Ashton
I had been told many times how cold-hearted I was, how cruel and how much of a jackass I could be. Of course, most of that came from women I had slept with. I had gotten used to being called such things, but when Layla said that I was a jackass and didn’t care for people’s feelings, it hurt more than whenever anyone else said it. The look on her face when I called her a mistake keeps replaying inside my head. I couldn’t forget her destroyed expression when she left my apartment.
The moment she walked out my door, I let loose a loud yell and punched the wall. My entire fist went straight through it and pain radiated up my hand and arm. When I pulled it out, my knuckles were split open and bleeding. I stared down at it, not even feeling the pain, only anger toward myself. How could I have said that to her! She was anything but a mistake; in fact, she was the best thing that has happened to me. As the blood started dripping down my hand, I made my way to the bathroom to clean it up and bandage it.
I wish I could take back everything bad I had said to Layla and make it right. But I was too messed up for Layla. She needed someone who could love with everything inside of them, not someone who doesn’t believe in love anymore. It has been four years for god’s sake, Ashton. You need to get over her! I knew the voice right, but I just couldn’t get over what she did to me.
“Are you ready for the party tonight?” Nick asked me as we made our way to our cars. It was finally Friday, which meant it was finally my twenty-first birthday and no college for the weekend.
“Hell yes! Glad my parents are letting us use our beach house for the weekend,” I answered with a grin.
“I know it’s going to be the best party we have ever thrown!” It was going to be. And it was going to be the best night of my life as well.
“Are you going to meet me and Allie there, or do you want to ride with us?” I asked. At the mention of my girlfriend’s name, Nick cringed.
“I’ll just meet you there.”
“Come on, Allie is not as terrible as you think she is!” I was getting tired of how Nick acted every time I mentioned Allie or even when we hung out together. I had been with Allie for two and a half years now, and Nick still didn’t like her one bit. As I thought about Allie, I couldn’t help but grin.
Allie Montgomery was absolutely perfect. She had long blonde hair, and a pair of piercing green eyes that could almost see into your soul. She had long tan legs and the perfect body; well, that was a must if she was the cheerleading captain at NYU. Allie was smart, kind, and funny once you got to know her. Even though she was the cheer captain, she was also very smart and could easily make you feel inferior to her in just a matter of moments.
We had met when I had tried out for football and she was trying out for cheer. We bumped into each other coming out of the locker rooms, and the moment I saw her, I fell for her. I didn’t see her for a full week until one of our football practices, and she was off to the side with the other cheerleaders. It took me three days to finally get her to say yes to a date with me. For our first date, I took her to a fancy restaurant and then miniature golf afterwards. From that moment on, we became inseparable. Allie was everything I wanted and would ever need.
She got along great with both of my parents, my mother absolutely adored her, and my sister became her best friend. Allie was the perfect student, and girlfriend. Everyone loved her besides Nick; he said there was something off about her, but I never listened. He was just jealous that I had the perfect girlfriend.
Now, two and a half years later and on my birthday, I was going to propose to her. I went with my mom and sister to pick out the best ring I could find. I knew I was only twenty-one and still had a lot ahead of me, but when something feels so right, you have to grab it before it disappears. So tonight, during the party, I was going to take Allie down the shore a ways, where I set up a blanket, candles, and a picnic, and from there I will propose to her.
Nick and I got in our cars and said we’d met up around six to get the beach house ready for the party. It was only one, and Allie had cheer practice until three, so I had some free time to think through my proposal speech for tonight. Driving away from campus, I headed home thinking about everything that needed to be done tonight. When I pulled up in front of our house, I gazed at it. Even though the house was more like a mansion, it felt like home. Most people, when seeing our house, probably thought we weren’t a real family and had a lot of problems, but in reality, we were normal. Sure, my father owned his own multimillion-dollar company and my mother was one of the most sought-after lawyers in New York, but we got along great and were raised fairly normal.
We had a nanny when we were younger, but she only watched after us a few times out of the week when neither of my parents could be home. We’d had a few maids, but ever since I was a teenager, my mother said it was mine and my sister’s responsibility to clean our rooms, bathrooms, and on our days off, the kitchen and living room. We had a few extra bedrooms for guests, but Mom made us clean them about once every two weeks. Since my mother liked to cook and I didn’t mind to either, we never really had a cook. The only time we had someone who cooked were our maids or nanny when our parents were gone.
