Too Good To Be True?

Chapter 8 Ⅰ

I stared at the door in front of me, studying every crevice, every chip of the paint, every edge of the frame. I wondered why I was here, in front of this door, instead of in front of her door. I should still be there, trying to make her remember, trying to win her back. Without her, my life had no meaning. But Ash was right. I had to give her space, needed to let her work through this on her own. I had to let myself have some distance from the problem so I could try and sort out my thoughts and maybe think of new ways to help her.

But none of that was able to fully convince me that I shouldn't still be there. I hadn't wanted to leave, hadn't wanted to get on that plane and come back to the place that never felt like home until she was there with me. But here I was.

I lifted my hand and knocked weakly on the door that I'd now been standing in front of for the better part of ten minutes. Almost immediately, it was pulled open by a smiling Ash ready to greet me.

"Hey, mate!" he said cheerfully, his smile wavering just slightly as he studied my exhausted expression and ruffled outfit. However, he slipped the grin back into place with ease and stepped aside, letting me come into the house.

"Thanks for letting me stay here for a while," I muttered, looking around at the space but not really processing it.

"Anytime," he said, waving it off. "You know that."

I simply nodded and followed him down the hall, glancing in the rooms we passed, looking for things that may have changed since the last time I was here. I didn't come to Ash's place very often, but I'd been a few times and most things looked the same. Perhaps a new chair here or coat of paint there. But I stayed silent and he didn't ask any questions, so we continued up the stairs to where I would be staying.

However, as we ascended, I started faintly hearing voices coming from one of the rooms. At first I thought maybe he had the TV on or something, but then a small smile came to my lips as I realized who it was.

"Ash? Is there something you forgot to tell me?" I asked, chuckling a bit when I caught a glimpse of his embarrassed face.

"Well, uh... Amy might kinda... sorta... be staying with me for a while..."

The corner of my mouth quirked up at that. "Oh? And how long has that 'kinda sorta' been going on?"

He looked at his socks as he got to the top of the stairs, trying to hide his shy smile. "A few months..."

I clapped a hand on his shoulder, giving him a nod when he looked at me for confirmation. "Good job, mate. I'm proud of you."

"Heh... thank you." He continued down the hall and as we got closer to the room Amy was in, I started to recognize the voice of the person she was talking to, my heart breaking once again as I realized it was Angel.

Why would she be talking to Amy? She forgot about everything, about every one of us. Didn't she...?

Ash lightly knocked on her door and pushed it open further, leaning inside and giving her a smile as she turned to look at him.

"Hey, Amy. Da-" he stopped as he glanced at the computer screen, changing his train of thought to, "Our guest is here."

Amy looked back over her shoulder at me with a smile, her bright eyes shining as per usual. I could definitely see why Ash liked her so much, but I only had eyes for one girl. My girl.

"Hey, Squid Nugget!" she said cheerfully, not bothering to try and block me from her camera's view and eventually I couldn't help it anymore.

I looked over to see Angel staring right at me, struggling to hide her disbelief. I gave her a sad smile, yearning so much to hold her gaze, but she quickly averted her eyes, clearing her throat to try and gain Amy's attention again. "I-I should be going..." she stuttered, unable to keep her gaze in one spot for more than a nanosecond.

Amy turned back to the screen and shook her head, "Oh, no, you don't have to do that sweetheart." She glanced back at me with an apologetic look and tilted her head towards the door, subtly telling us that we should probably leave.

I nodded reluctantly and cast one last glance at Angel's nervous expression glowing on the screen, wanting so badly to cry and beg for her to take me back, but I gathered my strength and shuffled out the door, feeling like a dog with its tail between its legs.