Solace | ASHTON IRWIN

Prologue

Harley Denvers thought of herself as hard to love, but she liked it that way. There were truly few people that she let into her life, and fewer that stayed once they were cut by her sharp edges. Her hardened demeanor pushed a lot of people away before they even attempted to get close. She liked the alone time it gave her, allowing her the space to tend to her precious garden, to swim whenever she could, and to hungrily read the pages of her favorite books while tucked into any comfortable place she could find.

If she had to describe herself, she would say that she's a misty, rainy morning, the kind that makes your bedsheets damp with humidity if you leave your window open. It makes you uncomfortable, but there's a certain peace in the way the fog lazily hovers above the surface of the lake, in the way the rain rolls gently off the green leaves of summer trees and hits the tin roofs of the lake houses all around. Everyone loves it, but only a few would dare to actually say it.

Ashton Irwin would describe her differently. He would describe her as the smell of coffee in the early morning, strong enough to wake him when the world was still quiet. He would describe her as the soft light of a sunrise, gently illuminating their shadows against his bedroom wall as they sat on the floor together, her hand gently resting on his cheek, foreheads pressed together, and also as the golden light of summer sunsets, of which they spent many together. Mostly, though, he would describe her as a piece of himself, a piece he hadn't known was missing.

And while he thought many things about himself, Ashton was sure he would describe himself as hers, from the very moment he laid eyes on her, and eventually, she would describe herself as his, too.

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hehehe i'm so excited to share these little thoughts i have while on my walks around the lake with you guys. might change a few things around before the show really gets started but i hope you'll all enjoy <3 

lots n lots of love - hay