*** *** ***
Frankie had finally put aside her fears concerning David Wright. For all intents and purposes, Hannah's biological father seemed to be true to his word. He was keeping his distance from Hannah and for that, Frankie was extremely grateful. She had even allowed Hannah to go down the beach to get ice cream with Emma.
"Mummy," Hannah said. "Can me and Em go in the water when we're done with our ice cream?"
Frankie looked up from her fashion magazine. "Sure, sweetheart."
Hannah grinned. "This is the most fun holiday ever!"
Frankie laughed. "I'm glad you're having fun."
"Where's Aunt Mallory?" Hannah asked.
"She said she would be here later for dinner," Frankie replied.
"Good," Hannah finished her cone. "Come on Em!"
Emma grinned and followed her cousin down to the beach. Frankie watched them for a moment before returning her attention back to the magazine. Hannah waded into the water while Emma stood back, collecting shells.
"Hello," a man said to Hannah as he swam beside her. Hannah looked over at him and felt as if she had seen him somewhere before.
"Hello," she said quietly.
"You're quite a good swimmer," he said to her.
"Thanks," Hannah said warily.
"You remind me of your mother," he said moving closer.
Hannah looked at him in alarm. "Who are you?"
He chuckled. "How soon we forget..."
"Leave me alone," Hannah moved to swim away.
From the shore, Emma saw her best friend looking quite distressed. "Aunt Frankie!" Emma called out. "Aunt Frankie! Hannah's in trouble!"
Frankie was on her feet in an instant. "Hannah?"
David Wright let go of Hannah and watched as his daughter hurried for the shore. He waved at Frankie.
"Oh Merlin," Frankie's face went white as Will came running up.
Hannah ran to her mother.
"Come on baby," Frankie hugged her. "Let's go inside."
Hannah was shaking.
Will approached the water, fuming. He scanned the waves for David Wright.
"Son of a bitch," Will muttered.
"Are you all right?" Frankie asked anxiously. "Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?"
Hannah held up her arm where David Wright had grabbed her.
Frankie examined the bruise there and anger swelled over her. "I'll kill him."
"He----jail?" Hannah managed, still shaking.
"He got out, baby." Frankie said. "You didn't recognise him?"
Hannah shook her head. She had last seen him when she was four.
"It's all right," Frankie hugged her. "It's okay, sweetheart. He can't hurt you."
Will hurried inside the house. "There's no sight of him. I rang the police."
Frankie nodded as she pulled Hannah's towel more tightly around her.
"Baby?" Will asked kneeling before his daughter.
"I'm okay Daddy," Hannah managed.
"He left a bruise on her arm," Frankie said to her husband.
Will's jaw clenched. "He's lucky I didn't find him."
"What did he say to you?" Frankie asked gently.
"Nothing really," Hannah said. "Just told me I looked like my mum."
"He's violated the order to stay away from Hannah," Will said. "He's just earned himself a trip back to jail."
"Good," Frankie said bitterly.
Hannah looked at her father. "Why didn't you---why didn't you tell me?"
"We thought it was better that you didn't know," Will told her. "We didn't want to scare you."
Hannah nodded, but still felt a little angry that they had not warned her.
"We wanted you to have a fun summer," Frankie reasoned.
"And we've had someone watching him," Will said. "We had no idea he would pull something like this."
Hannah nodded, looking down at the floor. Seeing her birth father had brought back some old memories.
"Will?" Josh called out. "The police are here."
"I'll be back," Will told them.
Frankie nodded and led her daughter over to the sofa. "Can I get you something to drink, sweetheart?"
Hannah shook her head. "Why is he here, Mummy?"
"I don't know," Frankie replied. "To play mind games with us, I imagine."
"I hate him," Hannah's eyes filled with tears.
Frankie hugged her tightly.
Hannah wiped her eyes. "I miss my mother so much. I hate him for making her go away!"
Frankie patted her back in comforting fashion. She honestly did not know what to say to make this better. She hated David Wright, too.
"Hannah," Will said. "The police want to ask you a few questions."
Hannah looked uncertainly at her mother.
"Just tell them what happened," Frankie said. "That's all."
