The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|68|

Of course, Ashley had already known what Ilse looked like. The painting, her dreams... it wasn't new. But seeing a woman who looked almost like flesh and blood stand in front of her was different.

Looking back, she only partly understood why she hadn't said anything. Yes, it seemed too extreme. Yes, very few people would believe her. But that had never been what she really cared about.

Scrolling through the comments, she noticed that – except for the usual prayers – almost half of them were about Sam not asking Ashley before sending her off alone, and the other half was talking about how unusual her reaction felt, quoting, "she wasn't usually this scared."

Ashley could recall the moment she'd stood there almost completely. Ilse hadn't been standing right in front of her, she was further away between the plants, where the lighting was getting worse already. So, technically, it would've been impossible for her to see her expression.

But Ashley had. She'd seen the smile.

It hadn't been a friendly one.

The way the ghost had tilted her head to the side had seemed almost taunting, the way her lips curved up repelling.

Whatever her usual enchantment with Ashley had been, in that moment, it was gone. And Ashley hadn't even done anything, had she? Sitting on the chair, waiting for Nick to come back... The text from Colby. Asking if she was okay. Her reaction. Her smile. Her quickening heartbeat.

Shit.

Ilse had been jealous.

Ashley let out a breathy laugh. How had she only realised that now? Ilse may be a ghost and everything, but she was still just a woman in love. That's why she'd targeted Sadie after noticing her hostility towards Ashley. And Colby, after noticing Ashley's reaction to his presence.

Ashley swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling bad for her. She died all alone, her lover on the other side of the world, and spent the following hundred years barely noticed. No wonder she got attached rather quickly.

She picked up her phone, ready to call Colby and tell him when she remembered what she'd advised him to do. Which was not to talk to her for a while – at least until he got his problems sorted out with Sam.

A slightly unwell feeling settled in her stomach. She'd only said what was best in the moment, and she really hoped they could get it solved without her further involvement. Because, and she promised that to herself and whoever might be listening – honestly, who knew at this point – that she would not get between the two of them. Not that she assumed there was a possibility for her to disturb such a good friendship after such a short time she'd spent with Colby, and she'd rather...

Oh, shut up.

Ashley was thinking about too many things at the same time, this could not end well. A distraction was needed. Nothing that involved Ilse, Colby, or staying in the living room, though. That narrowed it down pretty decently.

She spent the rest of her afternoon cruising around LA on her motorcycle. There was nothing quite like the thrill and adrenaline of riding a bike to clear her head.

It took several days until Colby texted her again, but she didn't mind. At least that was what she told herself – what she needed to tell herself as not to go crazy.

But on the other hand, she had her own worries keeping her busy.

For example, Sadie didn't let go of it, despite Ashley very clearly saying she didn't want to talk about it. The girl just insisted on getting the details as if it were any of her business. And Ashley started to realise again why exactly she held a grudge against her.

Why did she even still live with her and Jerry? He'd gotten rid of the cast by now; the only thing keeping him from moving freely was that the muscles were weakened by the time they'd spent motionless. But that was not a problem, he was going to physical therapy for that exact reason. Sadie's presence was unnecessary at this point. Jerry just didn't want to admit it.

Were Ashley the one to decide, she would've kicked Sadie out ages ago. But for now, she had to accept it.

That was another downside in Colby just having disappeared, adding to the overthinking and stressing out; Ashley had nowhere to go. She was stuck in the apartment. And that meant she spent most of her time in her bedroom, refused to watch any series' with Jerry, didn't accompany him anymore when he was cooking and generally just didn't talk to him anymore.

He didn't even seem to notice, which hurt more than she wanted to admit. He seemed rather to enjoy spending time with his annoying sister.

Yes, she finally let herself call her annoying – there was basically no other option with Sadie constantly reminding her of it. Maybe Ashley really wasn't the problem here, maybe it was the girl's voice constantly commenting on everything going on in the redhead's life.

It was a relief to admit that to herself, but not as much as finally seeing a message from Colby popping up on her phone's screen. But that, too, wasn't all positive. Even though she was pretty sure it would not contain the worst-case scenario, she was imagining that possibility wasn't nonexistent. She'd gone through that scenario too often in her mind already.

This was how it would go:

Colby: I'm really sorry, but we have to stop this.

Ashley: What, why?

Colby: It's Sam. He's making me decide between him and you.

Ashley: Oh, okay.

... or something like that.

Ripping the band-aid off, she opened the message and let out a breath of relief. It was not him saying she needed to stay away, thank fuck. The nausea she'd experienced over the past few days washed away in one motion.

Hey, he'd written, ever so politely, Sam and I tried to talk things out. He's telling me to apologise to you for him, for everything. He's also saying you can come over if you want to talk to him, Idk, your choice

Ashley's intuitive reaction was to agree to that. For one, she wanted to hear Sam apologise to her personally, and on the other hand, she wanted to get out of the apartment for a while. And not just to go ride her bike around aimlessly, she had the urge to actually do something.

Thinking over it a second time, she still saw no reason not to agree, so she shrugged and typed a response.

Yeah, I'd like to come over if that's okay rn
I really need to get out, and you're kinda the only place I can go to haha

Wow, that was a no-go. It sounded like she was a misunderstood, lovesick teenager with a troubling home life, Colby didn't need to see that-

Too late, he'd read the message already.

Sure, come over, he responded, Everything ok?

She suppressed a sigh. Be there in a sec.

Sadie, for a change, was not in the living room, and Ashley slipped out of the apartment unnoticed. That part about being a misunderstood teenager again and having a hard time with her parents felt a tad too accurate for her liking. She should not have to sneak around her own apartment to avoid questioning.

At least the ride over to Sam and Colby's house was quick, and able to clear her head. It also meant time to prepare what she wanted to say to Colby.