Without Me

We Are Broken

There was a long silence that extended throughout the room after Marshall's words towards his Mom. She hadn't replied instead she stood in the door frame of the kitchen, just staring back at him.

''Mom, where'd you...Oh hey,'' Nate had stumbled into the room and was awestruck when he saw his older brother seemingly having a staring contest with their Mom.

''Sup man, Um is Mom ok?'' Marshall asked a little worried at the blank expression that crossed Debbie's face.

''I'm fine, I think I just need a nap, all these people in one house at once is making me exhausted. Make sure Ashley comes and says hello at some point,'' Marshall nodded, watching still a little concerned as Nate led out of the room and possibly upstairs to her allocated room.

''Oh so you don't call people bitches anymore or am I the only one,'' Taila spoke up against once it was clear Nate and Debbie were out of earshot.

''You know what Talia fuck of would ya for once in your life stop being so fucking selfish. Alonzo was murdered not even twenty-four hours ago, I ain't got time to argue with you over meaningless shit,'' Marshall snapped out causing the woman to gulped, edging a little further away from him and closer to Kim. Kim then moved away from her approaching him slowly as if he was a deer she didn't want to scare off.

''Is Ashley ok?'' She asked him resting a gentle hand on his arm to get him to calm down after his vicious attack centred around Talia that had happened moments ago.

''I honestly don't know, I said some shit and well she ain't talking to me right now,'' he confessed shrugging her hand off and taking a step back, his eyes landing on anything that wasn't a physical human.

''I wouldn't be talking to you either,'' Talia grumbled, causing Marshall to snap his head up and glare at her. The stare was enough for her to shrink back, but not enough for her to actually leave the room, unlike Graham, who had left the second the argument had started.

''Why don't I go and check on her while you go and catch up with the girls, maybe get to know Hailie's boyfriend a bit more. Don't scare him off though,'' Kim suggested. She knew Ashley was very stubborn when she chooses to be so if she didn't want to talk to Marshall then she wouldn't. She was also aware that Talia and Ashley were not exactly friends so the only other person who had a shot with the redhead was going to be her.

''Ok, where are they though,'' Kim decided to show him where she'd last seen the rest of the family and once he'd greeted everybody and settled into a conversation it allowed her to sneak away in search of Ashley.

''I don't believe a word he just said, there is no way in hell Alonzo is dead I mean that shit would be all over the new right?'' Kim sighed as Talia came around the corner blocking her from going up the stairs.

''Ashley's accident wasn't all over the news in actual fact the only people who know about it are those in this house right now, so it is entirely plausible that Alonzo is no longer with us. So I suggest you shut up and stop being so damn disrespectful. No wonder Ashley and you fell apart,'' Kim whispered the explanation through gritted teeth, she wanted nothing more, but to scream at Talia and kick her out of the house. Unfortunately, she had no right, since the police had stressed for all their safety that nobody should leave unless it was safe to do so. Something Taila seemed to have not listened to because just as Kim turned around the woman had haphazardly started to put her shoes and coat on.

''Where are you going?''

''Outside for some air, nobody in this shit hole seems to want me around so I'm making it easier for all of you and getting out for a bit,'' Kim watched the woman leave, rolling her eyes as she dramatically slammed the door behind her.

Kim put the interaction behind her as she climbed the steps. Ashley's wellbeing was the most important thing to her at that precise moment in time. Taila and her dramatics could wait another hour or so before Kim had a serious sit down chat with her.

It didn't take Kim to find the room that had been given to Ashley and Marshall to stay in. The post-it note still stuck on the outside of the door gave it away just a little. She had thought to knock, but she remembered Marshall saying that she had locked herself in the bathroom, just before she'd left him in the living room. So she pushed down the handle and inched the door open ever so slightly so she could peer through the crack in the door. Ashley must have still been in the bathroom so Kim opened the door fully and was met with absolute silence.

''Ash you in here?'' Kim hurried over to the bathroom, going to knock on it, but the door fell open at her touch. Furrowing her eyebrows she looked around the empty room, scratching her head. Marshall was very adamant that she would be there, but clearly, she wasn't.

''Kim?'' The voice startled her to begin with mainly because it was not a voice she had been expecting to hear.

''Yeah, sorry I was told your Mom was in here, where is she?'' Jamie's face drained of all colour as he saw Kim emerge from the bathroom with the news, ''are you ok?'' She asked noticing the look on the teenager's face.

''Mom's in the study throwing razers out of the window, I've been trying to find Marshall. I don't know what to do, I think she thinks she's going to do it again.''

''Oh god. Marshall,'' she shouted as Jamie led her to where the study was, ''Marshall,'' there was no way the man hadn't heard her and was relieved when the moment they reached the open door of the study Marshall was behind them.

''What's happeing? Where's Ash?'' All Kim did was point as Ashley sat underneath the window pain a box in one her hand, while the other picked a variation of the same object out tossing it out the window, ''fuck,'' he muttered stepping into the room, moving towards Ashley.

Ashley herself seemed to be a daze as she continued to through razer after razer out of the window. It made marshall wonder where she could have possibly got them all from. That, however, was the least of his worries of present. Instead, he knelt down in front of her and placed one hand on her arms stopping her had from picking up one of the only razors left in the box.

''Whatca doing Ash?'' He whispered. She lifted her head slowly to look up at him, her eyes were red raw from crying and her cheeks were tearstained.

''Getting rid of these before I make the same mistake I did last time I lost someone important to me,'' she croaked out the tears threatening to spill again.

''Oh Ash,'' he cooed taking the box out of her hands and pulling her in for a soft comforting hug, ''I love you and I will never ever let you remake the mistakes you've made in the past I promise you that,'' Ashley wimpered burrowing her head further into his chest.

''I love you too.''