You would think that with my parents being who they are, my sister and I would be on our own a lot and we wouldn’t be close to them, but it was the exact opposite. They made sure to be home from Friday through Monday with us, and since they were gone sometimes for a few weeks at a time, whenever we saw them we took the opportunity to spend as much time together as we could. I loved my family with everything inside of me, and I was thankful for everything I had in my childhood and teen years.
Unlike a lot of rich spoiled kids, my sister and I were raised to always be nice, friendly, and if we wanted something, we had to work for it. We went to a rich high school where none of the kids had ever had a job in their lives; mommy and daddy paid for everything. During my junior year, I got a job at a local car shop fixing cars during my afternoons when I wasn’t playing a sport. Same with my sister; when she was a junior, she got a job at an animal shelter. We were the odd kids out sometimes, but if we never worked for what we wanted, then we wouldn’t be where we are now. I was thankful for the way my parents raised me.
I walked inside and called out to see if anyone was home. When I heard a faint “in here” from down the hall, I walked toward my father’s study. When I got to the door, I pushed the already halfway opened door and walked inside. My father was leaning over his desk looking over some kind of documents and writing something down. Everyone always said I had my father’s drive and personality, and I got my looks from my mother. Seeing my father doing his work, I tried to picture myself doing what he was doing because in just a few years’ time, I would at the company with him.
“Hey, Dad,” I said, taking a seat across from his desk.
“Ashton, how was class?” my father, John, asked, setting down his pen and looking at me.
“Fine as usual,” I replied, shrugging.
“Are you excited for tonight?”
“Yes, definitely.” I grinned. I was nervous as hell, but my excitement pushed it down.
“Just don’t break anything in the house, don’t let things get too wild, and no one in mine and your mother’s room,” he warned but he smiled. To everyone else, he was a hard business man, but to me, he would always be my funny old man. I knew if I ever needed anything, I could come to him.
“I won’t, Dad. I promise.”
“Good. Have you figured out what you’re going to say to Allie yet when you propose?” When I had told my parents of my plan, they were beyond shocked, but after telling them that this was what I wanted, they were behind me the whole way. They loved Allie almost like their second daughter.
“No, I haven’t. What do I say? What did you say to Mom?” I asked, wringing my hands nervously.
“Well, back in those times the men just got on one knee and that’s it,” he joked.
“Son, I can’t tell you what to say. When the moment comes, you will know. Allie is very lucky to have you.” I smiled over at my dad and stood up.
“Thank you, Dad. I better get going. Thank you for letting me use the beach house tonight for my party,” I said, hugging my dad.
“No problem, son. Have a good night. And, of course, call your mother and let her know tomorrow what happened. Happy birthday, son.” With one last nod to my father, I left his office and headed to get everything ready for tonight.
For my party, my parents had our beach house stocked with practically every party food there was and, of course, alcohol. The only condition for letting them supply the alcohol was that no one could drive home after; they even paid for multiple taxis to sit outside to take people home. I was to make sure anyone who drove home was sober or had a designated driver with them. They had also called the local sheriff to let him know there would be a party, in case any noise complaints were called in.
Four hours later
It was now five, and Allie and I were driving to the beach house to get everything done before people started arriving. I practically invited the entire college and told them to be here around six or so. I knew it was early for a party, but if anyone wanted to go play in the water or do stuff on the beach before the sun went down, that was a good time. Plus, some people could get home before the early hours. Nick and I got everything out in the kitchen with bowls of food and all different kinds of alcohol littering the table. Leaving Nick to finish, I went to look for Allie. Not finding her in the living room, I headed to my bedroom.
“Allie?” I called out. I neared my room and thought I heard a noise, so I pushed open my door. Allie stood by my dresser, and she whipped around to see me.
“Ashton,” she said, surprised but quickly came over to me and kissed me. She was acting all weird, but I brushed it off. Grabbing her hand, I led her out of my room. As we left my room, I didn’t notice my phone was lit up and open.
By seven, the party was in full swing and my parents’ beach house was more than packed. It seemed everyone from college really did come. A table was put by the front door that held presents and was starting to overflow. I wasn’t expecting people to bring me presents, but hey, I won’t reject them. The sun was starting to set, so more and more people were coming in from the beach. As I looked around, I smiled as I saw everyone having a good time. Seeing all the red cups everywhere, I knew it was going to be a bitch to clean up but at the time, I didn’t care.
