Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud.
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Ashlyn huffed, the door not slamming hard enough behind her when she entered Salt.
Several patrons glanced up from their afternoon meals, but the distraught look on Ashlyn's face mixed with all the dried tear stains must have been something quite disconcerting, for they all glanced away. The food on the plates before them had never been more exciting than at that moment.
Avoiding meeting the eyes of anyone, Ashlyn moved past the counter, down the corridor, and towards the back door, her legs not moving fast enough to beat the fresh tears she'd been holding back.
"Ash," Kass called, her head poking from the kitchen as she passed. Ashlyn ignored her. The sound of her shoes tapping on the floor, the only sound she was interested in. When another pair of trainers squeaked against the floor behind her, Ashlyn paid it little mind. She had to get out of there. The walls were closing in, and she couldn't breathe.
Twice she tripped and had to catch herself against the wall. The aching in her chest was growing more prominent, the emotional pain too much to bear. The choice that she'd just made felt more unbearable than the risk of leaving things be. But she couldn't go back now. She had to believe this was for the best, even if it didn't feel so now.
Ashlyn pushed all of her weight against the back door, gasping when she was met with the damp air beyond. It was cold and felt sharp against her skin, but it was all that she needed to help clear the dense fog that suffocated her mind.
Before she could slam the back door behind her, Kass caught it, her voice reaching out to Ashlyn just as she felt her resolve slip further.
"Ashlyn, stop," Kass spoke with a stern undertone.
Ashlyn stopped, incapable of going any further. Her chest heaved with pants and sobs, her vision blurred. How she'd made it outside without injuring herself was a mystery to her.
Kass approached from the side, her hands raised up in front of her, so as not to startle Ashlyn. Ashlyn felt like a wild animal, disoriented by everything that was happening around her. Cornered by the darkness that threatened to possess the remaining light she clung to, Ashlyn wasn't sure if her next move would be to fight to protect what she loved or to run from it all and seek refuge in isolation.
"Ash?" Kass' voice was croaky, thick with the emotion she tried to hold back. It was another spear to Ashlyn's heart, reminding her that her pain was not just her own. Another reminder that she'd let someone too close, only this one she could never push away. Not now.
She turned to face Kass front on, an arm over her face as she sobbed into her elbow, her wild eyes struggling to focus.
Kass' eyes took on a glassy hue when she took in Ashlyn's appearance. Though Kass couldn't possibly have known what was happening, she was moved by Ashlyn's pain, which only made Ashlyn cry more. She wanted to run into her friend's arms but at the same moment, longed to run in the opposite direction so that she could be alone. No one else should have had to feel as she did at that moment. She rocked on her heels, hesitating between her instincts.
