𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟎𝟔

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐧
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
2 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

     𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 opens his apartment door to reveal Ashley waiting outside. "Hey, she's in her room," he says as he steps aside to let her in. "I would...be careful about what you say."

"How is she?" Ashley asks as she takes her coat off and lays it over the back of the armchair in the living room.

"I thought she was better, but...I think it's starting to get worse."

"Well, the more time she spends without her mother, the more she misses her," Ashley mentions, speaking from experience.

"I've been trying, but she just shuts me out. If you can convince her to come out here and eat, that would be great too."

"I'll try my best."

"Thanks for doing this," Derek says before she goes to the teen's bedroom. "JJ's pretty emotionally drained and Penelope has tried, but...Noah knows that she can walk all over her. Maybe a different approach will help."

Ashley nods and heads to the closed bedroom door. She knocks gently and then lets herself in. "Noah?" she says softly before fully opening the door.

Noah lifts her head from her pillow as she hears an unfamiliar voice. She slowly sits up and turns around, seeing the blonde standing by her bed.

"Hi," Ashley says softly.

"Hi," Noah replies.

"Whatcha up to?"

"Just watching time go by," Noah sighs.

"Can I join you?" Ashley asks as she sits on the edge of the bed. "It's always nice to have a friend."

Noah looks at Ashley, wondering why she's here. "Did he tell you that I haven't eaten?"

"He's worried—"

"He's sent 3 people in here," Noah says flatly. "And that's just from today."

"Like I said, he's worried about you. Have you really not eaten?"

"I'm not hungry," the teen shrugs. "It's hard to think about food when your mom is dead."

Ashley clears her throat at the straightforward approach. She shouldn't be shocked, though. Noah has never been one to hold her tongue and Ashley was the same when her father was taken away. Young people can carry so much anger without knowing what to do with it and how to express it.

"Noah, I have gory details from my own stories, so if you ever need to talk about what happened, I'm here. And I'm not like the others. Even though she was kind to me, I didn't know Emily very well, so I might be a good person to lean on. You can tell me stories about her that I've never heard before or you can talk about her without me getting too emotional. Whatever you need, I'm here to help."

"Why?" Noah asks. "You didn't know her, you don't really know me, so...why do you want to help?"

"Because you're a great kid and...I've been in a similar place."

Noah knows that Ashley means she's been in a similar place mentally. Spencer told Noah about Ashley's father and all the things he was guilty of. Noah couldn't judge her even if she wanted to. Ashley has been through the things that a lot of other people wouldn't understand about Noah, not even Emily. They could tell their stories to a million people, but none of them would truly understand.

"Did you ever get caught in your father's..."

"Let's just call it 'business,'" Ashley suggests. "But no, I never saw anything like that. I saw his anger, but what he did with it was always hidden."