Hannah nodded and Will motioned for the police officer to come inside. The female detective smiled warmly at Hannah. "Hello, Miss Barron. I'm Detective Whitewood. I know you're a little shaken up right now so I promise not to ask too many questions."
"Okay," Hannah said quietly.
The detective sat down and asked Hannah a series of questions. Frankie hid her own anger as she heard Hannah describe in detail what had happened in the water. Hannah lifted her arm to show the detective the bruise her father had left on her arm.
"He goes back to jail for this right?" Will asked furiously.
"Well, he has violated his probation," the detective said.
"And he hurt her!" Frankie exclaimed.
"I'll file this report and hopefully we'll make an arrest," the detective told her.
Frankie nodded. "The sooner the better."
"I'll be in touch," Detective Whitewood said.
"Thank you," Will said, taking the detective's card.
Frankie put an arm around Hannah as Will saw the detective out. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. I promise."
Hannah nodded. "I didn't know him at first."
"It's been a long time," Frankie said.
Hannah wrapped her arms around herself.
Frankie felt completely at a loss as to what to say. She knew that her daughter was angry that they had not told her about David Wright's release from prison.
"I think I'm just going upstairs for now," Hannah said.
Frankie nodded. "I'll check on you in a few minutes, love."
"Okay," Hannah shrugged and went up the stairs.
Will came back into the room and sat down beside his wife.
"She's so mad at us," Frankie said.
"We did what we thought was best at the time," Will said thoughtfully.
Frankie sighed. "I honestly thought he'd leave Hannah alone. I didn't think he could find us here."
"If he comes near her again, I'll kill him," Will vowed.
"I'll hold him down," Frankie said grimly.
Will hugged her tightly. "I wish I'd been there."
"I don't know what to do now," Frankie said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I mean... he's out there, and now we know he's looking for her. How do we let her go anywhere out there by herself?"
Will honestly did not know. "That bastard never should have been released to begin with. I mean, he killed her mother after years of abusing both Hannah and Abbie."
Frankie shook her head in disgust. "What is wrong with this justice system?"
"Hopefully, it won't let us down this time," Will said quietly.
"I'm going to bring her up something to drink," Frankie said. "And hopefully get her to talk to me."
Will kissed his wife's cheek. "Okay."
Frankie got her daughter a grape Fizzy and headed upstairs. "Hannah?" she knocked on the door.
There was no answer and Frankie opened the door to find her daughter sitting on the window seat, staring out at the ocean. "Hannah?"
"What?" Hannah asked.
"I brought you a drink," Frankie said holding out the glass.
"I'm not thirsty," Hannah said.
Frankie set the glass on the bedside table. "I'll just set it here for later."
"Fine," Hannah replied.
"Do you want to talk?" Frankie asked.
"No," Hannah said.
Frankie turned to go but thought better of it. "Hannah, I know you're angry and you're scared and you have every right to be."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Hannah asked.
"We should have," Frankie said softly. "But, we thought it was best. You've done so well and David Wright has not been a part of your life."
"But if I knew he was out there I would have been more careful," Hannah said.
Frankie sat down beside her on the seat. "I know that now."
"It scared me when I figured out it was him," Hannah said quietly.
"I can imagine," Frankie said.
"What if he'd taken me away?" Hannah asked.
"That's never, ever going to happen," Frankie argued.
"Don't let it happen to me, Mummy," Hannah whispered.
Frankie put her arms around her daughter. "I wouldn't, baby."
"All right?" Will poked his head in the room.
Frankie nodded. "Getting there."
*** *** ***
Because Ashley was leaving on her trip in the next couple of days, Brittany had decided to take Zander on a shopping excursion in town. She wanted to buy her friend a good going-away present especially after all that Ashley had done to support her during the fashion agent debacle.
Thankfully, Brighton had a lot of small shoppes and boutiques. Zander held the door for his cousin. "This has to be the last one, Brit. I don't want to spend my entire day shopping," he said nudging her. "Besides, I'm starving..."
Brittany rolled her eyes."We'll eat in a few minutes. I just have to find the perfect present. I can't just buy the first thing I see. You know, I think that's why you're still single. You have no depth."
