Ashley's Story: THE LAST CHAPTER (10 page)

Royce sat in her car staring at Ashley’s Aston Martin. Tears
ran down her face. She was pissed. When she knocked on Ashley’s door Choice
answered and then invited her in. The get-together that was going on seemed
nice. It looked like everyone was having a good time until she heard Ashley and
Rio in the back room arguing about something. Royce wanted to know what they
were arguing about and why were they in the backroom by themselves. It didn’t
take her long to figure it out or come up with her own assumption.

Ashley and Rio claimed to be nothing but friends but she
knew it was more. There was something in the way he looked at Ashley when she
saw them out shopping together. Royce shook her head. She was so pissed. She’d
been doing so well. She hadn’t thought about Rio since meeting Blue in the
mall. That was the last time she called him.

Now that she’d been so close in his presence thoughts of him
invaded her space. She wiped her tears away, took her phone out of her purse,
and dialed his number. Royce wanted answers but she knew she wouldn’t get any,
not tonight anyway. She wasn’t surprised when Rio didn’t answer the phone. Even
if he did answer, it still wouldn’t stop her heart from aching with misery.

Just the thought of he and Ashley alone in her room made her
furious. Royce’s blood boiled with anger as she looked around her car for
something for anything. Her tear filled eyes beamed with happiness when she
noticed her six-year-old niece’s art set. She opened it to see if there was any
paint included.

She took the bottles out then looked around to make sure
nobody was in sight. When the coast was clear, Royce ran over to Ashley’s car
and opened her gas tank.

“Fuck,” She cursed under her breath when she saw that she
needed a lock to open her gas cap. “Think, think, think.” She was nervous and
somewhat scared of getting caught but what she was about to do had to be done.
.

Royce snapped her fingers when she thought of something.
Instead of pouring the paint in her gas tank, she poured it all over her car
before throwing the bottles of paint to the ground beside Ashley’s front tire.
She took her car keys and wrote “lying bitch “on the side of her car.

Feeling a little better after destroying Ashley’s car, Royce
stood up and put her hands on her hips as she admired her handy work. The anger
she felt just seconds ago was dissipating. She might have been wrong to blame
Ashley but Royce didn’t care. She thought of Ashley as a friend and thought
that Ashley had her back if needed. All of that was quickly forgotten when she
thought about Ashley touching the man she desperately wanted. Even though Rio
felt otherwise, Royce felt a deep connection with him. She wanted a future with
him.

Royce backed away from Ashley’s car and quickly walked back
to her own and pulled off. Leaving tire tracks behind. A smile formed on her
face when she looked up in her rearview mirror at the damages done to Ashley’s
car. .

***

Ashley sat alone in her apartment on the couch. The lights
were off and the volume to her television was so low that she could barely hear
it. The people she considered family had already left to go back to Barbados
and everyone else left hours ago.

Ashley ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.
Everything Rio said to her weighed heavily on her mind. She thought back to the
cookout at her mom’s house. The look on his face screamed confusion and anger
when Mark hugged her. It made her feel like she had done something wrong and
that saddened her. The thought of doing anything to make him feel that way
really bothered Ashley. It also bothered her that she cared so much about what
he thought of her. When she thought about being in a relationship with Rio
thoughts of Petey would pop into her head stopping her from taking the next
move.

Ashley knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight until she
knew Rio was okay. She sat on the edge of the couch looking at the clock
hanging on her wall. It was two o’clock in the morning. Ashley didn’t care if
it was late; she needed to see him.

Ashley didn’t have any idea where Rio lived because they
always hung out at her apartment. She sent Choice a text message asking for
Rio’s address. Choice replied back quickly. Ashley walked to her hallway closet
to retrieve her black Smith and Wesson handgun to put in her purse. She turned
off the lights in her condo then left out locking the doors behind her. She
could sense something was wrong with her car the closer she got. Her beautiful
Aston Martin always shined. She made sure to keep her car clean on the outside
and detailed in the inside.

