The next couple of day went by as if it was in a dream. Only to Ashley it seemed to be more like a nightmare.

Elijah, Billy, Viggo, Sean and the rest all came by to pay their respects and to show them that they were there when either she or Dom needed a friend, but it all went straight past her. All Ashley could do was to cry and curse the world for keeping on turning. Cursing time for not stopping
the very moment she had lost her best friend.

And now the day of the of the funeral had come. Ashley looked around in the church which was now filled with people. All Kim�s new friends were there, and also some of the old ones.

Ashley could see that they all had been crying too. Some of them were dressed in the traditional black, but most of them, including Ashley, were wearing their normal clothes. This because they all knew that Kim had hated black clothes.

Ashley looked at the rows at the other end of the church, and she sighed as new tears began to form in her eyes. Kim�s parents. They had arrived the day after Kim had died, and Ashley had spent many hours talking to them, crying over their loss and remembering the Kim of old.

Ashley sighed again and shook her head before wiping away her tears. She still couldn�t believe that Kim was gone.

�How are you holding up?� someone asked her and Ashley looked up at the person sitting next to her. Elijah looked back at her worried, his own eyes red and swollen. Ashley shrugged and tried to smile, but couldn�t as her lips began to shake vigorously.

�It hurts,� she said and Elijah nodded.

�I know.� He lay his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. �I know.�

Ashley laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feel of comfort which he was offering her. But then she opened her eyes again and sat up straight. She looked at the people sitting next to Elijah. Billy had his head down and he stared at his hands which he held
folded in his lap. Ashley sighed as she saw this, for it wasn�t the Billy she knew.

Next to Billy sat Viggo, who was trying to talk to Dominic. Ashley sighed as she saw Dominic sitting there, a blank expression on his face. He had been like this almost immediately after the first initial shock. He hadn�t cried, he had only walked through the house like a zombie.

Ashley saw Kim�s father walking up to the front of the church and she knew that this was it. They were going to bury her best friend.

*

One after another the people walked away from the grave. Elijah, who had his arm around Ashleys waist, looked at her and she nodded. He let go of her and softly whispered into her ear: �I will be waiting over there.�

Ashley nodded. �Okay, just give me a few minutes.� She looked at him, before looking at Dominic who had walked up to the coffin. Elijah followed her gaze, and nodded before walking towards Dominic. Ashley watched the two men hug, after which Elijah walked away. Then Ashley walked over to Dom and stopped right besides him. They stared at the coffin for a while.

Then Ashley took Dominic by his arm. �C�mon,� she softly said. �It�s time to go.� Dominic nodded and followed her to the car, where Elijah was waiting for them. Without saying a word they climbed into the car and Elijah drove them home.

As he parked the car in front of Dom�s house, Elijah looked at Dom, who was busy getting out of the car, before turning his attention towards Ashley. �Are you sure you�re going to be alright?� he asked her, and she nodded.

�Yes. It�s just.. it�s been a hard and long day. I guess me and Dom both need our rest now.�

Elijah nodded and Ashley closed the door. He put his window down and showed her a half-hearted smile. �Okay. But you know where you can reach me, right? And that you can always call me if you need me?�

Ashley nodded. �Yes. I know. But all I need right now is some rest.� She showed him a sad smile, which he returned.

�Well, hurry up you and get inside then.� Elijah started the car again and waved at Ashley before he drove away.

Ashley watched him leave, before turning around and following Dominic, who was already inside. She found him sitting in the living room, still having the same blank expression on his face. �Dom?� Ashley softly said, and he looked at her. �I am going upstairs now. Can I get you anything before I go? Maybe some coffee?� She sighed as he shook his head. He had been like this for days now, not saying a word. �Okay. I�ll be upstairs if you need me.� He only nodded before looking away again and Ashley decided that she�d best be going upstairs.

*

After much turning and tossing aside the sheets, Ashley realised that she really wasn�t able to sleep. It had been this way all week now, but today it just seemed to be worse.

Ashley sighed and climbed out of bed. Maybe she should go downstairs and make herself a cup of hot coco. She loved hot coco.

She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Then, as she moved to open the fridge, she heard something, and she froze. There it was again. It sounded like.. like.. someone was crying. Ashley frowned and slowly walked towards the living room, careful not to make a sound.

It was dark in the living room, but thanks to the moonlight, Ashley could see Dominic sitting on the couch, clutching something against his chest. He was still wearing the clothes he wore to the funeral and he was crying.

Ashley bit her lip, not able to cry at this heart wrenching sight, for all her tears had gone dry. She pondered about what to do as she watched him cry as if he had just lost everything. Then she sighed. He had just lost everything. He had lost the woman he loved.