Zander rolled his eyes. "And you're as shallow as a pond."
"Very funny," Brittany said, glaring at him. Her eyes lit up when she saw they'd entered a thrift shoppe. "I bet I'll find something for Ash here."
"Good," Zander said in relief.
"I can't believe Ash is leaving," Brittany said thumbing through a rack of clothes.
"It does feel weird," he agreed. "We're not going to see her for a year...." Zander tried to ignore the pang he felt at that thought.
"And pretty soon, I will be going too," Brittany said, grinning at the thought of her new job. Kevin's band had offered her the job as band stylist and she had taken only two seconds to tell them 'yes' after clearing it with her parents. "Leaving you all alone...."
"Somehow I think I'll survive," he said dryly. "But I'm happy for you, Brit."
"Me too," Brittany said. "I can't believe this is happening."
"You'll meet some people and be on the cover of Witch Weekly before you know it," Zander said.
Brittany beamed at him. "You think?"
"Sure," he nodded. "I hope you don't expect me to buy a copy, though. I'd look weird walking around with a girly magazine--"
Brittany pulled a jumper from the rack and examined it. "Oh, you'd better buy a copy of it, Zander Murray. I'm family. You should be proud!"
"I'll tell everyone I know," Zander parroted her tone.
Brittany poked him in the side. "I'll be back, you jolly joker."
Zander shook his head as he walked toward a table that was loaded with necklaces, bracelets and rings. He wanted to get his best friend a gift too. But, a part of him did not want to because it was like admitting that it was actually happening. He picked up a bracelet and realised he had absolutely no idea what he was looking for. His heart wasn't in this. The thought of not seeing Ashley for an entire year was one of the worst things he could think of.
He could still remember seeing her the first night at Hogwarts when they were eleven. She had seemed just as nervous as the rest of them. There was something about her that had drawn him in even as a kid. He had watched her from afar those first few days and saw how shy she seemed.
He also remembered their brief relationship when they were thirteen, and more recently, kissing her in the classroom the last night at school. Truth be told, he wondered what would have happened had Debra not interrupted them. He supposed he would never find out.
Ashley seemed happy with Kevin and now that she was going away for a year he was sure they would see each other in some random cities.
"Earth to Zander," Brittany said waving her hand in front of his face. "Hello? I've been calling to you for like twenty minutes..."
"We haven't even been here that long," he retorted.
"Whatever," Brittany said. She held up a dress. "Do you think Ash would like this?"
Zander looked at it. "She would look great in that."
Brittany grinned. "I think so, too."
"I wanted to get her something too," Zander said. "But I don't know what she would like..."
"Oh come on," Brittany said. "You know her better than anyone."
"Kind of," Zander mumbled.
"You do," Brittany said gazing at the necklaces on the counter.
"I guess," he replied. "She would like this one, probably."
Brittany shook her head. "Don't just pick something at random. You know her...you'll know when you find something she likes."
"I just want to make sure it's something she'll wear." Zander insisted.
Brittany smiled. "Okay."
Zander sighed. He wanted to be done with shopping so he could get back to the house. Suddenly, he wanted to see Ashley as much as possible.
Brittany purchased the dress while Zander left empty-handed. He still had some time to buy something for his friend so he was not too worried. Brittany led him to the pizza stand closer to their beach house and they sat down at one of the tables to enjoy their lunch.
"Okay," Brittany said. "Zander, what's gotten into you? You've been in a mood all day..."
He shrugged. "Nothing."
Brittany sighed and pouted at him. "You can tell me..."
He shook his head. "I'm fine. Once you're gone and I get some peace and quiet, I can start working on my music again."
"You are so going to miss me," Brittany crowed.
"Not really," he replied.
Brittany rolled her eyes. "I know not as much as Ashley."
"You also won't be gone for a year," he said.
"We'll see her," Brittany said. "She and I have talked about meeting up every now and then. We are witches and you're a wizard. We can see each other anytime we want."
"Yeah?" he perked up.
"That's what she and Kevin are planning to do," Brittany said, frowning when she saw
Zander's smile faded. "What? What did I say?"
