Oceans Eyes || Andy Fowler || DISCONTINUED

Chapter 1o - Her Family

I carry her into into my house and lay her down on my bed. The sight almost makes me want to cry. What if we never saw her? She could've been so much worse...
I grab a small towel, dampen it with cold water, then place it on her forehead.
When will she wake up!? He must've punched her hard the times before. If only I wasn't daydreaming in class. Then maybe I could've stopped it! This wouldn't have happened to her! This is my fault!
Quiet whimpers come from the girl in front of me.

Ashley's POV

"M-my head hurtsss..." I lift my hand to my face but quickly pull away when I feel a sting of pain. "Ow!"

"Ashley! Are you okay!?"

Don't tell me that's... Andy. I sit up and look at him. "Crap it hurts..."

"Don't move too much. Seeing how you are, you should take it easy."

"What? What happened?"

"I'd ask the same question honestly. Me and Rye had to jump into a crowd because someone was beating you up..."

"O-oh... I really didn't want to fight. I didn't even throw any punches or anything." I look at my hands and take my hoodie off to reveal few, but dark bruises on my arms. "Th-this is the worst they've done..."

"...The worst they've done..? Who's 'they'?"

Should I tell him? About my family?
"U-um I..." I hesitate.

He looks into my eyes. "You don't have to tell me anything you're not comfortable with. I know we've only known each other for a couple days so I don't expect you to be comfortable around me or trust me."

Why is he making me feel like this? All the boys I've known were careless and stuck up and treated girls like trash. Why is he... different?
I take a deep breath and say, "Please... promise me you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

"I promise. Are you okay?"

"I-I... Andy please don't hate me after this...
I don't have a very good relationship with my parents, much less my family. I-I have trust issues because of them. There's always threats going around. My parents fight all the time and would sometimes even take their anger out on me. Sometimes my stepdad would h-hit me... and l-leave wound a-and bruises..." I can feel myself trembling.

Andy's POV

I wipe a tear from her cheek with my thumb and hug her. "I am so sorry." I say quietly in her ear.

"I-it's okay. Th-the one that was trying to fight with me earlier was my cousin. He always makes fun of me and if I don't do what he says, like his homework, then he would get aggressive."

I pull back and feel anger grow inside of me. "What kind of cousin is that!? And how is that okay!? Ashley, don't lie to me. It's not okay and you don't deserve that type of treatment. Especially from your own family."

A piece of music chimes softly and Ashley takes her phone out of her pocket.
She quickly wipes her eyes and answers the call.

"He-hello?"

Even though she doesn't have the speaker on, I hear a boom of a mans voice come from the call. I can't exactly make out what he's saying, it sounds like gibberish.

"I-I-I'm sorry......okay, I'll be there soon... I know, I'm sorry. O-okay, bye..."
She hangs up and slams her phone down on the bed.

"Ashley? What happened?"

She doesn't answer, just wipes her eyes and stands up.
"I-I have to go. My parents want me home."
So that was her stepdad...

"You can't go back."

"Huh? Why?"

Now knowing about her parents, I don't think it's safe for her to go back. I'd rather her just stay with me... n-not because I like her or anything! I just, don't want her to get hurt again...
"B-because..." I look down. "What if you just stay here? They don't know where I live. They can't get you here."

"A-Andy I c-can't."

"Yes you can."

"Andy, I really wish I could... if I stay any longer... I-I need to go!" She gets her stuff and steps out of my bedroom.

"I-I'll drive you to get your car from the school."

"Thank you Andy."
We exit my house and hop into my car.
I park my vehicle next to the one she says is hers. I look at her, "You'll be okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Thank you. Bye."

Right before she steps out of the car I hesitantly speak up, "W-wait!"

"Yeah?" She looks back at me.

I pull a small piece of paper from my pocket.
"H-here. It's my number. If you ever need to talk to someone, you know what to do." I smile and give it to her.

"Th-thanks. Bye Andy." She waves and closes the door.

"Please be safe..."