She was stunned by what she saw. Yellow and lime green paint
was splattered on the roof of her car and a little on the passenger side
window. Ashley bent down and traced the carved insulting words with the tip of
her finger. Who would do this was the first thing that came to mind. She was
instantly pissed. Her mind raced trying to figure out who she had problems with
but she was clueless.

“Damn. She cursed under her breath before running her hand
down her face. Why were people fuckin' with her? She hadn’t been home long
enough to make enemies and the only people she fucked with were Supreme’s crew
and Royce. Ashley prayed that security had the person on camera. In the
meantime, she would just have to use some of the money Petey left her to get
her car fixed. Ashley sneered at the damages done to her car before getting in.

***

Ashley was surprised that Rio lived in a modest home in
Coral Gables. His house didn’t match his extravagant personality. The only
thing that stood out was the water fountain in his front yard. The huge bay
windows added to the outside décor. Ashley turned her car off then sat for a
couple of seconds before getting out. Her nerves were getting the best of her.
Her hands were clammy as she knocked on his door.

What the fuck am I doing here?
She thought to herself
as she stood at the door waiting for Rio to answer.

A couple of seconds passed before she knocked again with a
little more force. Ashley crossed her arms over her chest and patiently waited.
She looked up when Rio answered the door.

“Hey you!”

His face wrinkled in confusion but was quickly replaced with
a smile. “What’s up, ma? I’m really surprised to see you here.”

“I bet you are since I had to ask Choice for your address.
Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

He chuckled as he stepped off to the side so she could
enter. “Where are you coming from dressed like that?” With his eyebrows arched
in anger, he looked her body up and down in the form fitting denim dress.

Ashley shrugged her shoulders. “I’m coming from home. I just
put this on to come over here.”

She looked around his living room. The color décor in his
home was earth tones giving off a comfy and cozy feeling. She looked over every
piece of furniture.

“You have a nice place. Ashley said while watching him
closely.

He licked his thick lips and nodded his head. Ashley sighed.
Her heartbeat was beating a little faster than before. Rio made her feel
nervous and giddy.

While they both stood there in awkward silence, everything
felt so wrong but so right at the same time. Ashley wanted to pick his brain a
little more. What was Rio really about? Could she trust him or was he just full
of lies and deceit like Petey had been at times. Her outlook on men had been
based off of the way Petey had treated her. Even though it might not have been
fair, that was all she knew. Maybe Rio was different. The only thing stopping
her from finding out was herself. Her heart begged her to be released but fear
always stopped her.

“Why are you playing detective and shit? What’s up with you?
” he asked.

“Honestly, I wanted to see you. That’s the truth; no
bullshitting,” she said.

That’s surprising since you didn’t like me so much earlier.

So you missed a nigga, huh? How sweet. You want something to
drink?” Rio asked.

Ashley shook her head. “Nah, I’m good.”

He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle
of water then leaned up against the counter.

“So what was so urgent that you had to come out this time of
night? You could’ve called or texted me and told me to stop by your crib. You
don’t need to be out this late.”

“Yeah I could’ve called you but I didn’t want to. I wanted
to come over here tonight. I wanted to see where you live. I wanted to see you.
What? You don’t want me to know where you live?”

“Never that. You’re always welcomed to come anywhere I’m
at,” Rio stated.

She cut her eyes at him. “I hear you but you have a strange
way of showing it especially since you’ve never invited me over to your place.
Thought we were friends, Rio.

“We’re a little more than friends. The sooner you realize
that, the better our situation will be.”

“I really wanted to talk to you about what you said earlier
in my room, about me not trusting dudes. There’s some truth to that. You have
no fucking idea the depth of me being hurt. I want to tell you. I want to tell
you about the last day me and Petey were together.

Ashley could feel herself becoming emotional. As much as she
wanted to release her tears, she kept them at bay.

