Ashthorn

Prologue

Ashthorn, the restless woodscaped town that seems almost as if you were to step back into the 1800's with cobblestone walkways and outdated buildings but the beauty of the stone buildings and old hanging signs gives almost a safe haven to all the evil that roams this town. The old-fashioned elegance of Ashthorn is what set it apart from every other town. It was a small place yes, but it held a sense of township almost like a dysfunctional family, and it was also once my home and my town, but it's been 3 years since I had walked these streets.

When I thought of home it wasn't the same place I left, things had changed but it wasn't just that, because Ashthorn was just a place; land and buildings, what pained me most was the people I left behind. In the 3 years I had been gone there was just one person who had not left my mind: Emma Blake. Growing up she was the girl next door, well sort of, her family owned the Luckystar Ranch; home of beautiful horses and the local orchard, the Blakes had owned it for generations. It was one of the few houses that hasn't been upgraded or bought out to build condos, it was a rustic farmhouse with a wraparound porch, white clapboard sidings and faded ocean blue shutters, the dirt road driveway kicked up dust every time someone drove down it, and their Golden Retriever, Lucky, would always greet whoever came down that road. The barn was the original barn despite some upgrades it was still the dark red barn everyone knew that in the spring doubled as a playhouse and in the summer, it transformed into a dance hall. The orchard lined fields would host many in the fall, from apples to peaches it had it all, with the newer editions of the pumpkin patch but the favorite part was the big oak tree in the front that was draped in moss perfect to sit under on any given day especially those summer days.

Just thinking back on that farm and her I could still remember the smell of it all, hanging out under that old tree when we were younger, despite growing up and me leaving town, I still remembered it all like it was yesterday. Emma was your typical girl next door with a heart of gold, and the bluest eyes, that one would get lost into so easily as if they were being submerged into the ocean at will, they had the tendency to sparkle especially when the sun would dance upon her already sun kissed skin making them almost hypnotic; she was the girl everyone fell over, but she never gave into that. We had been inseparable since we were kids, going to the same school having the same group of friends and it helped that our Moms had been close our whole childhood, people always teased us that we'd end up together that we were endgame, but fate has a way of changing things sometimes.

When I left town, not many people knew especially not Emma, just thinking about it saying those words to her would seem too permanent and I could almost feel my own heart breaking just imagining telling her goodbye. Out of our group of friends only two knew, Spencer and Kayleigh. We were a close-knit group and had our share of adventures growing up, in a small-town like this we had to find ways to keep occupied on our own. Spencer was the town heartbreaker, piercing amber eyes with gentle hints of jade could rope anyone in and under his spell; with light sandy brown spikey hair and slightly evil smirk he was hard to resist. Even though he was slightly a player he was the type of friend who always pulled though when needed. Kayleigh on the other hand was not like most girls, in her eyes she was average at best, but in everyone else's she was a bombshell. From her shoulder length wavy honey hair to her chocolate dipped eyes, she was the complete package, she was loyal to the end for her family and friends alike. Both Spencer and Kayleigh had told Emma they hadn't heard from me but in reality, they had, I never liked lying to her but at the end of day all I wanted was to protect her from the whirlwind of chaos that found me but with me rolling back into town, everyone was about to be caught in the storm, even her.

After I left Ashthorn, I spent a lot of time wandering around aimlessly, I had made it all the way to Kentucky before my past caught up with me. I was staying in a small cabin just far enough into the jungle like forest to be away from anyone who would find me, but it was hunting season, so the forest was a lot more lively than usual. I had gotten shelter after a bad thunderstorm rolled in; I did not know who's cabin it was, but I soon would. It was a little after 5am when I heard voices coming from outside the cabin, the blinding headlights danced on the wall above me, there was only one way in and one way out of that cabin, the front door. I heard the approaching footsteps, my heart pounding in my ears, almost deafening me from hearing everything else. I closed my eyes as tight as I could, everything that was running through my mind; what would happen if they found me? Where would they send me? What was the worst possible outcome? Then just like that all those thoughts stopped and I released a shuttering breath, and, in that instant, everything went black and there she appeared, Emma. I could see her standing in front of me, clear as day, it was the only salvation I had in this, only thing keeping me calm. All I could focus on was her, her eyes, the few strains of hair covering them ever so slightly, but I could also see the pain in them. In that moment whether she was here, or it was my mind playing tricks, I knew I had hurt her the moment I left, she was my best friend and I had left her like she didn't matter at all, like she was nothing to me. To be completely honest maybe it was me being selfish to as why I didn't want to say goodbye to her, because in reality the words I wanted to tell her then and now weren't goodbye or a long speech to make sense of all this, it wasn't a couple stories of memories that flooded my mind that might soften the blow of me leaving, no, the words I wanted to tell her were simple; I love you.