Dangerous

Chapter 2: Ashlynn

15.. 14... 13...

Crap. Time was running out. My fingers clicked on the keyboard, entering numbers and altering the code of the program so it would do exactly what I wanted it to.

3.. 2...

"Yes," I said, pleased when the green light flashed. Immediately, I grabbed my phone to call Dylan.

"Hey," he answered. "What's up?"

"I finally passed the challenge!" It had taken me weeks to get passed.

"You did? Nice job, Ashlynn."

I smiled, pride filling me. "Thanks."

After a few moments of silence, Dylan spoke up again. "Have you seen the news recently?"

"No, what happened? Nothing's wrong with my dad, right?"

"I don't think so. It's just saying the crime rates are spiking. They are seeing a lot of gang activity in the area, more than normal."

"Oh. But no one got hurt?"

"It doesn't say anything about that, but that's a good sign."

I sighed. "I guess so."

There was a knock at my bedroom door. My mom peeked her head in. "Ashlynn, can you come help with something, please? Your dad is going to be home later than usual tonight. A problem came up at work."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be down in a second." She closed the door and I turned back to my phone. "Dylan, I have to go. See you at school on Monday?"

"Yeah. And don't worry about your dad, okay? I'm sure everything is fine. And good job on the coding challenge. Celebrate the good things!"

I giggled. "Okay, Dylan. Bye."

"Bye bestie!"

I laughed again before ending the call. Dylan was the best.

When I got downstairs, Mom was at the stove. "What can I help with?" I asked, pulling my hair out of my face and twisting it into a braid.

She gestured to the cutting board. "Can you make the salads for tonight's dinner?"

"Yeah, no problem," I said, moving towards the counter. "Did Dad say why he wouldn't be home?"

"No, he just said that something had come up at the police department. Why do you ask?"

"I've just been hearing stuff on the news. Nothing seriously terrible, but I was just wondering." I cut up the lettuce and put it in the bowl. "Oh, and I don't know if I mentioned this to you, but Chad and I have a date tomorrow."

"Chad? Your boyfriend, right? Are you ever going to bring him to the house so your dad and I can meet him?" Mom's voice was light and teasing but had a tinge of worry. I hadn't brought Chad to meet my parents yet because I didn't want anything to get too serious. Meeting the parents seemed like a big step.

I sighed. "I guess we can stay at the house for dinner before we go out."

"Would he be okay with that short of notice?"

"Yeah, not a problem. I'll just call and let him know to come over an hour earlier." I put it in a bowl in the fridge. "Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"Thanks for offering, Ashlynn, but I think it's okay," Mom said from the stove. "Why don't you go call Chad and figure out stuff for tomorrow night?"

I nodded, then headed upstairs, sending a quick message to Chad.

***

I got up early the next morning to tackle a bit of schoolwork. After a couple of hours, I stood up and stretched my legs. Hearing a commotion outside the window, I walked over and pulled the blinds to the side. There was a moving van in the driveway across the street, along with a black sports car. Two people were outside of the van, the first a middle-aged woman, probably in her late thirties or early forties, and then a younger woman, probably around my age or just slightly older. They were pulling boxes out of the truck, talking about something between themselves. Suddenly, the older woman seemed to be overcome with emotion, setting the box down and putting her face into her hands. The younger one went over to comfort her, putting her arm around her and calling to someone in the house. Then the two left the van and headed into the house.