Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) (32 page)

There’s Juice In It!

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Ashley groaned
pulling the pillow over her head to drown out the sound of the doorbell. She
was exhausted. Other than a few restless hours, sleep had mostly evaded her.
Thoughts of her brother, the storm that took his life and the one heading in
their direction whipped around her mind until the sky began to lighten. When
the bell rang again and her litany of cursing didn’t manifest Ryan, she
realized she needed to get her ass up to answer the door. She rolled out of bed
and stomped down the stairs. It wasn’t that nine-thirty on a Monday morning was
early, because it wasn’t. Usually at this time she would have been coming back
from the gym, preparing to shower and getting ready for—

“Oh, shit!”

“Good morning to you too, sunshine. You look like ass.”
Janie assessed while she stood cheerfully on the doorstep. “Did you forget
about our plans?”

“Hi, Jane.” Ashley droned, “Look, I didn’t sleep at all last
night…” She yawned, not at all trying to hide her irritation of being awake
when she could still be snuggled in her bed. “I’m gonna bail on Starbucks
today, umm, maybe I’ll meet you guys at the spa later. Sorry, honey.” Janie
stopped the closing door with her slender body, her cell already up to her ear.

“Hey, Ly, yep, you were right.” Ashley watched the smirk on
Janie’s face grow as she talked to Lyla on the phone. “Yeah,” she paused,
listening to the voice on the other end of the line. “I know. Ah ha, you got
it, I’ll tell her. See you in ten. Bye.” Janie slid the phone back into the
pocket of her jeans and walked into the foyer of Ashley’s house.

“Ash, march your sweet ass upstairs and brush your teeth. We
don’t care if you’re dressed or not. We don’t care if you look like
that
,”
Janie ran her eyes up and down Ashley’s appearance and crinkled her nose, “or
not. But you are getting into my car in”—she looked at her watch—“eight minutes.
Now go.”

“Janie, I’m too tired, and I’m too cranky. I don’t want to
be a bitch to my two closest friends.”

Janie smiled slowly as she shook her head. “Unbelievable,”
she murmured.

“What’s unbelievable?”

“Lyla said you’d come up with something like that, and she
told me to tell you that you haven’t seen bitchy yet. She also said if you make
her come get you, you’ll be praying for
just
bitchy.” The sound of
Janie’s sweet giggle filled Ashley with a sense of kinship and love that she
desperately needed this morning.

“Grr…fine, give me five minutes. You’ll get fresh breath,
and fresh armpits but nothing more.” She flashed Janie her patented calm Ashley
grin and jogged upstairs to fix herself up.

Stealing a glimpse at her reflection in the mirror as she
brushed her teeth, she noticed today, even more than yesterday that her outward
image was beginning to look a lot like the way she felt on the inside.
No
wonder Janie looked at you that way.
Gone was the laidback “I don’t give a
damn” attitude, and in its place was a wounded woman with flaws, cracks and
fears. She rinsed out her mouth and leaned over the sink, putting her face
closer to the mirror.
Stay put, Ashley Kynde.
She rubbed her hand
absently over her ribs, grazing Leo’s words. “
The darker the storm, the
deeper the pain
,” she whispered to her reflection.

“Ash, your time is up. Get down here, now.”

Pasting on her plastic smile she grabbed her sneakers and
bounced down the stairs with all the fake enthusiasm she could muster.

“IT’S ABOUT FUCKING time.” The
sparkle in Lyla’s blue eyes revealed more humor than agitation as she opened
the door to welcome Janie and Ashley into her house.

“I thought we were supposed to meet at Starbucks, what
happened to that plan?” Ashley asked, following Lyla and Janie into the
kitchen.

“Not to be rude, honey, but I saw what you looked like when
you opened your front door. You weren’t planning on meeting us there anyway, so
who cares if the venue changed?” There was definitely something off with her
two friends, she could see it in the way they were looking at her, and hear it
in the tone of their voices. Was this an…

“Oh, hell no!” Ashley turned on her sneakered heel and
started for the door. “I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out,”
she called over her shoulder. “What is this? Some kind of intervention? I love
you girls, but I don’t need this shit. Jane, thanks for the ride, I’ll jog
home—”

“Stop. Right. There.” Lyla’s voice was stern and left no
room for misunderstanding. Ashley halted mid-step but kept her back to her
friends. “Ashley, we’ve officially known each other long enough that we feel
comfortable saying what we’re about to say. We know that you may get upset, but
hopefully you care about us enough to listen and hear what we have to say.”

“Because, sweetie, you need us right now the same way I
needed you not too long ago when it came to my situation with Max,” Janie
quietly reminded her.

With her back still facing the kitchen where Janie and Lyla
stood, Ashley closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. This was it. This was the
moment where she had to decide if she was going to finally allow these people
in, to show them who she was and what she did. Should she? Or should she secure
her mask and put on the performance of a lifetime?
What’s it gonna be,
Ashley?
Her choice was made easy with Lyla’s next statement.

“Ash, you can run and you can hide but we both know that the
past will
always
find you. You’re better off building an army to help
with your defense than fighting it alone. The fact is, even if you think you’re
sparing those that love you, you’re not. They will still suit up, they will
still go to battle but they’ll fall. You give them no choice. They’ll be armed
only with their hearts because you allow them no sight.”

