Without Me

3am

Present time

''So what's happening?'' Jamie asked the moment they all stepped foot back inside Ashley's house. There was no longer bits of ceramic vase scattered everywhere as Jamie had long since cleared it up.

''You're going to bed, to begin with,'' Ashley replied, throwing her keys back inside her handbag.

''But I've got stuff at Marshall's,'' Jamie protested looking from his mother to Marshall.

''And he'll bring it all back around tomorrow. Now bed, I don't care how old you are,'' Ashley finished sternly, leaving a disgruntled Jamie to stomp up the stairs into his room.

With Jamie gone it left Ashley and Marshall awkwardly stood inside the hallway. Neither one of them said anything for a good few minutes. After their disagreement at the hospital, the car ride home had been silent, not even Jamie had spoken until they'd stepped foot inside the house.

''You gonna apologise or you just gonna stare at me until you fall asleep,'' Ashley was the first to speak, she looked up at Marshall, watching his eye twitch before he opened his mouth to reply.

''What am I apologising for exactly?'' He questioned, shoving past her and into the living room. She followed after him glaring as he sat down on her sofa, placing his feet up on the coffee table.

''For saying it's wrong that I kept the name Calderon,'' she stayed standing up, watching Marshall as he sighed brushing his hand over his face.

''I didn't say it was wrong.''

''You said it mattered Marshall, why the fuck does it matter,'' she argued.

''Because you're not married anymore Ash, how can you be Mrs Calderon. It's like Kim being Mrs Mathers. It just doesn't make any sense,'' Marshall bit back pulling his feet off from the table to sit upright and stare at her.

''I'm not divorced, Marshall. Did Kim get shot in the head,'' she paused, a silence following her remark, ''no I didn't think so,'' she muttered walking out of the room.

He followed her out and into the kitchen, he watched leaning on the door frame as she begun to boil a kettle and pull a mug off from the shelve. Hot chocolate, he didn't even need to ask, Ashley always made it when she upset or angry about something.

''You said you wanted to move on. How the fuck can you do that if you won't change your last name,'' his response came with a crash as she slammed the kettle down after filling up her mug. He hadn't meant to aggravate her more, he's only hoped for her to see some sense.

''Why are you so fixated on this, I made my decision thirteen years ago. I got a tattoo,'' she waved her wrist in front of him the words 'I wear the chain I forged in life,' a quote form A Christmas Carol firmly tattooed in black italics.

''That's not the reason you got that Ash,'' he pointed out.

''I know, but it means all the decisions I've made no matter how stupid I am, I have to learn to live with them, you should too.''

''What if you wanna get married again?'' He tried to reason.

''I'm not going to,'' she bluntly stated tearing open a packet of mini marshmallows and tipping a couple into her cup.

'' You're going to find it hard to find someone who doesn't wanna marry you, Ash,'' he spoke calming, keeping his tone low as he approached her slowly, reaching into the bag she held, popping a few marshmallows into his mouth.

''I've been on dates with four different guys this year Marshall and two of them straight up said they wanted to have kids with me, didn't even mention marriage.''

''That's fucked up,'' Marshall exclaimed taking the marshmallow back from her grasp placing it down on the counter behind her, simultaneously resting his palms against the counter as well, trapping her.

''Not as fucked up as us right now,'' she pointed out, noticing their closeness as she raised an eyebrow at him as she sipped her drink.

''We argue Ash, we always have. It's just different because we don't scream at each other.''

''We can't stay mad at each other, that's also the problem,'' she added taking another sip.

''Alonzo's going to stay mad I'm guessing,'' he muttered lifting his hands to brush his thumbs along the cuts on her arms, ''What did you say?''

''Something I shouldn't have,'' Marshall frowned as the eye contact she'd been maintaining disappeared, instead, she looked down at the contents of her drink.

''Yeah and that was?'' He pressed, but Ashley just turned around away from him.

''Nothing that concerns you,'' she answered, not turning back around to face him.

"Ok," there was a pause before he leaned in closer, "so now you and Alonzo ain't doing it," he whispered his arms travelling around to her waist.

"Nope," Ashley jumped out of hus arms before he could even offer his  full proposel.

"Yo you owe me for that lift I gave you," Marshall spoke about the lift he had given her after the date with Jason went wrong.

"And I offered you ten bucks," she shot back. He just stared at her for a couple of seconds, watching her as she delved inside her purse to pull out ten dollars,"here," she gestured for him to take it.

"How long do I get does ten bucks mean ten minutes, cause I'm down for that," Marshall responded a teasing grin on his face, which Ashley's did not mirror.

"I'm going to bed, you can show yourself out," with that she put the money back in her bag, procedding to leave, but he stopped her.

"Ash I was kidding, come on lets just watch a movie theres not point in going to sleep now."

Ashley sighed glancing up at the clock situated on the kitchen wall, it told her the time was 5am. It confused her because it meant they'd been talking for almost to hours as she was sure they'd gotten home at 3am.

"Fine," he smiled pulling her into a hug.

"Oh by the way I wasn't exactly kidding."

"I hate you," she mumbled pulling away from him and into the living room.

"Nah you love me," he called after her. All she did was roll her eyes.