After Andy (#6 in the 'Outcast' Series)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"Ashley?"

I looked up, seeing Corey at the door.

"Hey Corey; what's up?" I asked, seeing as he came in, looking like his usual nervous self. "How can I help?"

I glanced at him as he sat down, my focus still on what was in front of me that I had to get done; I didn't have anyone scheduled for another hour or so.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Corey asked, sounding a bit hesitant about speaking.

I stopped what I was doing and looked up, seeing him watching me and waiting for an answer.

"Sure; y'know you can always stop in and chat," I said, Corey giving a nod. "What's on your mind?"

Corey hesitated; I waited, knowing that he'd say something when he was ready to. He looked down as he spoke.

"What's gonna happen when you're not here?" he asked, making me frown. He sighed. "Like, I mean, you're only here for like another two weeks before you have to leave for a while. Who's taking over and everything?"

"Honestly Corey, I don't know yet," I admitted truthfully, Corey looking at me with a bit of disappointment. "I haven't been told anything, but I'm sure whoever will be here for the time I'm not, they'll be able to help you. They'll be acting in my job, so they'll know what they're doing."

Corey didn't seem to be too convinced, but he gave a nod nonetheless.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure," I said, going back to what I'd been working on before he'd come to see me; he also should've been in class right now, but it didn't surprise me that he wasn't. "You can always ask, even if you don't get the answer you're after; no harm in asking."

"Why did you decide to get into this line of work?" Corey asked.

That made me stop; I looked up from my work, seeing him watching me.

"Because I wanted to help people," I replied honestly, Corey once again looking unconvinced. "If I can stop people from disappearing forever, then that's what I'm gonna do. I've unfortunately seen bad things happen to kids that don't deserve it and if I can help stop that then that's all I wanna do."

I switched my gaze back to my work, Corey still watching me.

"Do you think I could maybe...stay here for a bit...?" he asked, sounding rather hesitant about it.

I sighed, once more looking to him. "Corey, you can't just stay here all the time; you're meant to be in class learning stuff. You can't always hide out here y'know."

"Please Ashley?" Corey pretty well begged as the phone on my desk went off, signalling someone was calling. "I really don't wanna go back to class."

"Just let me take this call and we'll discuss it," was my response; he couldn't always count on staying in my office all day. I picked up the phone, answering it. "This' Ashley."

"Ashley, hey! It's Lauren."

"Lauren, Jesus hey," I said in response, the surprise coming through my tone. I looked to Corey who was just looking around the room; I indicated for him to get something out to work on while I took the call. "How's it going? I haven't heard from you in a long time."

It had been a very long time since I'd heard from Lauren. It had to have been a couple of years since we'd last spoken, but I knew she'd been busy.

Lauren was Andy's cousin and had been one of his best friends right until the end. She'd taken it pretty hard when he'd died but ever since then she'd made it her life goal to make a change on how people were treated. She'd become an ambassador for mental health and everything involved with it; how it affected people and what could happen. I knew she always used Andy as the main person she talked about when she went around to schools to try and get people more aware of it.