“Petey and I had gotten into it at Da Cage over some bird he
was fucking with behind my back. He claimed there was nothing going on between
him and her. He was my man and my first for everything. As much as I wanted to
believe him, I didn’t because he had done the same thing before. I told him not
to come home. That was the first time since us moving in together that he didn’t
come home. I was hurt when he really didn’t come home but he only did what I
told him.”

Ashley chuckled but her pain could be still heard as she
continued with her story. “Even though I was pissed that he listened to me, I
really appreciated him for the time to be alone. I needed the time to sort shit
out. I called him later that day. We made up as much as we could over the phone
before making plans to meet up later that night for dinner. I was pregnant at
the time. I told him when I first found out that I was going to get an
abortion. After everything we’d went through, I decided to keep my baby. I was
going to tell him that night at dinner but neither of us ever made it. Life
pulled us into two different scenarios. I got jumped right when I walked out of
that store by the girl he was fucking with.

 “She was the same one I’d gotten into it with a Da Cage the
previous night. She and her friend beat me. When I woke up in the hospital, I
found out that I lost my baby. A day later, my mother and Choice finally broke
down and told me that I lost Petey too.”

A lone tear escaped from Ashley’s eyes but she wiped it away
quickly.

“When you told me I was damaged, it hit home because it was
true. Life hasn’t been good to me. On the other hand, at least I’m here because
I could’ve died that day along with my child. Someone called for help. Some
would say I was lucky But, at times, I don’t feel so lucky. I lost my child and
my man in the process and that’s still something I’m dealing with. They say
time is supposed to heal all wounds. I must be healing slowly because the shit
feels fresh.”

“Time does heal all wounds, ma. Some faster than others but
you also have to learn when to let go. If you’re holding on to those memories,
how can the healing process begin? I only knew Petey on some business shit. He
seemed real cool. I know he wouldn’t want you living afraid of not trusting and
falling in love. You’re cautious with me but you don’t have to be. I’m not that
man. Temptations do not exist when it comes to me. If I say I want you and only
you then that’s what it is. My word is the only thing I have and I wouldn’t
fuck that up. You just gotta let me in,” Rio stated.

“If we don’t work out, what we have now will be ruined, Rio.
We have a good thing going on between us. We’re really good friends and I’m
scared if we take it there and it doesn’t work out then we’ll lose the
friendship we’ve created.

 “If you think negatively, you’ll get negative results. I’ve
had plenty of friends like any other nigga but never someone I called mine and
that’s what I want you to be. Mine. You’re trying to start over. Why don’t we
try this relationship thing together? There’s no one else in this world that I
would want. The first time I spotted you that night in the club, I knew that I
wanted you. You were it for me. If we’re being honest, I haven’t fucked with no
other female since that night we did what we did. That has to count for
something, right? A nigga been fiending for you like crazy. If I tilt my lip
upward, I can still smell you.

Ashley smiled shyly. She realized that she wasn’t fucking
with a little boy with immature words but a grown ass man. His word play was
definitely out of this world and he had her hanging by a limb. Rio now had her
curiosity piqued and her guard at bay.

“So what are you really saying to me right now? I’mma need
you to explain a little better,” Ashley said.

Rio took a swig of water from his water bottle before
sitting it down on the counter.

“Walk down that hallway and go into that room straight
ahead. It’s late. I’m tired and I know you are,” he said as he winked his eye
at her.

Ashley eyed his lean muscular frame and the angel tattoo on
his neck as if he was a work of art. With a smile tugging at the corner of her
lips, Ashley stood up from the chair and did as he told her to do.

His bed was beautiful and it looked slept in. The covers
were pushed back and looked inviting. She slid her sandals off, walked over to
his bed, and sat down on the side he’d been sleeping on.

 
This is what I want. I need this,
she silently
coaxed herself. Rio stroked his beard as he walked into the room. His face
still holding the smile it held before. Ashley looked up at him and smiled too.