"Nothing," he said, shoving his pizza slice away.
"Kevin's really going to miss her," Brittany continued.
"Well like you said," Zander replied. "They'll meet up."
Brittany watched as Zander started tearing up a napkin. "Angry, much?"
"No," he said defensively.
"What did that napkin do to you?" Brittany asked raising an eyebrow. Zander rolled his eyes.
"Alekszander Murray," Brittany said folding her arms. "What's going on? Come on. Spill."
"I'm fine," he snapped.
"Uh-huh," Brittany said. She studied her cousin. She knew him quite well and she knew his moods. He was definitely angry about something, but she could not imagine why. "Please tell me you're still not mooning over that droopy Debra. Trust me, Zander you are so much better off without her."
"I haven't thought about Debra in weeks," Zander answered.
"That girl you met on the beach?" Brittany asked. "If you want I could talk to her and tell her that you were just being a good friend looking after Ash and me..."
"It's not that," he said. "I just sort of wish things weren't changing so fast."
"Well, that's what happens after you graduate from school," Brittany said thoughtfully.
Zander pushed back his chair. "I'll see you later. I'm going to go walk for a bit."
"Zander--" Brittany protested. "Wait..."
"I just want to be by myself for awhile," he told her.
Brittany nodded. "I guess I'll see you back at the house."
Zander nodded and headed off down towards the pier.
It seemed like just yesterday they had arrived in Brighton and now in just days Ashley was leaving for a year. And apparently she would be having romantic reunions with her boyfriend all over Europe. Kevin was a nice bloke and he had never done anything to Zander, but at the moment Zander hated him. He wished he had fought harder for her attention- or even said something when Debra had discovered them kissing. Perhaps things would be different now if he had. Those feelings that he had told himself had gone away were still there. They had never really gone away.
Meanwhile, Brittany had finished off her lunch and was strolling back home. Her thoughts were on her cousin and his strange behaviour.
The three of them had a great time on the beach this past week, just having fun and not thinking about the upcoming separation. Zander had seemed perfectly at ease. But with the date of Ashley's departure looming, he was becoming quite morose. Now that Brittany thought about it, his behaviour had changed a couple of days ago when Kevin had arrived to spend some quality time with Ashley.
"He still fancies her," Brittany said to herself. It all made sense now, Brittany said shaking her head. How could she not have seen it before?
She wasn't quite sure what to do about this. Part of her wanted to tell Zander to go confess to Ashley. The other part wanted to go to Ashley and find out if she still harboured feelings for Zander as well. But, if she did this, would it jeopardize her new career with Kevin and his band?
Brittany arrived back at the house and saw Zander approaching from the beach. She waved him over. "I know what's wrong with you."
"If you make some crack about my hair," Zander warned.
"You could use highlights," Brittany waved her hand. "But I've been thinking... I know what's wrong, why you were so upset earlier."
"Brit, just leave it," Zander said making a move for the steps.
"You still have feelings for Ash," Brittany said bluntly.
Zander laughed. "Of course I do. She's my best friend."
"You're in love with her," Brittany crossed her arms.
Zander turned his back on her and headed into the house. Brittany was hot on his heels though. "It's the reason you broke up with Deb, isn't it?" she asked him.
"Don't worry about it," he replied shortly.
"How can I not worry about it?" Brittany asked. "I'm right in the middle!"
"How?" he asked. "You're just butting in."
Brittany dragged him over to the sofa. "Tell me the truth. What's really going on between you and Ash?"
"We're friends," he stated.
Brittany levelled her gaze at him. "Zander..."
He glared at her.
"I'm not an idiot," Brittany said. "You've been in love with her since we were eleven and apparently that hasn't changed."
Zander sighed. "All right fine... you're right."
Brittany leaned back on the sofa with a smug expression on her face. "I knew it!"
Zander rolled his eyes again. "Shut it, Brit."
"So, is it the reason you and Deb broke up?" Brittany asked ignoring him.
"Deb caught me and Ashley kissing in Binns old classroom," Zander admitted. "The last night of school..."
Brittany's eyes grew wide, but she did not say anything.
