To be or not to be? (Book #1)

Chapter 10

"Come on Ashley, you have to come with us!" Madison exclaimed over the phone. Her, Mark, Mark's college-aged sister Megan, and her boyfriend, Mike were all going on a ski trip to the Frey's family cabin during the 2 and a half weeks of winter break.

"I don't know... I've only skied like one time." Ashley said hesitantly. She didn't really want to spend the weekend watching Madison and Mark along with Megan and her boyfriend be all lovey-dovey while she had to be away from Alex for 2 weeks. Sure, they weren't together, but she still enjoyed being with him.

"Oh, Alex is coming too." Madison said, forcing her voice to be nonchalant. Ashley heard the smlie in her voice and immediately changed her mind.

"Well why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" Ashley asked, laughing at her friend.

"It was an experiment," Madison laughed. "Now pack your bags, we leave in two days!"

"Ugh, fine. But I am not sking every day." Ashley said, getting up and rummaging around in her closet for a suitcase. She found one and tossed it on her floor.

"Whatever. I'll see you later today! We can have a sleepover tomorrow night, alright?" Madison said enthusiastically.

"Alright, fine." Ashley said, laughing again. They hung up and Ashley walked out of her room to talk to her mom about her plans, feeling bad that she was going to leave just one week after her mom had arrived home.

"Hey, mom?" Ashley asked, lightly knocking on her mother's door. She was reading a book and looked up at Ashley, smiling.

"Hey. What's up?" She asked, placing a bookmark in her page and then setting the book down on her bed.

"Madison just called and was wondering if I could go with her and Marks family up to their cabin for winter break." Ashley said. Okay, so it wasn't a total lie. Mark's family would be there... Just not all of his family.

"Sounds like fun!" Ashley's mom said, somewhat surprising Ashley. "Just promise to call me every night, okay?"

"I promise." Ashley said.

"When do you leave?"

"Tuesday."

"Well then you better get packing"

Grinning, Ashley squealed a 'thanks' to her mom and bounded out of her room, excited to go on this trip with her friends. She began packing all of the essentials: underwear, warm, fuzzy socks, snow gear, pajamas, and lots of sweaters and jeans, for the nights when they would go out to dinner or curl up by the fire and just hang out. Her heart began to race as she thought about being in the cozy little cabin with Alex for two and half weeks. She loved it there, having visited it with Mark and Madison and couple years ago. She was excited to go there with Alex. Sure, they wouldn't be completely alone, but there were only 3 rooms in the cabin, each with a set of twin beds, and she was pretty sure that she and Alex would be forced to room together, because of the couples and all.

Forced isn't the right word... 'Privileged' would be a better one.

Ashley thought with a smile. She finished up her packing in record time, throwing accessories, perfumes, and other needed snow items into her bag, along with her heavy duty winter boots, and a couple pairs of cuter boots, just in case. She debated whether or not she should throw a nice, flattering dress and heels into her bag just so she would be ready if they wanted to go to a party or go dancing one night. She ended up carefully packing one of her favorite dresses and heels, just so she wouldn't miss out on a great night if they ended up partying. When she was finished packing, she and her mom made dinner and watched a movie, hanging out all evening. When the movie was over, her mother turned to her, ready to ask some questions.

"So, who's going on this trip besides Mark's family?" She asked.

"Me, Madison, Alex, and Megan's boyfriend" Ashley listed. Her mother nodded, a small smile on her lips.

"So that's why you want to go so badly." She teased. Ashley's cheeks went bright red as heat flushed into them.

"That's not the only reason.." She giggled. Ashley's mother shook her head.

"Whatever you say." She winked "Come on, lets bake some Christmas cookies."

They spent the whole night talking and laughing, baking cookies and eating the cookie dough. Ashley loved it when her mother was home, but she understood how hard it was for her to be around Ashley's father - not that he came around much now because of the babies on the way. Thinking about her father's new children made her feel sick, as it always did. She didn't want him to have new children. She was an only child and most of the time, she liked it that way. She wouldn't have minded siblings when she was younger, but she minded now. Sure, it got lonely sometimes, but Ashley wasn't too keen on having siblings 17 years younger than her. When Ashley and her mother finally went to bed, she was happy. She had spent some quality time with her mom, for the first time in a long time, and she went to sleep, completely content.

The next morning was 'Christmas' for Ashley and her mother. Since Ashley was leaving the next morning, they were doing Christmas early. They had just gotten each other little things, not going all out this year like they used to. Ashley received a few cute clothing items that she had asked for, and she had gotten her mother a travel mug for the coffee she adored so much, along with a few new decorations for their home. They hugged and thanked each other, and then spent the day eating the cookied they had baked last night and watching Christmas movies. They had a turkey dinner with potatoes, stuffing, and all the lovely food at Christmastime. Ashley was still stuffed when she hugged her mother goodbye and took her suitcase and backpack out to Madisons car and hopped in, ready for the 2 and a half weeks ahead of her.

"So, you looking forward to this trip?" Madison asked with a teasing tone in her voice. Ashley laughed softly.

"Of course I am, I'll be spending two and half weeks with you!" Ashley teased back. Madison grinned.

"Are you hoping to get a nice little New Year's kiss from mister Jones?" She teased even more. Ashley didn't even realize that they would be there through the new year, now knowng that Madison and Mark would be kissing at midnight, and so would Megan and her boyfriend. That left Alex and Ashley. Would they kiss? Or would they just let it be awkward and hug or something instead?

"You hadn't thought about that, did you?" Madison asked, laughing.

"Well, no, I didn't, now it's going to be awkward." Ashley said.

"I've got an idea, how about we go to a New Years Eve party, you get a little tipsy, kiss him, and then just blame it on that." Madison suggested jokingly.

"Not a half bad idea, Maddie" Ashley said, almost considering it.

"Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol." Madison sang, bursting out laughing.

"Sounds good to me! That's what Tyler did!" Ashley laughed. Madison glanced at her sideways, the smile fading from her lips.

"Is that what happened? Did he get drunk and try something?" She asked cautiously. Ashley sighed and shook her head.

"No, he got drunk and made out with Brianna." Ashley said. Madisons mouth dropped open.

"Does he know you two basically hate each other?" She asked. Ashley nodded.

"He was just drunk and didn't care." Ashley said, shrugging.

"You're over it now?" Madison asked, knowing that her best friend wasn't too broken up about it anymore.

"Yeah, I mean, it's over, it happened almost 2 months ago. I'm over it." Ashley said, smiling.

"Good. I hated seeing you like that." Madison smiled back sympathetically. Ashley nodded as they pulled into Madisons driveway. They unloaded all of Ashley's stuff and placed it by the door, ready to go out in the morning. They spent the night talking about Alex, Mark, and many other things. They eventually fell asleep watching a movie, and Ashley dreamt all night about Alex.