Phoenix ✔️

Chapter 27: My Surprising Fanbase

Have you ever experienced something where you just knew it was going to happen, but at the same time, you didn't see it coming? If that makes any sense at all. When the police officer told me that Colin had turned himself in, I didn't believe it at first for a number of reasons. The one that was the most significant to me was that he just turned himself in out of the blue. 

In all my years of knowing him, the last thing I would expect is for him to turn himself in. He couldn't even admit that he was the one that broke his shot glass after indulging in his luxury bottle of tequila. The chance of him confessing to the overwhelming amount of charges possibly against him is like the possibility of Elena not insulting Dom for a month. 

However, when it comes to Ash, there's a whole other level of stubbornness that forms a thick layer on Colin. That layer will take all the acids in the world to dissolve. Colin looked at Ash like a man would look at the killer of his pregnant wife. The words that flew out of his mouth towards Ash were like hard punches, trying to bruise his ego in any sort of way possible. 

Colin wouldn't even let Ash come within a 10 foot radius within him. How in the world did Ash make Colin turn himself in? I knew that someone made him turn himself in, but when it came to Ash, it made the entire scenario completely impractical. 

"Ash. How did you even do that?" I ask, and he sighs. 

"I'm going to give you the short version. Last night, I found out that the police were looking for him, because he wasn't at his house. My dad told me, after calling me for some sort of reason, that Colin had come to stay with him for a while. I knew it was actual bull crap, so I went over to my dad's house to reason with him. I knew that Colin would probably stab my face the minute he saw that I was within a 15 foot radius, but my dad's place was arguably safer because I knew my dad would probably lose it on him for hurting me. I talked with him, and it was messy, to say the least. I was able to convince him to turn himself in, after bringing up the Tina mess, and the facts about you doing nothing wrong at all. I guess that's what made him turn himself in. I'm trying to stay away from my dad, because I know I'm the last person that he wants to see right now. One of his sons is in federal custody, and the other was the one that made him turn himself in. Yeah, not a good time. I doubt he even wants to see my sisters right now," I say, and my heart sinks to the pits of my chest. 

Well, thanks to my horrible behavior, I possibly ruined Ash's family. Man, I came from one already, but it breaks my heart to see that I was the cause of another one. "Ash, gosh. I'm so sorry. I can't believe I ruined your family," I tell him.

 A gasp that escapes Ash's lips rings my ears. I raise an eyebrow at his sudden surprise. "You? Ruining my family? Nicole, don't say that. You didn't ruin anything. My siblings and I were already on bad terms with our dad before Colin turned himself in. You did nothing wrong," Ash assures me, and I relax a little bit. 

I still feel a little bit guilty that I was the cause of Ash and Colin's bickering, but his reassurance calms me down a little bit. "Oh, and also, did Dom tell you our boss' feedback on the financial statements you wrote? Our boss was praising you so much. I took a look at them, and you did a really fantastic job with them," Ash compliments. Blush sweeps my cheeks at the sudden compliment, which Elena notices, and she smirks as a result.

 "Thank you, Ash. That's so sweet. And, no, Dom didn't tell me," I say, and he chuckles. 

"It's the truth. Wow, Dom didn't tell you? Weird. He wants to give you a job as a financial analyst. He's very willing to give you an interview sometime next week. What do you say? Dom actually has to tell him yes, but eh, I don't care. Do you want to join the company?" he asks. 

I vigorously nod my head, and chuckle a little bit. For the first time in such a long time, I've gotten a really genuine compliment from someone. Throughout all this darkness my life has been, the little ray of light that was a compliment shone in, making everything better. I'm grateful for Ash shining that little light. "Yes. I'll join the company," I say, and I can almost feel