"And we haven't had much to do with one another since then," Zander said. "She's with Kevin, and that's who she wants to be with, and I'm not going to step in the way of that."
Brittany looked at him. "So you're just going to let her go?"
"I'm not going to stand in the way of her happiness," he told her.
"But, what if being with you is what she wants?" Brittany asked thoughtfully. "You won't know unless you try. The two of you---I don't know---it's like you belong together."
Zander shrugged. "If she wanted to be with me then she would be."
Brittany groaned. "Maybe she would if she knew you had these feelings!"
"Just don't' worry about it, okay?" Zander asked testily. "And don't' go bloody telling her this, either."
"I wouldn't tell her," Brittany said to him.
"Good," he replied. "Keep it that way."
"You're going to tell her," Brittany continued as if he hadn't spoken.
"What?" Zander asked.
"You," Brittany said. "Go tell her. She's leaving for a year, and you'll regret it if you don't tell her now."
Zander knew his cousin had a point, but he and Ashley had tried this before. If that kiss in the classroom had meant anything to her, why had she stayed with Kevin?
"Just go tell her," Brittany urged. "I think you'll be surprised."
"Has she said anything to you?" Zander asked.
"No," Brittany replied.
"Then how are you so sure that this will turn out well?" Zander asked.
"Women's intuition," Brittany said primly.
Zander chuckled. "I see..."
"Just go do it," Brittany said bossily.
A slow grin spread across Zander's face. "Okay. I just have to do something first..."
"What?" Brittany asked suspiciously.
"I'll tell you later," Zander said before standing up and hurrying upstairs.
Brittany smiled as he disappeared. Ashley had no idea that Zander harboured these feelings, and this would certainly come as a surprise.
At the moment, Ashley was sitting up in her room, lost in thought. She and Kevin had a nice day on the beach, but her heart had not really been in it. They had apologised not long after their row, but things had been different. She felt distanced from Kevin, and not just because of the journey she was about to embark on.
She was not being fair to him by continuing this charade. He deserved better than that.
Ashley sighed and went downstairs. Sometimes talking to her mother could help her clear her head out. Her mother was
sitting in the kitchen and smiled warmly when she saw her daughter. "Hi, love."
"Hi," Ashley said. "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course," Julie said, setting aside her book.
"I'm sort of confused," Ashley said.
"About what?" Julie asked as her daughter sat down.
"Kevin," Ashley admitted. "I care about him a lot, but I don't know if I want to be his girlfriend anymore."
"Why?" Julie asked gently.
"Because I think I'm in love with Zander," Ashley said quietly.
Julie squeezed her daughter's hand. "Oh..."
"Are you disappointed?" Ashley asked with trepidation. "I mean, I know Kev's famous and all, and a lot of people think I'm with him because of that--"
Julie shook her head. "No, sweetheart. I don't think that's the reason you were with Kevin and I am not disappointed in you. I'm proud of you for realising what was in your heart."
Ashley managed a small smile. "It's kind of what you did, isn't it?"
Julie smiled back. "Kind of."
"You listened to yours," Ashley said. "When Dad came to live in England after his parents kicked him out."
"And everyone thought it was so scandalous for a Potter to love a Malfoy," Julie said, shaking her head.
Ashley smiled more genuinely this time. "I'm glad you did or I wouldn't be here."
"Me too," Julie said. "Though it wasn't always easy. But, then again, nothing worthwhile ever is easy. If you love Zander, you do need to tell Kevin."
"That's going to be the hard part," Ashley nodded.
"Just be honest," Julie told her. "He deserves that."
"But should I tell Zander how I feel now, when I'm about to go away?" Ashley asked her mother. "I won't see him much over the next year."
"A lot can happen in a year, sweetheart," Julie said thoughtfully. "If you don't tell him now, imagine what could happen. What if he met someone else?"
"I don't want to think about that," Ashley shook her head.
"Don't let it pass you by if this is what you want," Julie told her.
"Okay," Ashley replied. "I won't."
"I can't believe you'll be leaving soon, baby," Julie said. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"A year will go by so fast," Ashley said,
"Yes it will and it's a great opportunity," Julie said proudly.
