Zac had asked Rachel if she would want to stay with him at his apartment in order to feel safe, but she didn't feel right about the idea of staying with him. She knew his life had just grown more complicated and didn't want to add to the stress of that. Plus, she felt that Ashley could use some company right now. Arielle had gone home with Taylor and Natalie the night before, as her mother had insisted on it. Taylor thought Christopher and Arielle could use some time together anyway, to process everything.
Since she was still too freaked out to leave the house, and had nothing better to do that day, Rachel had been working around the kitchen. She just felt the need to keep as busy as possible. Once she was done cleaning up, she made up some lunch for Ashley. She hadn't seen her come out of her bedroom the entire morning, so she knew Ashley hadn't eaten yet. Going through the fridge, she realized that a trip to the grocery store was needed. But she managed to find what was needed to make grilled cheese sandwhiches and tomato soup.
Without so much as knocking on Ashley's bedroom door minutes later, she entered the room. There she found her laying in her bed, sobbing into her pillow. " Ashley, I... I know your upset, but... you need to try pulling yourself together enough to eat. You and the baby your carrying needs it."
" Why bother?" Ashley's sobs continued. " Everyone hates me, including Zac. I've made such a mess of everything."
" They don't hate you, Ashley. Their just... really mad." Rachel sat the food down on the nightstand, and sat on the edge of the bed. " Will you please eat? Arielle would never forgive me if I didn't take care of you, the way I said I would."
Ashley flipped herself onto her back, looking up at Rachel. " I... am so sorry about Brian. I feel like it is my fault, for ever having trusted him. He may have given me Christopher, but that is the only good thing he gave me." She took Rachel's hand into her's. " You don't deserve to be hurt, the way he tried to."
" I'm fine, Ashley. Zac saved my life. And none of it is your fault. It's not like you hired him to hurt me." With her free hand, Rachel swept a hair from Ashley's face that had gotten in her eyes. " Now please sit up and eat."
With a nod, Ashley finally sat up to eat. " You can go on downstairs and eat. I promise I'll eat and be down shortly."
" Okay. But if your not downstairs in an hour, I'm coming back up here for you." Rachel gave her a little smile. " I love you, Ashley. You've always been like another mother to me."
" I love you too, Rachel." She wiped away her own tears with the sleeve of her shirt, and took a bite of the sandwhich. " Thank you for lunch."
With a nod, Rachel left the room and went downstairs to eat herself.
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Arielle had spent most of the day trying to comfort her brother, but she wasn't feeling very confident herself that everything would be okay. Just when it seemed like things might be okay again, and maybe work itself out, everything had fallen apart as usual. She couldn't even get her dad to talk to her, much less look at her. He was so torn up about her mom being pregnant with his brother's baby, and she didn't understand why. He had moved on with Natalie. It's not like he even loved her mother, not the same way he once had. Feeling more confused than ever, and hurt, she decided to go for a walk. Leaving a note for her dad and Natalie, she put her headphones on and walked out the door. Not really knowing where she was headed, she started walking.
Losing herself in her own thoughts of recent events, she had been walking for almost fifteen minutes when her and someone else collided into each other. Both fell to the ground, and she immediately felt embarrassed. " I am so sorry. I... I didn't mean to..."
" It's okay. Really. " Getting back onto his own feet, the boy she had run into, held out a hand for her. As he helped her up, he gave her an embarrassed smile. " I really was not paying attention where I was going. I apologize."
She looked into his deep blue eyes, and gave him a little smile. " I... I wasn't either. I've just got so much on my mind."
" I know the feeling. I just moved here recently, and it's been kind of a whirlwind for me." He ran his fingers though his dark brown hair, so as to keep it out of his eyes. " My name is Avery by the way." He held his hand out to her once again, and they shook hands.
" My name is Arielle." She smiled as they shook hands. " Where did you move here from?"
" Well, I'm from California. But I lived in Tennessee for the last eight years. My mom died when I was ten, so it's been just me and my dad." He told her. " He just took a job here, and it's been frustrating. I'm about to graduate, and now I'm in a new city where I no absolutely no one."
" I'm sorry. I can only imagine how frustrating that must be." With the way he looked at her, she had to look away for a moment. It both excited her and made her nervous at the same time. Looking into the distance for a second, her eyes met with his again. " But I can promise you that people here in Oklahoma are very friendly. When I moved here from Colorado, I was nervous too. I still... I don't have too many friends, but I've been going through some stuff."
" Sorry to hear that." He gave her a sympathetic smile. " Maybe that's something we can change together. You could introduce me to the few friends you do have, and I... I could help you through some stuff."
With a little smile, she nodded. " I would like that." Just as she started to feel more comfortable around him, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket, and looked to see it was Natalie. " I... I need to take this. Give me a minute."
He gave her a little nod, and gave her some privacy as she walked a few feet away from him to take the call.
