Push

Chapter 14

Ali Krieger POV

I wake up to Ash practically on top of me which is not normal. She usually likes to stay on her side of the bed because her body heat usually gets me sweating. I go to push her off, but then I notice another body in the bed. I'm so confused.

 I prop myself up on my arm and see Cameron asleep next to Ash. That makes sense as to why Ash is so close to me. Wait, when did she get here? As I think, I decided to get up and get ready for the day. I'm a morning person when I get a full night's rest. Once I get ready, I head to the kitchen to start on breakfast. Thirty minutes later, Cameron walks in followed by Ash.

"Good morning." Ash says giving me a kiss.

"Good morning." Cam adds with a smile.

"Good morning. How'd you guys sleep?" I question. I'm curious as to why she ended up in our room. 

"Can't complain." Cameron replies and I see Ash give her a look out of the corner of her eye.

"Do the nightmares wake you up every night?" Ash questions Cam.

"You could say that. I'm used to them by now though." Cam says brushing off the topic. I'm guessing that's why she ended up in our bed this morning.

"What are they about?" Ash refuses to leave the topic alone. "If you talk about them, I think it'll help."

"You know I'm not going to do that." Cam holds her ground.

"They are about your family aren't they? The flashbacks causing the nightmares." Ash pushes Cam to confirm.

"Drop it, Ash. I'm serious." I see Cam start to get angry and upset. I put my hand on Ash's arm hoping to reel her back, but she continues to interrogate Cam.

"No! I see how they affect you. You shouldn't be having to deal with them, so let me help you."

"There's nothing you can do. End of conversation." Cam snaps back getting defensive.

"Just tell me what they are about." Ash pushes again. I see that Ash just wants to help the kid out but I don't think this is the way to go about it.

"It's honestly none of your business, Ash."

"Is it about how your family died? That's the only logical answer I can come up with. You never talked about their death or how they died so it makes sense." Ash drills her. The tension in the air is high.

"Shut up!! Fucking shut up!" Cameron bursts out slamming her hand on the counter-top we are seating at. "When I say leave shit alone, leave it alone. I'm done." And with that she heads back to her room leaving me and Ash in the kitchen.

"What the hell was that, Ashlyn! Why'd you push her like that?" I exclaim.

"She's been suffering with these nightmares even before I met her. She won't let anyone in on them. I want to help her."

"Okay, but look at what happened. She came to relax and to be distracted. I understand you want to help her but this isn't how you go about it." I shake my head disapprovingly.

I put fruit in a bowl and a glass of water on a tray and decided to head over to Cam's room. I knock on her door, but don't get a response, so I hesitantly open the door to find her pacing back and forth. It looks like she is in deep thought.

"Hi, I'm just bringing some breakfast to you. I understand if you want your space." I say putting the food down and walking back out. She whispers a thank you as I close the door.

Around an hour later, Ash and I hear Cam's door open and close. We then hear the front door open and close. Ash and I turn to face each other at the same time. Ash quickly gets up and goes to check the front but comes back saying Cam's nowhere in sight. We get a text from Cam saying she'll be back in two hours.

"Where would she go?" I ask out loud.

"With her old foster sibling? A walk? Fuck! Ali what if I triggered her?" I see Ash start to panic. "What if she goes to seek drugs to ease the memories I tried to resurface. Fuck! I'm so stupid."

"Hey it'll be okay. Just give her the time she asked for. If she's not back, then we can start jumping to conclusions. But I don't think she'll go seek drugs. She probably needs to cool off." And with that compromise we sit together waiting for time to fly quicker. As time goes by I see Ash get more impatient. I don't think I have ever seen this side of her. This protective and worried side I thought I would only see when we have children not now. It's very interesting. Cameron and Ashlyn's dynamic is intriguing to say the least. They wouldn't last long without each other.