Ash & Dust

11| He Was Interested

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DUST
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To say Ashley was surprised would be an understatement. The woman was downright speechless. Maizie calling her 'Superwoman' probably had something to do with that, considering that was when her lightly arched brows raised and she fell silent.

"Maizie, this is Ashley. Say hi," I said, meaning to break the awkward silence. 

"Hi," she obeyed shyly, now hugging me firmer than before.

Ashley was still quiet, her brown eyes blankly blinking at the two of us.

"She's pretty, Uncle Dusty," Maizie whispered terribly into my ear. She was always louder than normal whenever she tried to whisper, much like in this moment, but I noted how Ashley's mouth curved to the side in a lopsided smile at her words. It was nice to see she could still function.

Good. I was afraid I fucking broke her or something.

"I know, kid, she is. But, why don't you tell her that instead of me?" I suggested, catching Ashley's eye before she gave her attention to Maizie.

"Um, you're very pretty," she said with a toothy grin.

"Thank you. You're very pretty, too."

"Thanks! Dusty tells me that all the time!" she beamed, patting my chest as I watched her with pride. Hell, you'd think she was my fucking kid they way I was around her. "And I like your squiggles. I asked my mommy for some but she said I'm too little."

I chuckled when Ashley looked to me in confused amusement. 'Squiggles?' she mouthed for help.

"She means your tattoos," I explained, noticing just now that this was the first time I saw her without a jacket or coat on.

I could see her arms clearly, and while she was no where near as inked up as me, the woman certainly had more than just a few tats. I wanted to take the time to study them all, see if hers had meaning behind them or were just for the hell of it, but knew that would have to wait.

Another time.

"Oh! Well, yes, you are a little too young for...squiggles. Maybe when you're older," she responded to Maizie with a kind expression.

It was weird seeing Ashley so gentle. The earlier times I'd met her, she was the complete opposite. Standoffish. To know she was capable of being this way caught my interest. I wondered what it would take to get her to let her guard down around me, the way she was with Maizie. She softly smiled at the little girl as she sat in my arms, shyly smiling back at her.

Eventually, I put Maizie down, watching as she ran to a sitting area not far from the desk. She didn't even hesitate to grab a marker and start coloring on some of the pages scattered on a table in the center of the space. I usually scolded her whenever she just ran off somewhere, but since she was still in sight and not doing any harm, I let it go. Especially since it gave me a chance to really talk to the woman I came to see.

"Dustin."

"Ashley," I replied, playfully mocking her serious tone.

"How did you know I work here?" she questioned.

"This is the closest community center near the hospital," I shrugged with an easy grin, explaining how I assumed this was her workplace. "Figured I might as well see if you were here, and you were."

Shaking her head, she looked down at some of the papers in front of her, before bluntly asking, "Why? What are you doing here? Seriously."

To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure why these past few days I'd felt the need see her. It had been a month since I saw her at the hospital. A month since I watched her cough up her own blood. The whole time she was in a far worse state than I thought, and I was fucking chatting with her. Talk about being blind. I won't lie, I was beating myself up about it, even though she was a grown woman that made her own choices.