her hand from her mouth and ran it through her hair, no one saying a word. They stood in silence, J eventually moving to comfort the Wright girl.
She held him tight, sniffling as she tried to hold it together. She looked over his shoulder as he remained stoic, searching the yard for the other brother. She took a step back, looking toward the house; searching the windows for any sign of him. Deran met her eye when she looked to him for answers, shaking his head at the silent question she asked.
