The Story of Udonia

Chapter Seven: New Year, New Disaster

It was the night of New Year's Eve. Ashton had avoided me the whole day. He didn't even come out of his room for breakfast or lunch. I finally saw him at dinner. The Covingtons had a New Year's Eve dinner tradition too. They drank sparkling grape juice and ate Tostitos Pizza Rolls. This was something I could get on board with.
I walked into the dining room to find Ashton smiling while talking to Ashley. They then both burst out into laughter. I sat down next to Ashley and their laughter stopped. I felt like I had stepped into something I shouldn't have. I was going to ask what they were laughing at, but I decided they should keep it between siblings. Mr. and Mrs. Covington entered the room with a server behind them. The man put a glass in front of everyone. He retreated to the kitchen returning moments later with two bottle of sparkling, one was red grape and the other was white grape. Another man came behind him. He placed down a tray of hot from the oven Pizza Rolls. They both bowed and left the room.
After dinner, we moved the party into the living room. We turned on the TV to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Our island didn't have anything equivalent to that, so most people just watched the ball drop. Mr. and Mrs. Covington both sat in their chairs while the three of us squeezed on the couch. Ashley was on the left, I was in the middle, and Ashton was on the right. The evening continued with nothing happening between the two of us. The bigger problem was what happened two days later.
January 2, 2015.
Alyssa Covington was traveling home from a charity benefit in Plavin, Hikaru. It was for children with cancer. She was riding in a black limo that was curving down a winding road. The official police report was that the driver lost control of the wheel and the car plummeted off a cliff, but this was just the statement released to ease the public. The police continued to investigate the crash, but not until after tell the family.
I was helping Ashton pack up some clothes and things in his room when Ashley came in.
"Dad wants us to come to his office." She said.
Ashton followed his sister out the door and then they turned back.
Ashley smiled. "This time the us includes you." She linked arms with me. We didn't know what to expect going through that door.
Mr. Covington was sitting with a police officer. He introduced him as the chief of the station in Plavin.
The chief went on to explain what they had found. It was then that we realized that Alyssa was late returning from her event. She was supposed to be back in time for dinner, but she never made it. It was around 6:22 p.m. when the car crashed, 6:49 when the authorities discovered arrived on scene, 6:50 Alyssa Covington and the driver were pronounced dead, and the officer arrived at the Hikaru castle at 7:30 p.m. to explain what had happened. The statement about her death went out after receiving the okay from the King at 8:00 p.m. that evening.
Ashton decided to stay home longer to help his family cope with this loss. The funeral for Mrs. Covington took place four days after her death.
I just simply couldn't believe that the world would take this wonderful woman from us. How could some much death have occurred so recently? Coincidence, I think not! But that would be handled after the grieving process.
Ashley stayed in her room for two days. Unlike me, she didn't drink her troubles away. Instead she cried. She cried so much that she had to have another box of tissue delivered to her room every three hours. She eventually allowed me to come in to console her. I had let my boo-hoo's out previous and was ready to hold her until she felt better. This was followed with retail therapy in the form of online shopping.
Mr. Covington had lost his positivity. When he learned he was going to die of cancer, he wasn't too upset by it. He figured it was fate's plan for him. But when his beloved wife died, his outlook on death changed. He fell into a bit of depression.
Ashton's grieving involved violence. I went into his room one day after her death. I saw that things were thrown around and broken. His suitcase he had packed was thrown against the wall with it's contents spread around the room. He was sitting on the foot of his bed with earbuds in and his head resting in his hands when I entered.
He glanced up at me with a frown to see my sympathetic smile. He took his earbuds out and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He then moved to his night stand and set down his phone. His next move was unpredictable. Ashton ran over and squeezed me tight. As his grip loosened I moved my hands to the back of his head and into his hair. He pulled away slightly so our eyes could meet. He then rested his forehead on mine. I used my thumb to wipe a single tear from his cheek. I put Ashton at arms length. I had come in there to help him grief, but he suddenly didn't seem interested in anything except for me. Frustrated with the distance, Ashton put his arms behind my waist and pulled my body in closer. His eyes flashed with anger and lust. He pulled one hand up to my head and thrust his lips into mine. My body erupted with goosebumps.
This is not what I had in mind!
The kiss deepened quickly. Passion was running through our tongues. Ashton's hand traveled down my side and met the other on my waist. He pushed me down to his bed and mount himself on top of me. His lips moved to my neck. My breath became erratic.
No! This is wrong...but it feels so right!
I was conflicted. Then I thought back to our first kiss. Ashton stopped it because the timing wasn't right. The same thing was happening here. He was angry at the world for taking his mother this needed to stop.
His lips pulled at mine and his hands moved up my stomach under my T-shirt heading towards my breasts.
I took action to push him off of me. "No!" I shouted as I made an escape, almost falling off his bed.
Ashton looked at me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking with the flurry of emotions flying off his face. He flipped down on his bed and his breath slowed. I heard him grumble and as stood up. He walked closer to his desk and in one swift motion brushed it's contents off the side and onto the floor. Things shattered and cracked. It was a much louder sound than I expected.
"Ashton!" I shouted.
He turned to face me. This time I could tell which emotion was the primary one. Anger. Ashton must have seen the slightly terrified expression on my face because his tensed body quickly relaxed. His face moved towards guilt. He approached me. I stood up to close the distance. I hugged him once more and then stepped back so I could see his face.
"I'm sorry." He sighed and lightly grazed my lips with his.
The touch was warm and forgiving.
Things in the Hikaru castle fell apart those couple of days. Part of me couldn't help but feel responsible. I sort of felt like I brought about this bad luck. I lost my entire family and now theirs was crumbling.