~*~ Chapter 6 ~*~
REDDING, CA – Sunday – December 19th
Ashley opened the door to his car so Hailey could get in.
“Thanks, baby.”
“No problem.” he smiled at his girlfriend, went to the other side of the car and got in himself. Just as he started the car, Hailey spoke up.
“It’s so nice that Kirstin is engaged, don’t you think?” Ashley just looked at his girlfriend and smiled weakly “What? Don’t you like her, Ashley?”
“No, I like her. I just don’t like her fiancée.” ‘Her fiancée.’ He would have to get used to that and he didn’t like it.
“I don’t know her fiancée and I don’t know if I like her. She always thought she was better than everyone else in high school.”
“Kirstin?”
“Yes, Kirstin.”
“Wow, she was nothing like that when I met her.”
“Of course, after the 2 boyfriend she had… you know the story? Did she tell you?”
“Yeah…”
“I don’t know what I would do if my boyfriend cheated on me. And the other one raped her and…”
“He didn’t rape her.” Ashley got defensive.
“He did, too.”
“That’s not what Kirstin told me and she wouldn’t lie to me.”
“Well, I don’t know what she told you, but he forced her to bed and I see it as a rape.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t ask him to stop.”
“Well, it’s the same to me.”
“Don’t be naive, Hailey. It’s totally different.”
“Are you calling me dumb?”
“No, baby. I’m just trying to explain to you that it’s different when you are having sex with someone and you ask him to stop and when you don’t ask him to stop. It’s just two different things, that’s all.”
“Well, if you say so.”
“Were you good friends with Kirstin in high school?”
“We were on the same squad. But I wouldn’t say she was my best friend. We were squad buddies. Tina was her best friend from the squad. And poor Kirstin. Cheated by her best friend.”
“What? Her best friend was the one that had sex with Jess?”
“How did you know it was Jess her boyfriend?”
“She told me everything about him and Taylor.”
“Well, yes. Tina was the one that had sex with Jess at Pete’s party. I dated Jess after Kirstin left school.”
“You dated that jerk?”
“He was not a jerk! Maybe Kirstin wasn’t good enough for him.”
“You’re wrong! Kirstin was too good for him!” Ashley snapped.
“Wow, relax. What’s wrong with you? You’re acting weird.”
“Sorry, it’s just that… Kirstin and I used to be good friends and I don’t like it when people say bad things about her, that’s all.”
“Well, Ashley, I’m sorry, but she’s not that much of a good girl.”
“What do you mean?”
“She fooled around with so many guys before dating Jess, so when they started dating, he thought she was cheating on him too. That’s why he slept with Tina. He wanted to get even.”
“But Kirstin wasn’t cheating on him… was she?”
“No one knows for sure.”
“So? He shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”
“Oh, Ashley. We were young. We were 14. We didn’t think too much.”
“He clearly didn’t.”
“But Taylor was a loser.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, after that thing with Jess, Kirstin quit the squad.”
“Yes, she told me that.”
“So, she had no friends after that. The only friends she had were from the squad or the football team, except for this Taylor guy. So when she quit, she had no one, but him, to hang with. I don’t know why she was friends with that geek in the first place. Maybe she wanted help with her math tests or something. All I know is that, after a while, they became a couple and you seem to know the rest.”
“Yeah… But that’s weird. It seems like we are talking about 2 different Kirstins here.”
“Well, I don’t know. Let’s hear your version of Kirstin then.”
“What?”
“Tell me how was Kirstin of your high school. Were you good friends?”
“We were best friends.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“And how was she?”
“She was just… perfect.”
“Really? Kirstin?”
“Yeah. She captured me the first time I ever saw her. I remember it vividly. She entered our classroom and handed the teacher a note. I think it was about her transference, I don’t know. I used to sit on the back. So she handed the teacher a note and walked through the desks with that long hair of hers waving around. It was like a vision, like she was moving in slow motion in my direction. Just like in the movies. Then she sat a couple of desks in front of me. I remember I stayed the whole class hoping she’d turn around so I would take another look at her face.” Ashley had a big smile on his face. He seemed to have forgotten he was telling the story to his girlfriend, because he was telling it with passion evidently in his face.
“Wow… you were in love with her or something?”
“Yeah. I was.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Love at first sight. Never believed in that before she came along.” he sighed “Then we started being friends, then became best friends. She’d go see all my plays, all my games, all my concerts. We were very much inseparable. We were always together. In high school, during the afternoon, during the evening. We were really close. And it was weird, because she’d be totally outgoing with me, but she would be all reserved, pretty shy around everyone else at school. Come to think about it, she didn’t have too many friends beside me.” Ashley frowned.
“Did you two date during high school?”
“No.”
“You were in love with her during the whole time and you never told her?”
“Never.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I was afraid she would dismiss me. And she never told me she felt something for me.”
“And do you know if she did feel something for you back then?”
“Yes. She told me a few months ago that she loved me and didn’t tell me because she was afraid of love after everything that had happened with the other 2 guys.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Kirstin all right. She can be stupid like that.”
“Hailey! She’s not stupid! She just got hurt pretty bad.”
“Oh, come on, Ash! Of course she is! Or else she would have told you something. I know I would.”
“Well, if you are calling her stupid because of that, then you are calling me stupid as well. I never told her I loved her either.”
“Oh, well, then you were both stupid!”
“Hailey!”
“It’s true, Ashley! Come on. If you loved her so much and if she loved you so much, why not tell?” Ashley just kept quiet “It’s just stupid. It doesn’t make any sense. That’s what I think.”
“Well, you know. It was a teenager thing. As you said it before, we were young. What did we knew about love back then?” Ashley sighed. He was lying. He didn’t mean those words. He did know what he felt for Kirstin was true love, but he couldn’t tell that to his girlfriend “We’re here.” Ashley said as he pulled over. They got out of the car and held hands.
“But you're with me now.” she looked up and smiled at Ashley. He just pecked her on the lips “But how did you guys got together in New York?”
“Well, that’s a long story. Come. I’ll tell you inside.” he told her and they entered the Angel's house.
* Thanx Stacie and Taryn for reviewing and correcting the grammar errors *
~*~ Chapter 5 ~*~
~*~ Chapter 7 ~*~
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