"I've got everything packed," Ashley said. "So much stuff..."
"Katie's just glad you aren't bringing Sophie with you," Julie teased.
"I wish I could," Ashley said wistfully.
"I don't think Rome and Greece could handle Sophie," Julie joked.
"Or Katie," Ashley said, laughing.
Julie laughed and started to say something else when Kevin appeared in the doorway.
"Hey," he said grinning at Ashley. "I was hoping to steal you away to go on the beach with me. I have a surprise."
"Oh," Ashley said in surprise. "Okay..."
Kevin offered her his hand. Ashley looked back at her mother who nodded to her.
Ashley took Kevin's hand and allowed him to take her out onto the beach. He had set up some sort of picnic on the patio for the two of them. It was quite a romantic little scene. "Oh..." Ashley said. "This is lovely, Kev, but--"
He continued on as if he hadn't heard her. "Have a seat..."
Ashley reluctantly sat down. "Kevin--"
He poured them each a glass of wine. "Here you go." Ashley took the glass and sipped at it uneasily.
"We haven't done something like this since our first date," Kevin said with a grin.
"That was so long ago now," Ashley said.
"And look at us now," Kevin said, reaching for her hand.
Ashley forced a smile onto her face as he sat down next to her. "Kev... "
"What?" Kevin asked.
"I can't do this," Ashley set the glass down.
Kevin's smile faltered. "What's wrong?"
Ashley fought tears that suddenly sprang to her eyes. "I can't be with you."
"Ashley?" Kevin asked. "Why not?"
"This is just too hard," Ashley said. "With us both travelling. It just hasn't been the same lately."
Kevin nodded. "I know that, but we're going to change things. Remember, we're going to meet up when we can..."
"Do you really think that's going to work?" Ashley asked gently. "I know how your schedule can change at the last minute."
"Wecan if we want it to work," Kevin said and he watched as Ashley looked down at her lap. "But you don't want it to, do you?"
"It's not that I don't want it to," Ashley said. "I care about you a lot."
"There are words a bloke loves to hear," Kevin muttered.
"Kev, I'm sorry--" Ashley began.
"Zander," Kevin said looking at her. "This is about him, isn't it?"
"No," Ashley denied.
"Right," Kevin said standing up.
"Please don't' be like this," Ashley pleaded.
"I should have known," Kevin said walking to the other side of the patio. Ashley sat on the bench and drew her knees up to her chest.
"The other blokes in the band said I should have been worried, but I told them no," Kevin said quietly.
"That's not true," Ashley said.
"So, there's nothing between you and him?" Kevin asked, turning and looking at her properly. Ashley couldn't answer him. Instead she turned to look out at the water.
"I see," Kevin said. "What a fool I was, eh?"
"You aren't a fool," Ashley said quietly. "And I never treated you like one."
Kevin walked over to her and knelt before her. "What is it that he has that I don't, Ash?"
"You have everything, Kev." Ashley told him. "You have the world right in front of you. I don't want to hold you back."
"I love you, Ashley," Kevin said earnestly.
"I.... care about you." Ashley said. "I always have, and I always will." Ashley tentatively put her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"I don't want to lose you, Ash." Kevin said, his arms circling around her.
Ashley was silent as she rested her head on his shoulder. Neither of them saw that someone had approached the beach house. Zander stood in the darkness, carrying a bouquet of Ashley's favourite flowers. The smile on his face fell as he took in the romantic scene on the patio---the candlelight, the wine glasses and the couple wrapped in each other's arms.
He felt as if a large weight had dropped onto his chest and completely crushed him. The flowers fell to the sand and he gave them one last look before leaving.
"So this is it?" Kevin asked her. "It's over?"
"I know it's a cliché, but I hope we can still be friends," Ashley said softly.
"Sooner or later," he said.
"I'm sorry," Ashley said.
"I just hope he treats you right," Kevin said. "Because if he doesn't--"
"Thanks," Ashley told him.
He kissed her cheek. "Guess I should get going..."
Ashley nodded. "I hope I'll see you before I leave..."
"We still might see each other while you're gone," Kevin said softly.
"I'd like that," Ashley said sincerely.
