Adopted by Andrew Lincoln

23

Ashley's POV

Walking through the old beat up house my small footsteps take caution around the broken glass on the floor as I go to the kitchen. I was looking for my Mom, I didn't know she had died earlier, but I sure would later.

I was 3 years old at the time, barely talking, and starting my goofy smiles. It should've been a happy time, but it wasn't.

As I rounded the corner my life would change forever. There sat my father, drunk, something that I hadn't known of before until that night.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?" I shake his shirt.

He turns to look down on me from the wooden table, his eyes red like he's been crying. I didn't know how to react so my lip quivered when he started to drink from a brown bottle again, and start to cry.

"Just go back upstairs Ashley" is the only thing he said.

"Where's Mommy?" I ask again with tears in my little eyes.

"God Dammit Ashley! She's dead, gone! Now go back to your room" he shouts standing up.

He had never done this before so I quickly scrambled away from him, and accidentally fell onto the glass shards cutting my hands in the process.

I ran upstairs and locked my room crying.

I heard loud footsteps creeping towards my room, my heart beating fast in my chest, I had just lost my Mom and my Dad had yelled at me. I was a crying mess, because all I wanted was my Mom back.

Loud knocks came from the wooden door harshly. "Ashley!" He screamed.

"No" I whispered backing away from the door.

"Ashley!"

"Ashley!"

"Ashley! Come on please"

"No!" I screamed still half asleep and terrified from one of the only memories I have from my early childhood.

"Ashley, it's okay. No ones here to hurt you" I look up and see a concerned look on Andy's face.

I waste no time in jumping out of bed and into his arms hugging for dear life. This man has been here for me for a lot, and not once has he tried to hurt me, I trust him with my life now.

He hesitantly wraps his arms around me before relaxing into the hug, and we sit there at 2 in the morning hugging.

"I-I'm sorry" I stutter, wiping away tears before they could fall.

"It's okay Ashley, do you want to talk about it?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh um," I bite my lip thinking. If I tell him he should be helpful, and comforting. It wasn't the worst memory I had of my father, because there are worse. "Sure"

I tell him about my nightmare, and just a little about my father because I'm afraid if I speak about him any further he'll find me like he threatened before I was taken away.

"I'm sorry" Andy says putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"You don't need to be, he's not in my life anymore hasn't been for a long time. You're in my life, and that's what makes me happier than I even could of been growing up" I say with a smile.

His eyes lighten up and he smiles before saying goodnight and leaving. I fall back asleep glad to have gotten that memory talked about, and I wasn't scared to fall back asleep.