Rush

Chapter 2

Ashley walks down the hall in a bit of a daze, with a little smile on her face. Before she's able to think anymore she gets to her dorm's door. After closing the door behind her, she throws herself face down on her bed. Turning to lay on her back and look up at the ceiling, her mind drifts to Jake.

"Why did I tell him about my life? And why was he so curious about my parents?" Ashley mumbles to herself.

A mental image of Jake comes to Ashley's mind: the way that he kept looking at her, how dark his eyes got after hearing that her parent's haven't visited... The way that he tried to help her reminded her of the boy she was friends with back when she was in the orphanage.

"That can't be the same person, can it?" Ashley asks herself with a scrounge of her eyebrows, completely bewildered. Sitting up from her laying position and reaching over into her bedside table, she pulls out a picture of herself and the little boy. Smiling down at it, she whispers miserably, "I miss you. You aways had a way of making me smile." Putting the picture back down on the table, Ashley gets up to change when a dizzy spell hits. She sits back on the bed taking deep breaths, shaking her head a little. Flashes the night Taylor dies, flashes of them walking around town are all that she sees.

After her mind goes blank, Ashley starts to feel a throbbing headache and can feel her pulse through her temples. "Why am I now getting memories?" Ashley says, Rubbing her face. As she lifts her face out of her hands, realization hits her. "The memories started when I saw his face! I need to find more out about him." Closing her eyes, she sighs in frustration, "Why didn't I ask him what his name is?"

"What are you mumbling to yourself about?" Emily asks, walking into Ashley's room.

Jumping a bit from Emily just barging in. "You could've knocked. You scared me." Ashley exclaims, holding her hand in her chest.

Laughing at Ashley, Emily plops down next to her. "So, what's wrong with you?" Emily asks.

"Emily, I'm okay. There's nothing wrong," Ashley says, hoping that Emily doesn't push further.

Ashley turns her head back to Emily to see her stern look. "Ashley, you know that you're a bad liar. I saw the way you looked when I came in the room. What is wrong? I'm going to bug you till you tell me?" Giving Ashley a hard look.

Heaving a heavy sigh, "Do you remember that guy from the cafeteria?" She asks, giving in.

"That guy that kept staring at you?" Turning her head to Ashley.

"Yeah, him. And listen, what I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone." Looking seriously at Emily. Emily nods her head solemnly. "When I saw him earlier today, I got a flashback of a little boy that I was close with at the orphanage. Then I went for a walk, and he heard me talking to myself; he started to ask me questions about why I'm here and why my parents haven't visited." Ashley pauses, looking over Emily before continuing. "When I got back to my room, I had a flashback of the night Taylor died. The only thing is...that the memory was before she died." Ashley finishes, taking a deep breath.

Emily looks around the room and shivers before turning back toward Ashley. "You know what? You need to get out of this room and get your mind off everything." In a cheery voice.

Ashley knows that when Emily gets a cheery voice that it's never a good thing. Groaning, she turns toward Emily and sees the small smile forming on her face. Making a small, scared smile herself, "What are you planning?" as it comes out in a shaky voice. "You know that when you get that sound in your voice and that smile it's never a good thing." She sighs with a worried expression.

Emily's smile grows bigger, "You know there's a party or gathering, whatever you want to call it, that's going on in the basement.

"Yes, everyone's been talking about it. I was planning on staying in." Ashley says with a tinge of fear in her voice.