"Me too," he said, sitting next to her on the bench.
Ashley reached for his hand. "You're going to make some girl very happy some day."
"Wish it was you," he told her.
"You deserve someone who can give you her whole heart," Ashley said.
He reached for her hand and squeezed it.
They sat together for a few moments before Kevin kissed her cheek and took his leave.
Ashley sighed, leaning her head back on the railing. That was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do in her
life, but she knew it was the right thing.
She hated hurting Kevin and she did truly hope that someday they could be friends.
Ashley glanced down the beach towards Brittany and Zander's house. It was lit brightly and she felt butterflies as she got up and headed towards it.
Ashley took a deep breath and hurried up the steps.
She hoped against hope that Zander would answer the door as she knocked. She didn't know how much longer her nerve would hold out.
It took a few moments, but he finally answered the door. Ashley smiled and felt her heart race as she looked at him. "Hi," she said softly.
He did not answer her and Ashley wondered why he looked so cross. She wanted to tease him to see if perhaps he and Brittany had another one of their famous rows, but something told her he would not appreciate teasing at a time like this. She knew him well enough by now when not to joke around.
"Have you got a minute?" she asked instead. "I really have to tell you something."
Zander glared at her. "I just bet you do."
"What's the matter?" Ashley asked.
"Nothing," Zander said sarcastically. "Absolutely nothing. Everything's great. Just fan-bloody-tastic, Ashley."
"Zander," Ashley tried again. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm in--"
"It's late and I'm knackered," Zander said cutting her off. "Goodbye, Ashley."
"You have no idea what I was going to say!" Ashley exclaimed.
Ashley gaped at him, but he closed the door in her face. She stood there for a few moments, completely dumbfounded. What had just happened here? She came over here to tell him she loved him and wanted to be with him and he just shut the door in her face.
Zander stalked up the stairs, pushing past his cousin. "Thanks for the great advice," he said sarcastically.
"What?" Brittany asked.
"I go tell her how I feel and find her all over Kevin," Zander replied. "Yeah, she really wants me."
Brittany raised an eyebrow. "Kevin? No---"
"I'mnot going to bother trying again," he cut her off.
Brittany grabbed his arm. "Zander, something's not right here. I know Ashley and I know you..."
"Not as well as you think, apparently." he said.
He shrugged out of her hold. "Don't meddle in my love life anymore, Brit."
"UGH!" Brittany said. "You two are so obnoxious!!!"
Zander ignored her and stalked upstairs. Brittany shook her head. She was sick and tired of this. They called Ashley and Zander the smart ones, Brittany thought with a laugh. At this point in time, Brittany felt she was way smarter than either of them. Brittany debated going upstairs to tell off Zander when she spotted Ashley's silhouette walking down the beach.
She hurried outside calling after her friend. 'Ashley!"
Ashley turned but kept walking back towards her house.
"ASHLEY BETH MALFOY!" Brittany yelled. "STOP RIGHT NOW!"
"What is it?" Ashley asked impatiently.
"What the hell happened?" Brittany asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Ashley said angrily.
"Well, I think it's a little harsh of you to rub his nose in it, don't you?" Brittany asked.
Ashley rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.
"Oh, just go and snog Kevin for all I care!" Brittany called out in exasperation. Ashley stopped walking and glared at her. "Kevin and I broke up, Brittany. Okay? Happy now?"
"Then what are you waiting for?" Brittany asked. "Go tell Zander you love him! I KNOW that's why you and Kevin aren't together! It's so bloody obvious!"
Ashley shook her head. "I'm done, Brit. I can't do this anymore."
"Why?" Brittany asked in exasperation.
Ashley sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I can't keep putting myself through this. He likes me, I don't know. I like him, he doesn't know. We try and we fail. He and I---apparently, we're not meant to be."
"That's not true," Brittany argued.
"It is," Ashley said, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I'm leaving for a year anyway."
"I know," Brittany said. "And that's why you can't just let this go."
"Bye, Brit," Ashley said quietly.
"Don't be like this, Ash..." Brittany pleaded.
Ashley silently turned and walked down the beach.
Brittany stared after her wondering just where everything had gone so wrong.