“Hey, Ashton! Happy birthday!” A guy from the football team came up to me.
“Thanks. Hope you’re having fun,” I said.
“Best party ever, dude!” With that, he was gone. More people started coming inside and dancing in the big living room. I hadn’t seen Allie in a while, so I decided I better go and find her. It was a good time to do what I was going to do; not a lot of people were on the beach now, so we would have some privacy. Nick was supposed to be there now lighting the candles for me, so I weaved my way through the crowd trying to find her.
“Hey have you seen, Allie?” I yelled over the music to one of the girls on the cheer squad, I think her name was Bree, but I had no idea.
“No! Haven’t seen her!” she slur-yelled at me. I moved on until I reached the other side of the room, and I realized fifteen minutes had passed.
“Have you seen my girlfriend, Allie?” I yelled to some guys on the football team. A few shook their heads but one answered.
“Yeah! I think I saw her head to one of the rooms over there!” He pointed toward the hallway to my room. I had designated that area off limits, but it was okay that Allie was there. Yelling thanks to the guy, I moved past people to the hallway. The room was getting hot with all the sweaty bodies, and I could feel my shirt sticking to my skin.
When I got to the hallway, I patted my front pocket making sure the ring I picked out was still there. I kept finding myself checking my pocket every few minutes. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was nervous about Allie’s answer. Would she say yes? Or would she say no? The thought of her saying no and not spending the rest of my life with her, made me almost sick. Allie was my everything. To me, it didn’t matter that we were only twenty-one; we loved each other, and our parents were happy for us, so what more could we need? In just a year we would graduate and I would work with my dad at his company and Allie would pursue her career as a marine biologist. And maybe a few years after that we would have children and raise them together. I was never really one to think about the future; I had always believed in “live in the here and now” and the rest would follow. But now, with Allie I could see my future and I wanted it more than anything.
I walked down the hallway, peeking into my sister’s room to see if she was there. When I didn’t see her, I started to get concerned. As I neared my bedroom, I caught a soft moan coming through the door. That couldn’t be? I wondered as I quickly pushed open on the door. Laying down on the bed, dressed in only her bra and panties, was Allie. She was on top of an unfamiliar guy, who she was kissing and running her hands over.
“Allie?” I rasped out. She froze and turned her head to stare at me. Her lips were swollen, and glancing at the guy, his were as well, and his hair was messed up from Allie’s fingers. The guy’s green eyes stared back at me, surprised and confused.
“Ashton.” Allie got up off the bed, her tone neutral. I stared at her in hurt. Here I was about to propose to her, and she was cheating on me in my own bed. As I stared at her, I saw no emotion in her green eyes. She almost looked happy in a sick way.
“Allie, what are you doing?” I asked, feeling anger starting to bubble inside of me. I glared at the guy on the bed, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Who the hell are you?”
“My name is Alex. What are you doing bursting in on us?” he asked angrily, standing up.
“Bursting in on you? That is my girlfriend!” I boomed at him and took a step closer to him. “What is she doing in here with you, huh?”
“She came on her own free will. Don’t blame me that your girlfriend needs another man to satisfy her.” Before he could say anything else, I punched him in the jaw. His head snapped to the side, and I shook my hand, ignoring the pain.
In the next moment, he swung his arm up and hit me in the jaw as well. I tasted blood pooling in my mouth and I saw red. I dove for him and started punching any area I could reach. I barely felt Alex’s punches and kept on swinging. I heard yelling and felt a pair of arms pulling me back. I fought against them, but more wrapped around me and I was pulled away from a bleeding Alex.
“Let me go!” I yelled, squirming in whoever’s arms. I burst free of them and glared at Alex, not bothering to wipe the blood running from a cut on my eyebrow and one on my lip. “Get the fuck out of my house.” I turned and saw a crowd had formed at the door of my room. “The party’s over. Get the fuck out of my house!”
I guessed I was pretty frightening because immediately everyone started to scatter. I heard the music come to a stop, and I shouldered past people. A hand landed on my shoulder, but I shook it off, heading to the living room to make sure everyone was leaving. I was not in the mood now for a party. A few stragglers were standing there in surprise, but with one look at me, they moved quickly to the front door.
Sometime during the fight, Allie had run off and I bet she was in a taxi far from here. I was hurt and angry at her. How could she cheat on me? And how could she look at me the way she did, like she was glad I caught her? Whoever that Alex guy is, he is going to pay, I thought angrily.
