𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎 ~ 𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢𝚗 𝚊𝚞

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗: 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕

Ashlyn spent four glorious months in Salt Lake City. Some friends lived there, some visited. She was on good terms with both her parents, and she had her boyfriend. It was perfect.

All good things have to come to an end, and Ashlyn finally had to go back to work and her life in LA. She was upset, but she loved her life there too. It was just different. Salt Lake was a well earned break from it all.

"Ash, wake up honey." Big Red whispered.

"Hm?"

"We're back." For the last two hours of their flight to LA, Ashlyn had been asleep on his shoulder.

"Oh, okay." She rubbed her eyes.

"I think LA's gonna be good now. I think we've got this."

"I do too. I really do. Thank you for everything. I feel good."

"That makes me so, so happy." He held her hand. "We've got this. And each other."

"I love you." She pulled him in for a quick kiss before they got off the plane.

Ashlyn quickly got back to her usual schedule. She was used to it. It felt the same, besides her significantly better mood.

There was also her lack of good song ideas. She thought that after her break she would be inspired, but she didn't know what she was looking for with her new album. It was confusing.

"Ashlyn. Put down the pencil for a minute." Big Red suggested.

"It's just never usually this hard. I'll come up with something, just gotta keep going."

"You gotta ease into this or you're gonna be burnt out in a matter of weeks. We don't want that."

"I know." She sighed and set down her pencil. "There's just nothing to write about."

"Come here." He smiled. She joined him on their bed, accepting his hug. "What kinda song do you wanna write?"

"I don't really know."

"Breakup song, just about your feelings, love song—"

"Aww, you want a love song." She kissed his cheek.

"I don't care what you do. I've got a billion." He grinned.

"It's kinda funny to think you were the first out of the two of us to write a love song for each other."

"I thought we agreed to never speak of that."

"It was cute!"

"It was the cheesiest thing ever."

"I loved it." She kissed him. "It was really sweet."

"But yours are magical."

"Thanks. As in love as I am, I'm not feeling a love song. Or... maybe a love song, just not a perfect one. But not a breakup one either."

"So, like... real."

"Yeah. I mean it's not always easy." She nodded.

"You'll figure this out. You always do. The song, and the hard stuff."

"I will. And, of course, if you're ever struggling—"

"Ash, babe, we're past this. I know I can talk to you, even if you're upset. But I'm good. It doesn't get much worse than being exhausted."

"I know. I just... it's kinda nice to be reassured that kinda thing sometimes, right?"

"Yeah." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you more." She smiled. "I'm gonna continue. 'Cause I'm good."

"Good." He watched as she once again tried to write anything she could. After a few minutes he went on his phone, but glanced up at her every few minutes, smiling.