Ashes on your pale skin ~ Chris Motionless

Chapter 10:

Ash leans into Chris' chest, finding immense comfort in the steady rise and fall of his chest.

She's never had this close comfort in her life, and while, at first, she was terrified when she realised she had reached out for him in her out of it state, she was soon comforted by Chris' soft hands, coming down and running through her long black hair.

The room around them is filled with ambient noise, Vinny frantically tapping away at buttons on his laptop, playing some sort of game, and everybody else absorbed in their own technology, apart from Ricky; his nose buried in a book.

Chris sits, content with the little weight of his daughter in his lap, absentmindedly running his hands through her hair, and not knowing what to think or feel.

He already loves her dearly; feeling a hole in his chest that he didn't know was there being filled.

-

Ricky, finishing off a chapter in his book, looks up at the tv present in the back lounge.

At this time they'd usually all by involved in watching something, and he's really wanting something to relax and chill down to.

He looks beside him to see Ash, curled up on Chris lap, awake and with her head pressed into him.

He hopes that putting a movie on won't upset or distress her so he makes sure to vocalise to Chris before just going ahead with it.

"Hey, Chris, want to watch a movie?" He questions, eyes looking down in a pointed way, wordlessly expressing his true question.

Chris understands the question, and outright asks Ash her opinion.

"Ash, are you okay with us putting on a movie?"

Ash feels uncomfortable.

Nobody has ever asked her opinion or anything before. Ever.

It feels weird to be acknowledged, and have her opinion matter; it feels truly alien.

She makes sure to nod, she would probably not pay too much attention to it anyway, especially with the days she's had; she doubts she'd be able to keep her full attention on anything if she tried.

"Okay, Ash, what movie?' Ricky asks gently, and ash notes down the genuine, caring expression on his face.

She flattered that he asked, but she couldn't name a movie to save her life, so she just shrugs.

The little of movies and tv that she's ever seen had been tiny little snippets of things she'd catch glances at.

"No, honestly, pick something, we're not fussy about it, I promise" he smiles as he talks, handing his phone over to her, which is connected to Netflix.

It dawns on her that it seems that they haven't clocked the extent of her life, and her experiences.

Justin, from where he had put his laptop down when the question has been asked, stands up and pulls out a blanket from one of the cupboards, before walking over to her and Chris and draping it over them.

She nods in a thank you and he just flashes a wink and a smile.

Meanwhile, she struggles with the Netflix layout, not having a clue how to move find a movie she might like.

Chris, noticing the look of confusion on her face, places his hand behind hers on the phone softly.

He doesn't do it in a way of overpowering her; instead in a way of supporting her and helping her.

He uses his other finger to gently point towards the tab button which has the genres.

Wordlessly, she follows his lead, and he stops pointing, not wanting to influence her decision past that; he wants to make sure his daughter is her own person.

One she finds the genres button, she notices the horror tab, and clicks on it.

Justin, upon seeing this, smirks, like father; like daughter.

"She's such a mini Chris it's amazing" he states, causing a small smile to play at the edges of her lips, as she takes it as a compliment. She's looked up to her dad, and all of motionless, as idols for all of her life.

She feels herself relax more, feeling the edge of the events of today fading away.  It's the most social interaction that's ever really been nice in her life, and it feels...nice.

She ends up picking out Carrie, as, despite not seeing many movies, she had scenes of Carrie from her mums old tv, when it still worked, and she had found that she related to the torment that Carrie received.

Once selected, she hands the phone back to Ricky, who takes it, selecting play.

-

Within a very short period of time, her eyes fall shut and her breathing evens out, body wrapped up in Chris' arms.

It doesn't take long for the rest of motionless to notice the scene playing out in front of them, and all of them inadvertently feel their heart strings being played with; it's cute.

Vin pulls his phone from his pocket and snaps a picture of the two.

"You're such a dad Chris" Vinny says, with a mix of a smile and smirk playing at his lips.

Chris throws back a middle finger, making sure not to jostle the sleeping girl, before turning to look at her sleeping form, a smile playing at his own lips.

He'd never wanted kids or even the possibility of having one. He wasn't a kid person. But he feels differently about this teenager cuddled up in his arms. He feels such a strong urge to protect her, and to try and shield her from anything else further bad that could happen to her.

Maybe it's the genetics, or maybe it's the fact that she's almost like a mini version of him, with her shared interests.

Either way; he's smitten.

And as he too falls asleep, protectively curled around her, he knows that she is his daughter; and he'll do everything in his power to keep her safe.