Her eyes stung as tears began to fill them. Lyla, the person
who hid more about herself than anyone was telling her it was time to open up,
and by the sound of her voice, she wasn’t only talking about Ashley. When she
finally turned around to face the two beautiful souls, what she saw was
breathtaking. Janie had wet tracks leaking down her ivory cheeks and Lyla’s
eyes seemed truly open for the very first time. Yeah, maybe it was time to
start letting people in.

“Okay, how about if I share some of my story,” she looked
pointedly toward Lyla, “and then you finally give me some of your goodies.”

“Yeah right,” Lyla said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Today is all about you, Spicy.” Lyla held her hand up to ward off Ashley’s
frustrated response. “The one who needs, gets. Today is your day, but I’m sure
my time will come. And when it does, you can throw all of my words right back
at me. Deal?” Lyla gestured to the family room, “Now, you two go get cozy and
I’ll be right in there with refreshments.” Lyla turned her back to them in
dismissal while Ashley followed Janie into the other room.

Ashley slumped to the floor in front of one of Lyla’s huge,
overstuffed chairs. Letting her mind wander for a moment she realized that her
friend’s taste in décor reflected her personality—outwardly large with its
commanding presence felt, but when settled in, it was comforting, cozy and
familiar. Panic bubbled in her stomach and her fingers laced together as she
waited for Lyla to return.

“Honey, after that scene last night, Lyla and I decided that
we can’t let you push us away a second longer.” Janie handed Ashley a shot of
tequila and a lime wedge off the tray Lyla had brought in from the kitchen. The
three women sat on the floor around the coffee table in the cozy family room.

“Christ, Janie!” Ashley grinned, “It’s ten o’clock in the
morning and you’re giving me alcohol?” Ashley looked from Janie to Lyla with
pleading eyes. “Has she lost her mind? Is she trying to add a drinking problem
to my growing list of issues?”

Lyla snorted. “As if, Ash. We
know
what that body of
yours can handle, so don’t try the puppy dog eyes on us.” Lyla squatted down
next to Ashley with a slightly guilty look on her face, “For the record, I did
tell her this wasn’t the best way to get you to talk but she disagreed,
something about
The Sombrero
? Whatever, drink up, buttercup!”

Ashley shot a quick scathing look to Janie before Lyla
continued to talk. “As for the time of day—ten a.m. or ten p.m.—as long as
there’s a ten in it I think we’re good to go.” Lyla giggled at her own joke
while Janie smiled brightly and handed the shot to Ashley.

“Fine,” Ashley said accepting her fate, “but if I’m drinking
so are the two of you.”

Ashley found extreme satisfaction in watching Janie’s face
go pale. “Are you crazy? It’s ten o’clock in the morning,” Janie complained.
Laughter poured from Lyla’s slender frame as she and Ashley stared at one
another quizzically and then both at Janie. When Janie realized what she had
said she started giggling too and then Ashley joined in. The three women
laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks.

Lyla picked up her shot of vodka, making Ashley giggle.
Every time Lyla refused tequila shots, she couldn’t help but remember the story
Lyla had once shared about the time she’d thrown up all over the beautiful man
who was going down on her in the back seat of the expensive town car he had
rented for their first date. Every. Single. Time.

“Here’s to booze to make us chatty, instead of food that
makes us fatty.” Lyla giggled out her toast and saluted her friends before
throwing the alcohol down her throat. She sucked on a lime that had been
covered in sugar and waited for her friends to follow.

When they didn’t move she narrowed her eyes at them, “You
know how much I love revenge so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll take
those fucking shots.” Knowing Lyla as well as they did, Ashley and Janie
quickly followed Lyla’s lead.

After the first round of shots Lyla disappeared into the
kitchen and then came back with a cold pitcher of Screwdrivers. “What?” Lyla
asked shrugging her shoulders.
That girl has perfected her innocent face
,
Ashley thought to herself.

“There’s orange juice in it, so technically it can be
considered a breakfast treat.” Lyla grinned as she brought the glasses along
with some bagels to the table. After setting them down Lyla prompted, “Ashley,
what happened last night? What’s going on with you and Ryan and more
importantly…what’s going on with
you
?”

Maybe it was the alcohol, or Janie’s presence, or maybe it
was the uncharacteristic gentleness of Lyla’s voice…she wasn’t sure, but
whatever it was, Ashley felt her walls sway a bit in response to her question.

In an attempt to re-fortify them, Ashley let out a long sigh
as she set her glass on the table and then ran her hands through her newly
blue-streaked, blonde hair. The colors in Ashley’s hair were the only outer
indicators of her mood. If people didn’t take the time to notice that then that
was their problem, not hers. To her, her “hair moods” were as clear as the
tears that other women cried. Although people rarely made the connection, or
just didn’t take the time to notice.

Taking her glass back into her hand, she finally responded
with, “What are you talking about? I’m fine.” Ashley took a healthy sip of her
drink and tried hard to maintain eye contact with her friends.

“Blue is not fine…” Lyla said gently. Ashley froze. She
could handle obnoxious Lyla. Crude Lyla was fun. Rude Lyla was downright
entertaining, but gentle Lyla? Gentle Lyla could break her into pieces.

“Blue?” Ashley whispered.

“What Lyla is trying to say honey,” Janie intervened, “is
that the streaks in your hair are blue. When you do blue, it means you’re sad.
So do black and gray. Purple usually means you’re feeling bored and in need of
an adventure, and—”