The Game We Play

Chapter Nineteen

Ash shoved her ice cream cone into the person's face. Taking advantage of their momentary release of her, she spun around and swung at their face. They fell back in surprise and she noticed it was Savanna.

"Leave now or I'm calling the police." Ash spoke coldly.

The girl snarled and switched open a pocket knife. Just her luck- yet another person with a knife.

"Look- just go. You clearly can't win." Ash said, scanning the area to see what she could use.

"I wish my father had shot your heart instead of your leg!" she yelled as she lunged at her.

Ash tried to sidestep the attack but got nicked in the shoulder.

"Oh come on! This is my favorite shirt!" she complained, trying to stay calm.

"You're an attention-seeking bitch!" the girl screeched as she attempted to cut her again.

Ash grabbed her wrist and twisted it so that the knife was point away from her. Savanna yelled out in pain and struggled to get free. Ash pushed her close to the door which suddenly opened harshly, knocking the girl out cold.

"Holy- Ash!" Laurence yelled, running out to her carrying both of their backpacks.

He quickly pulled out a pack of tissues and pressed a few against the cut in her shoulder.

"What the fuck is this girl's problem! I'm calling the cops so they can deal with this."

"No!" Ash yelped. "I mean uh... she's just a stupid girl. We don't need to get the police involved."

He looked at her, confused as to why she was so reluctant to involve authorities.

"If you're sure..." he said. "How did this happen anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Ash slid her arms under the girl's shoulders and dragged her towards the door. "Can you get this?"

Laurence nodded, very confused as to why she was doing all this for a girl who tried to stab her.

He held the door open while Ash pulled her inside and explained to the frightened workers that the girl had hit her head and needed assistance. They left her in the care of the establishment then walked back outside.

The sun was setting on a colorful sky, slowly darkening the surrounding areas.

"Ash, your house is a three mile walk isn't it?" he questioned.

"Yeah, it's okay, you don't have to come." she answered.

"No, I'm not leaving you again. But, I don't think it'll be safe for either of us after dark. You can stay at my place if you'd like." he offered.

"Th-Thanks for the offer but uh... you're a guy..." she stuttered out nervously.

"Oh," he laughed, "I forgot that I was a dude." he joked.

"N-no I just mean that... well wouldn't it be weird?" she asked, biting down on her lip.

"Only if you make it weird." he said with a grin.

"Well I would need to get clothes and take a shower and stuff..." she tried to find excuses.

"I have a shower and you can borrow my clothes if you'd like."

Ash knew how persistent Laurence could be, so she gave in. How bad could it be anyways?

"Alright..." she agreed.

"I've got a pullout couch or you could take my bed, whichever you prefer." he explained

"I couldn't take your bed- I'd feel awful!" Ash spoke nervously. "Are you sure about this...?"

"Positive." he said with a smile.

The two walked down the street for a while before reaching his house.

"Mom! Ash is staying over since it's late!" he yelled.

"Oh my! Don't you two be getting into anything that God would disapprove of!" the woman yelled back.

Ash blushed at the suggestion that she would do such a thing.

"Mom no." he responded, rolling his eyes to Ash.

They walked into the living room and he set up the pullout couch. She walked over to the fireplace and looked over the various pictures. In one, there was a very young Laurence holding up a big fish with a smile on his face beside a large man with eyes like his. That must've been his father then, she concluded.

"Hey Laurence, forgive me for prying but what happened to your dad?" she asked.

"Well, he left." he spoke sharply. "Fell in love with his assistant, classic, and took off with her.

"That's awful... I'm so sorry..." she apologized, feeling stupid for asking at all.

"It's better this way anyways." he sad sadly. "Before he left he had started to get..."

She noticed his voice hitch at the end of his sentence. Ash walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"It's okay." she spoke softly, pulling him into a hug.

"Oh how the tables have turned." he laughed sadly.

She held onto him for a second longer before releasing him.

"Please don't pity me." he stated. "You've been through worse anyways."

"But that doesn't mean you haven't been through something painful too." Ash sad sadly.

Laurence gulped and turned away. "I'm uh, I'm heading to bed." he said. "The bathroom's over there and we have spare toothbrushes in the right drawer- feel free to take a shower too."

"Wait! Laurence... you can't bottle up your feelings forever."

He turned back and looked at her with a sad smile before walking into his bedroom and closing the door.

She sighed and went into the bathroom, brushing her teeth and taking a quick shower. After drying off with a towel he'd set aside for her use, she realized she didn't have any clothes to change into besides the ones that had been cut by Savanna. She supposed the leggings were fine to rewear, but the shirt...?

"L-Laurence?" she peeked her head out of the bathroom and called out for him.

"What!" he yelled back, muffled by his distance.

"Can I uh... borrow a shirt...?" she asked.

He walked out of his room, eyes focused on his phone.

"What'd you sa-" he looked up and then quickly looked away as to avoid seeing anything.

"Uh... Could I borrow a shirt...?" she asked again, extremely embarrassed.

"Uh yeah sure of course-" he quickly ran back into his room.

After shuffling around for a minute, he came back with a shirt that had a Flash symbol on it.

"T-Thanks!" she grabbed it from him and quickly threw it on before stepping out.

"Uh yeah, anytime." he responded awkwardly. "Um... goodnight." he said quickly.

"Night Laurence!" she replied.

She quickly settled under the covers of the now pulled out couch and closed her eyes, trying to stop her racing mind. She fell asleep after a moment, drifting off into a peaceful dream.

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