The Mix Up (Ashley Purdy Love Story)

Promises

Thanks for being patient guys!

The room was filled with laughter and cheery smiles. Cassandra stood in the middle of the room, grinning from ear to ear as people passed her and gave her compliments on her newly published novel.

Ashley and I stood in the far back, hands entwined and drinking our beers. Ashley looked model perfect with his cowboy boots and tight leather jacket. He was leaning against the wall with his foot propped against it, toying with a ring that was placed on my finger.

"What's the book about?" He asked, cocking his head to the side when he saw an excited girl scuttle pass with Cassandra's novel in hand.

"An unlikely couple finding love in an unlikely place. Pretty much our life." I summarized.

He chuckled and placed a kiss to my knuckles, "We aren't that unlikely."

I shrugged before leaning my head against his shoulder. People passed us without realizing that a famous bassist player was standing only three feet from them. All the attention was on Cassandra, who at the moment was giggling at something a group of girls were saying to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar blonde appear.

"I didn't know Morgan came." I murmured, turning to rest my chin on his shoulder so I could face him.

Ashley took a sip from his beer, "Yeah, things are still rough between her and Andy."

"Still? It's been almost two months, Ash." I muttered, using his nickname that I had picked up.

He sighed, "This is going to last a while."

"I don't mean to pry, but what are they fighting about? Do you even know?"

"Yeah. Morgan wants a baby and Andy doesn't."

My eyes widened in shock. A baby? Thinking about it, I could see Morgan with a baby. Andy though? I could tell that his life was drinking and touring. It was obvious that they loved each other to the moon and back but it seemed like he wasn't willing to do whatever she wanted.

"Alex!" I quickly dropped the subject when I saw my friend stalking past.

She briefly glanced at me, waved, and walked off. I stared after her retreating figure before sighing. For a while now she's been in the dumps. I had no idea what was going on and there was nothing I could do to help. She had moments where she was back to her normal, cheery self, but they came shortly before disappearing for weeks on end. It was starting to remind me of our school years and I was most definitely not liking it.

"She okay?" Ashley asked, also noticing her attitude.

I sighed, "I don't know."

He rubbed my arm comfortingly before pecking my temple. We still haven't had our first kiss and I was okay with that. I wanted to take things slow and not rush into a relationship - which is what happened with my last relationship. Just thinking about it had me shivering and wanting to step away from Ashley, scared that the same thing would happen again.

But then Ashley glanced at me, his brown eyes connecting with mine and grinning softly. He rubbed my hand comfortingly and all my worries washed away. His promise rang in my ears and I knew that he spoke the truth.

...

Three hours later and the room was empty except for Cassandra, Alex, Ashley, Morgan, and I. We sat in a circle on the ground, Cassandra holding up a bottle of forgotten wine and taking a long chug.

"Best night ever!" She cheered, letting herself fall back.

Ashley chuckled, "It was pretty good, huh?"

"Pretty good?" She repeated, staring at him with dilated pupils. I knew that the alcohol was starting to make it's appearance. "It was fucking awesome!"

Morgan was laying beside me on her stomach, flipping through Cassandra's book. Her eyes scanned through the pages and I could see a smile pulling at the corner of her lips, "This is super good, Cassandra. I'll have to buy a copy."

My newly published friend waved her off, "Take it."

"Really? Thanks! I'll have to tell Andy about- Um, never mind." Her mood deflated in an instant as her expression fell and she closed the book, pushing it away from her.

"I'm real proud of you, Cass," I quickly intercepted, trying to get Morgan out of the depression she dug herself into. "I knew you'd publish one day."

Ashley smirked, "I'm a huge fan."

Cassandra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "I didn't see you reading a book."

"I read what you wrote for Lexi during Warped Tour. Really descriptive, I loved it." He explained.

Both Cassandra and my eyes widened in shock. I had completely forgotten about him reading that and obviously, I had never told her that Ashley had accidentally read it. In an instant her face turned a bright color of red and she was stammering over her words.

Alex rolled her eyes, "Are you ready yet? I'm tired."

Ashley was only staying for tonight and tomorrow morning, so I had driven with Alex to the book release. Morgan and Ashley were staying at a hotel in the middle of town for the night so they'd taken a taxi here. I glanced at Ashley, to see if he wanted to hang out any longer, but he shrugged.

"Yeah, let me just get ready." I said.

She nodded before getting up and stepping out of the room. After a few seconds, Morgan also got up (nonchalantly tucking the book under her arm) and followed her out.

"Is everything okay with Morgan?" Cassandra asked. "I noticed her get really depressed when she talked about Andy. Isn't that her husband?"

Ashley and I sighed in sync.

"Yeah, they're just having a rough time. Normal things." I said offhandedly.

"I bet your book didn't help either," Ashley added, much to my shock. Cassandra and I watched him with interest. "You wanna' talk about an unlikely couple finding love in an unlikely place, just take a look at Morgan and Andy's story. I never expected them to get together."

Cassandra cocked her head to the side, interested, "How so?"

"They hated each other. I even think Morgan tried to poison Andy once. It was real bad, they couldn't be in the same room or anything. Then one night it just . . . changed. Next thing we know, they're in love."

If they could manage to find love through their hate, couldn't they find love through this?

...

"I'll be off of tour in a few days," Ashley informed me as he walked me towards my truck. Alex was sitting in the passenger seat and Morgan stood next to the building, waiting patiently for their taxi to show. "If you want to visit me in LA that is . . ."

The offer hung in the air and I felt my heart hammer against my chest. Did I want to go to his apartment and be alone with him for days? Did I want to leave Alex alone?

"I don't know, Ash," I sighed and he looked off. "I just . . . the time isn't right. With Alex acting how she is."

"Don't think about Alex. Think about yourself. And when you figure out what you want to do, call me. Alright? I'm not pressuring you into coming or anything, it's up to you." He quickly informed me.

I smiled and pecked his cheek, "I'll think about it but I can't make any promises."

"I'm not asking you to." He informed me, grinning before pecking my cheek as well and turning on his heel.

I heard Morgan say something and saw Ashley raise his middle finger to her. I couldn't help but laugh at their friendship before getting into the truck. Slamming my door shut, I glanced at Alex. 

"You're good, right?" I asked softly.

She forcefully smiled, "Of course."

We both knew it was a lie.