An Unsung Melody

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Nichole: Are we still on for next week?

Justin: Yep, Memphis is still the plan. Were you able to clear your schedule?

Nichole: I'll be there. [Kiss face emoji]

***

As soon as the door closed behind Lance, Justin watched the strength go out of Ashley as she collapsed beside him, her head against the back of the couch, eyes closed. She pressed her hands to her eyes again, then reached up to pull the hair elastic out of her hair, letting it tumble back down around her shoulders.

Justin just watched her for a long moment, trying to remember when he'd last seen Ashley in person. He tried to make it a point to see her four or five times a year, but they'd both been busy the last several months so it had been awhile. She did look different, now that she said something, he could see in her face the weight loss she'd mentioned, and she seemed a little pale but that could be the headache.

She finally turned her head to face him and said softly, "Well Jus, that was more of a show than you bargained on. Didn't you have plans for today? You didn't have to stay here and listen to Lance bark all afternoon. I can stand up for myself, you know."

He didn't say anything for a long moment, then reached down to his bag and pulled out a water bottle and a bottle of ibuprofen and handed both to her, "How bad is the headache?"

She half smiled at him, "It's about a ten at the moment. I should probably eat something with this."

Digging through his bag again, he pulled out a snickers bar, "This is love." He said as he handed it over to her.

Her grin back at him was almost a genuine Ashley smile, "You're the best, J."

Justin turned serious again, "Ash, is what you told Lance true?"

"I don't really feel like talking about it," she said as she threw the pills into her mouth and drank deeply from the water.

He let the subject drop for the moment, his eyes wandering over to the photos still on the coffee table in front of them. He started to gather them all into the envelope again, and he held up Lance's pick for the album cover, "Can I keep this one?"

Ashley giggled, "What are you gonna do with it?"

"I'm gonna hang it in my living room."

"Stop it," she said with a shake of her head.

Justin shrugged, "he's not wrong, it's hot. But if that's not what you want to put out there, you don't have to."

Ashley leaned forward, tracing her fingers over the glossy photos again. "I just don't recognize myself in those pictures. It's kinda like this song, it's not a bad song, it's just not who I want to be." She sighed, "But maybe I'm just going through an existential crisis and I don't know anything anymore."

"Well, you're beautiful-inside and out. In this photo and in this old ginormous sweatshirt," he paused, looking at her more closely. "Is that my old sweatshirt?"

Ashley really laughed this time, "You weren't supposed to notice!"

"I loved that sweatshirt!"

"You didn't even notice it was missing!"

Justin dove toward her on the couch, "What do you have on under that? Give me my sweatshirt back!"

Ashley tried to squirm away, "Nothing, Justin, nothing!" she squealed in protest as she tried to pull down the hem of the shirt he was trying to pull off her.