Starbright (Ashley Purdy)

Jet Pack Blues

Ashley pulled up to a beautiful one story house that had a nice green lawn, a huge oak tree that most people would die to have, and two trucks and a sleek black car parked in the three garage driveway. Ashley pulled his beat up truck next to the car, out of the truck before we had even come to a full stop and strutting to the front door. I hoped out of the truck and raced after him, taking in the front door. It had a Christmas reef thrown carelessly on the floor and there was a muddy Welcome mat. Ashley didn't bother knocking, instead twisting the knob and leading us into the house.

We walked into a long entry hallway that had soft brown walls decorated with a multitude of framed pictures. As Ashley comfortably navigated through the house, I shuffled behind him, taking in the pictures of a smiling blonde and man; the same two from the picture on Ashley's dresser. Some pictures were of them relatively young, looking like teenagers, and some showed them older and the woman pregnant. The hall lead straight down to a closed bedroom but halfway down was an arch leading into a much larger room, which Ashley headed into.

There were large windows to my right with a long, L shaped black couch was pressed against. Laying on the end of the couch was a woman who looked ill, her face pale and eyes dark from lack of sleep, and a blanket tossed over her. She practically sunk into the couch and I wouldn't have seen her if not for Ashley bending down to give her a kiss on the cheek, an expression on his face that I never saw on him before.

"Hey, Morgan," Ashley said softly. The woman smiled with her cracked lips, her brown eyes glancing at me questioningly. I waved at her, awkwardly standing in the arch. "This is Mads, she's a friend of mine."

She giggled, "Friend?" Even looking like she was on the brink of death, her voice was strong and she managed to give me a teasing wink.

"Of sorts." I added, knowing that there was no way Ashley would lie to her. He looked at her like a little sister.

"You're pretty," She murmured, resting her head back on the pillow she had. "Want to watch TV with me? The guys are probably gonna talk about you behind your back anyway."

"Sure." I chirped, sitting delicately beside her, not wanting to jostle the couch too much. She really looked horrible.

Ashley gave me a strange look, as if wondering why I hadn't been offended that he and his friends would be talking about me. I wasn't surprised. Going by Alison's reaction, none of them were going to be welcoming of me. At least Morgan had the audacity to tell me up front instead of playing me along. I loved people like her; Kenzi was the same way.

"I'll be right back," Ashley said, heading to the far left where there was another arch. "Want anything to drink, Morgs?"

"Water, please?" She asked hopefully, just as the tall man I'd seen in the pictures come out from behind Ashley.

He carried a plastic mug that had a cap and straw on it, smiling gently as he handed it to Morgan. She grinned, having the man help her sit up so that she could drink it. Ignoring me, the man sat on her other side and rubbed her back, her spine visible through the black shirt she was wearing. I looked over at Ashley; he was staring blankly at their interaction. Without saying anything else, he turned and headed through the arch.

"This is Mads, she's Ashley's friend." Morgan said after taking a long gulp of water. Her voice sounded better.

"Hi." The man said briefly.

Morgan rolled her eyes, "This is my rude husband, Andy."

Andy said nothing else, instead kissing her cheek, and following Ashley. Morgan gave me an apologetic look but I shrugged her off, sinking back into the couch and watching as she flicked through the channels. We didn't find anything that we liked; it was either a Kardashian marathon or NCIS, which neither of us felt like watching. Since she had a smart TV, we logged onto my Netflix account and put on the first episode of Friends.