Chapter 13

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Ashlyn's POV

It had been almost a month since I moved in with Tony, and it had to have been the best month of my life! Summer was coming to an end, and as the end of July approached, I started looking at colleges. Tony didn't know it, but I had a dream of getting into a theatre arts school and becoming an actress.

I had already applied to a few, and I decided I should tell Tony about my dream and my goal, especially since some of the colleges I wanted to attend were out of state.

"Babe, I'm home! And I brought chinese!" Tony called as I heard the front door shut.

"In the living room!" I called back as I stacked the college applications and set them aside.

"What are those?" Tony questioned as he set the food next to them.

"College applications.. I've been kinda meaning to talk to you about this... I want to go to a theater school.. My dream is to become an actress, so.. I started applying to colleges for the fall." I explained as Tony sifted through the papers, eyebrows furrowed.

"Ash... Almost all of these are out of state." He pointed out, looking back up to me.

I blushed uncomfortably, breaking eye contact and looking down at my twiddling thumbs. "Uh, yeah.. Well.. I mean, I applied to the colleges here, too, but.. I don't know, the out-of-state colleges all have better theater programs..." I explained nervously. Tony stayed silent, and finally, I looked up to see him staring at me with an expression of sadness mixed with anger.

"So because they have better programs, you'd want to leave? So soon after moving in?" Tony clarified, his voice slowly getting louder.

"T-Tony.. Please don't be mad..." I said in a small voice.

"Don't tell me what to do! You can't tell me what to do when you plan on leaving the fucking state!" He yelled, making me flinch. He didn't seem to notice as he stood up, stepping closer to me. "I can't believe you would just start applying to colleges without even saying anything! Don't you think I should have a say in this? I'm your fucking boyfriend!"

Anger filled me with that last phrase, and I stood up, getting close to his face. "So what!! You think because you're my boyfriend you can just boss me around?! Keep me here? This is my life, I make the fucking rules in it! If I want to go to an out of state college, I fucking will! So no! You don't get a fucking say! Fuck off!" I yelled back.

Tony squared his shoulders, and my anger quickly turned into fear. I flinched back, shielding my face with my hands. I fell back onto the couch and curled into a ball, waiting for something to happen. "Ashlyn." I flinched again, despite the fact that his voice was soft. "Ash.. Please sit up... Look at me, please." His voice was a whisper now.

I peeked out at him, and saw his stance had softened. His knees were bent slightly, his hands gently hovering above my hands, his expression apologetic. His hands came down to rest on mine, and he kneeled in front of me. Ever so gently, he pulled my hands away from my face, and reached forward to wipe away the tears that I hadn't noticed I'd shed. "You know I'd never hurt you. I just.. I'd miss you. I have a lease on this house, it costs too much to break it... I couldn't leave my job... You'd have to leave me here, and I just don't want to be away from you." Tony explained softly.

"I-I'm sorry.. I should've talked to you." I whispered back, uncurling myself finally, and facing him. "I just.. This is a life-long dream of mine. I'd be able to visit on holidays, and summer breaks. But I really, really want to go. And.." I paused, hating myself for what I was about to say. "And if you can't accept it, then.. I-I won't hesitate to end it with you. I can't have you hold me back." Tears gathered in my eyes again. "I'm sorry."

"No. No, don't be sorry. I do support you. I support you through everything you want to do, I promise. If I didn't, then I really would be a crappy boyfriend. I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. I was just surprised, okay? I do support you in this. I want you to live your dream."

"Thank you." I said, smiling, as I played with his fingers. Tony leaned forward, kissing me softly.

"What do you say we eat this chinese food and fill out applications, yeah? I'll help you."

I smiled, kissing him again. "Sounds great." I said, smiling.

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I ran inside the house, clutching the letter in my hand. "Turtle!! Tony, I got in!!!" I squealed, running up to our room. "Tony!"

"Yeah? What?" Tony said, stepping out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

"I got in!! I got into the New York Film Academy!!!" I exclaimed, holding the acceptance letter up to him. He grabbed it, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Oh my god." He said quietly. He wandered over to our bed, sitting down on it while still reading.

Fear bubbled up in my chest. What if he didn't want me to go that far away? What if he yelled again? What if he didn't actually care about this dream of mine? "T-Tony?" I said quietly, standing shyly in the doorway.

He looked up, disbelief still swimming in his eyes, his expression otherwise hard to read. He stared at me for what felt like forever, dread still building in my chest, even if it was only seconds. Finally, he stood up, his face breaking into a smile. "You got in!"

"I got in!" I exclaimed breathlessly, smiling back.

"You got in!! Oh my god you got into your dream school!" Tony exclaimed again, hugging me.

"Agh!! Tony, you're all wet!" I squealed, struggling. He let me go, laughing.

"Sorry, babe." He said, smiling. "Holy shit, though!"

"I know!"

Tony rushed forward again, kissing me this time. "I'm so proud of you. You'll do great at this." He said lovingly, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear before kissing me once more.

"We need to tell the others. And I need to get enrolled and signed up for classes. And I need to work out dorming." I started listing off the things I needed to do to get over there. "Also, I'll need a plane ticket, and-"

"Babe. Ash. We'll work it out, okay? Let's start with telling the others, yeah?" Tony suggested.

I nodded in response, picking up my phone and starting to call people to tell them the good news!

Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying the story. I'm sorry for my absence, winter break was insane, and I didn't have much time or motivation to write. Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know I've started a youtube channel! I have 2 videos up currently, so if you like watching youtubers, you can find me as Kie Culley. Anyway, I'm back on track with writing now, so I hope you guys keep reading!

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