“Ashton.” Someone said my name and a hand landed on my shoulder. I turned and glared at Nick.
“What?” I snapped at him, feeling myself shaking with anger.
“What happened? One second I am walking through the back door and the next, someone is yelling there is a fight,” Nick said, looking at me concerned.
“Well, now you can say ‘I told you so’. Allie cheated on me.” With that, I headed to the kitchen. I grabbed an open bottle of whiskey and took a gulp from it. Instead of cringing from the burning sensation going down my throat, I welcomed it. I took another three gulps before a hand stopped me.
“Ashton, I think that’s enough,” Nick said, trying to pull the bottle from my grasp.
“No! Go ahead and say I told you so. It would make you feel better, wouldn’t it?” I could feel the alcohol coursing its way through my system.
“Ash, I would never say that. She is a bitch to cheat on you.”
“Whatever,” I muttered and took another gulp. I let the bottle dangle from my grasp by my side. After everything we had been through, Allie had to go and do that, and on my birthday for crying out loud.
I briefly remembered Nick staring at me in concern as I started to drown myself in whiskey.
I woke up the next morning with a killer headache. I peeled my eyes open and looked around with hooded eyes. With weak legs, I stood up off the couch and headed to the bathroom. After I was done in there, I walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. I tried to remember what happened last night, but my memory was hazy. The banging of plates could be heard in the kitchen, and when I walked in Nick was standing by the stove making some kind of food. Just the smell made me queasy. Damn, how much did I drink last night? I wondered. I must have made a sound for Nick turned around.
“Hey, man, you’re up.”
“What happened last night, Nick?” I asked, sliding in a chair at the table and holding my head in my hands. My head was pounding and I was confused.
“Umm. You don’t remember anything at all?” I shook my head and thought back to the last thing I remembered. I remember greeting people, then trying to find Allie to propose then…My head snapped up. I remembered everything now. I found Allie cheating on me then she disappeared. “There you go,” Nick said, once he saw the look on my face.
“Oh god.” I moaned and dropped my head into my hands. My phone started ringing then. I looked up and saw Nick reaching for it. “Is it Allie?” I asked, trying to keep the hopefulness out of my voice.
“Sorry, it’s your mom.” He passed it to me and I answered.
“Hello?”
“Ashton? What happened?” my mother yelled through the phone. I pulled it away from my ear. How did she know what happened already?
“W-What do you mean?” I decided to ask just in case it was something different.
“Five million dollars has been stolen out of your account!” I stood up quickly.
“What? How?” I asked.
“We got a call from the bank and they notified us. You transferred five million dollars into Allie’s account?” my mom shrieked.
“N-no, I—” I froze, remembering when I had walked in on Allie in my room before the party. She looked suspicious and was acting weird all throughout the party. My eyes widened as I remembered seeing my phone lit up and open on my dresser when I didn’t do it. Ashton, you’re a fucking idiot! You forgot to erase your account number from your phone! The voice in my head yelled at me.
I couldn’t help but suddenly start crying. “M-Mom, Allie stole my money and ran off.”
Everything changed the day Allie stole from me and ran off. I turned into a different person; I was a shell of what I used to be. I wasn’t that carefree, loving, outgoing guy anymore. There was nothing inside. The rest of college, I slept with anything that walked and didn’t care who I hurt. If I was going to hurt, then everyone else was too. I never heard from Allie again after that. I tried to reach her parents, but they never answered, I even went to see them, but the house was abandoned.
Allie had used me to get money and when she did, she disappeared. For a whole year, I went through stages of being pissed to almost depressed. The only way I knew to get rid of my emotions was to have sex with women. I barely graduated college, and partied way too much. My family didn’t know what to do with me, and my father forced me to work with him at the company.
After the first year, I started to realize what I was doing and stopped, well, with the partying anyways. I decided then and there that I would never let another woman get into my heart. I was not going to be broken and used again.
Once I had gotten my act together, my father decided to step down and let me take over. I was honestly glad that I now had something that got my mind off of everything. I slowly forgot about Allie, the good times we had, and only once in a while thought about her. But now, being with Layla, I was starting to become the way I used to be. I found myself smiling while thinking of her, and I could picture being with her. Could I let go of my past and finally be happy again? Or was I going to let what Allie did haunt me for the rest of my life?