Not Your Average Fairytale

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

            Ashleigh stood at the counter, lost in thought. A tap on the shoulder made her jump, spinning around to find Everett looking caught between being guilty and laughing.

            “Sorry, I lost my train of thought. What were you saying?” she asked, blushing.

            “It was nothing,” he replied, and she looked down, embarrassed. “You’re really concerned about her, aren’t you?” Ashleigh nodded. “She’ll be alright, Rosalyn’s a strong one.”

            Ashleigh chose to not reply. Everett obviously had a certain respect for Rosalyn that she couldn’t help but worry was something more. Rosalyn hadn’t wanted to talk much about their breakup, and she didn’t really know what happened.

            It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think he may still have feelings for her, after all. Everett cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck. “So, um, what do you want to eat?” he asked.

            “Oh, I didn’t want anything other than a glass of water,” Ashleigh answered, grateful that he’d broken the silence. “What did you want?”

            “You don’t have to stay here; I don’t want you to have to make something for me,” he protested.

            “No, really, if you’re hungry I don’t mind,” she insisted. “It gives me something to do.”

            Her voice got soft and worried as she admitted the second part, and Everett looked at her, concerned. He correctly suspected that Ashleigh hated to feel helpless and unable to do anything.

            He sighed. “At least let me help,” he agreed finally. He couldn’t exactly cook very well, but he could try to help at the very least. He still felt guilty that Ashleigh was doing this for him.

            “Alright, how does spaghetti sound?” she asked, a small smile coming onto her face as she walked across the kitchen to the pantry.

            “That sounds great,” he answered truthfully.

            “Good, grab me a saucepan,” she said, grabbing some leftover sauce from the fridge.

            He tried to think of what a saucepan was. “Um, what is a saucepan?” he asked, feeling a light stupid.

            She chuckled. “Never mind, I’m kicking you out of my kitchen!” she joked, pushing him toward the stools at the counter.

            After some prodding, he took one, and sitting down, he watched her begin boiling some water. Suddenly, in walked Arabella, who looked slightly upset.

            “Do you want something, Arabella?” Ashleigh asked, glancing up at her.

            “Oh, no not at all,” Arabella replied, shaking her head.

            She still looked slightly shaken, and Ashleigh worried how she was dealing with the shock. She began quietly fixing the girl a cup of tea, even though she didn’t ask for one, and Arabella finally sat down beside Everett.

            Ashleigh handed her the cup a few minutes later, which she took gratefully with a quiet, “Thanks,” in response.

            Wynter called them into the other room, and Ashleigh and Everett quickly shared a glance over Arabella’s head before the three of them walked into the living room.