Chapter Seven
Ashlyn paused as soon as she stepped out of her room. She could see a few of the guys working together to clean up the glass from the broken door. Ashlyn noticed Katy sitting on one of the bar stools in the kitchen, talking up a storm with the girls cooking. Curious, Ashlyn hurried over to see what was happening.
She squeezed into the chair next to Katy.
“Hey, Katy,” Ashlyn said.
Katy nodded at Ashlyn, and Ashlyn tried to see what the girls had been talking about. The other girls moved away, and Ashlyn looked around. They were as alone as they might get in the next few hours. She took her opportunity.
“What you saw, I’d appreciate it if you just kept it a secret, between us. I don’t think it would be a good idea for everyone to know.”
“By everyone, I know you mean Mark. It’s okay. I would never tell him.”
Ashlyn smiled, but Katy’s answer didn’t quite make her feel better. “I don’t only mean Mark. I mean just anyone you might happen to want to tell. Sometimes things happen that should just be kept between a few people.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “I’m not a kid, Ashlyn. I don’t need you telling me not to tell that kind of thing.”
Ashlyn set her mouth in a grim line and looked over to where Brandon had begun helping the others clean up the mess. He looked completely involved in what he was doing. “I didn’t mean it that way,” Ashlyn tried to explain. “I just, you know, we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well over the last few weeks, but there are still a few things we don’t know about each other.”
“You mean like if we’re big mouths or not. What do you think I’m going to do? Stand up on the counter and shout ‘hey! Everybody! Ashlyn and Brandon. . .’”
Ashlyn put a hand on Katy’s shoulder before she could finish imitating what she was going to say. “Yeah, nothing like that,” she pretended to joke around. But really her stomach felt sick. It wasn’t like she had done anything wrong. She was an adult. She could decide who she wanted to sleep with or not, but Katy had a way of putting things that didn’t always make them seem like a smart decision.
Ashlyn hopped off the bar stool and got herself a cup of water. Maybe the water would help settle her stomach. She took a few sips and felt a hand on her smile. She turned, a smile already making its way out as she expected to see Brandon over her shoulder. Except, it wasn’t Brandon. Mark was standing there, and he didn’t look too happy.
Ashlyn didn’t know what his problem was, but she didn’t want to find out either. She pointed to the cabinet that had the cups. “Did you want some water? I don’t mind getting the cup for you.”
Mark shook his head. “No, I don’t want water.” He shook his head again and crossed his arms. “What are you going to do? Tell everyone that Brandon raped you? Or are you waiting until it’s been a day or two before you make the big announcement?”
“What?” I looked at Mark like he was crazy. “What are you talking about?”
“I thought that was a habit of yours,” Mark said, his voice pointed. “You know, you lure the guy in, sleep with him, then tell everyone he took advantage of you later on. No? Well, maybe that was just something extra special you did for me, then.”
Ashlyn looked around as she tried to diffuse the situation. All the busybodies were pretending to mind their own business, but Ashlyn could see Brandon looking right at her. Mark’s voice was loud enough to carry across the room, and Mark certainly wasn’t trying to have a private conversation or keep Ashlyn’s most embarrassing moments a secret either.
“Mark, you know that’s not what happened. Do you want to talk about it?” Ashlyn reached for Mark’s arm, but Mark jerked away.
“If you have something to say, then you can say it right here,” Mark demanded.
“I thought you were my friend. That’s what I have to say.” Ashlyn felt embarrasses. She couldn’t believe that Mark was trying to hurt her. “It’s like every day, you prove more and more why I think the way I do. If you were truly my friend, you wouldn’t do this to me.”
“Funny,” Mark said without laughing, “I said the same thing to myself when you started throwing around your accusations.”
Ashlyn could feel the tears building up in her eyes. “But that was different,” she tried to reason. Mark was only shaking his head.
“Sure, it was different. Because it was you. When you do something, then it’s always the right decision. But if someone else makes that same decision, then it’s wrong. Just learn to grow up, Ashlyn, and recognize yourself for who you really are.”
“Oh yeah,” Ashlyn challenged. “Who am I really then?”
Mark shook his head. “You don’t want me to tell you. I just want you to think about everything I did for you and the friendship we had then the way you decided to destroy it when it didn’t suit you anymore.”
Ashlyn felt like his accusations were unfair, and she wasn’t going to stand there and take them anymore. She turned on her heel and pushed her way past the few people in the kitchen. She had to get out of there, and the broken glass door was right in front of her. She crunched through the broken glass and out into the fresh air.
It was late, and the beach was dark. It didn’t matter to Ashlyn. She finally was far enough away from Mark’s voice that she could think.