Again she bit her lip as she saw Dominic looking up. Apparently he had heard her sigh. �Ashley?� he asked, his voice thick because of all the pain and sorrow.

Ashley walked into the room. �Yes, it�s me. I couldn�t sleep.�

She saw Dominic shake his head. �Me neither,� he said. Then he looked up at Ashley, his face showing nothing but pain, a sight which broke her heart.

�God Ashley, I miss her so much!�

His cries grew louder and Ashley hurried towards him. �I know you do,� she said as she sat down besides him and pulled him into her arms, �and I miss her too. I miss her too!� Her voice broke, but she didn�t cry. She only held Dominic against her chest as he cried.

After a long while Dominic calmed down again, and Ashley finally saw the object he was clutching against his chest. It was a picture of Kim.

Ashley sighed as she got up, and she held out her hand. �Come, you need to try and get some rest. So let�s get you upstairs, and then I�ll make you some hot coco.�

She looked at Dominic and he nodded, getting up from the couch. �Yeah, you�re right.� He walked up the stairs and Ashley followed not long after, bringing two cups of hot coco with her.

�Here you go,� she said as she gave Dom one of the mugs. �Careful now, it�s still hot!� She looked at Dominic, sitting on the bed, still wearing his clothes. He looked lost. �Do you mind if I sit here?� she asked him and Dominic looked up.

He shook his head and showed her a small smile. �No, not at all.�

Ashley sat down next to him and they drank there drinks in silence. After a while Ashley bit her lip and she looked down into her now empty mug. �Well,� she softly whispered, not looking at Dom, �I think I should go to bed now.�

She moved to get up, but looked at Dom as she felt his hand on her arm. Tears sprang into her eyes at the sight of him. Tears were visible in his eyes too, and his lower lip was shaking. He bit it to try and stop the shaking, but it seemed as though that only made it worse. �Please don�t leave me!� he said and he looked at her pleading. �I don�t want to be alone. I can�t stand being alone.�

Ashley shook her head as she pulled him into her arms. Then she kissed him on the forehead as she whispered �I won�t go.�

Dominic looked up at her, his face wet because of all the tears, before he kissed her. Ashley sighed and closed her eyes, cutting off the voices that were telling her to stop this. That this was wrong. Because she needed this, they both needed this. And so she let him kiss her.

*

Ashley moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times before she stared up at the ceiling, feeling very confused. She tried to turn around, but found it to be impossible. Something heavy was lying around her waist, holding her down.

She turned her head and opened her eyes wide as she looked straight at a sleeping Dominic. �Oh god!� she softly exclaimed, as she quickly looked away. Then she shook her head as she closed her eyes. So it wasn�t a dream, it had really happened. She let out another soft moan. How could she?

She looked at Dominic again, and couldn�t help but notice how adorable he looked. The she looked down at his arm, which was lying around her waist. She sighed as tears sprang into her eyes. How she had longed for this moment. And how she had felt guilty for wanting it.

Ashley brought up a hand to wipe away the tears, and a determined look appeared on her face. She softly lifted his arm and crawled out from underneath it. Then she got out of the bed, careful not to wake him. A bright blush appeared on her face as she realized that she was completely naked. Then she shivered as the cold reached her naked form.

She bent down and picked up the first piece of clothing she could find. She sighed when she saw that it was Dom�s shirt, but pulled it on nonetheless. After she had done so she looked around in the room, trying to find her own clothes. She quickly picked them up, and looked up startled as she heard a deep sigh coming from the bed. Dominic turned around in his sleep. Ashley stood there, watching him without making a sound, afraid that if she did, he might wake up.

After a few long minutes Ashley bent down to pick up her own shirt, which was still lying on the ground. Then she walked back to the bed and watched Dominic sleep. She stretched out his hand, wanting to touch his beautiful, handsome, relaxed face. She bit her lip as a wave of sadness hit her and she closed her eyes to stop them from filling with tears. After that she took a few deep breaths and opened her eyes again. She slowly bent down towards Dominic and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. At the same moment, Dominic mumbled something in his sleep and Ashley backed away quickly. She let out a relieved sigh as she saw that Dominic was still sound asleep and closed her
eyes for a few seconds. Then she walked towards the door and opened it.

Looking back at the bed, Ashley slowly walked out of the room. She immediately ran into her own room and began packing her bags. She pulled on some clean underwear and a clean pair of jeans, but didn�t take Dom�s shirt off. She looked around, checking if she hadn�t forgotten anything, before
closing her suitcases.

She carried them out of her room silently, before turning off all the lights. Then she walked down, taking both the suitcases and her bag with her, even though they were awfully heavy. She put the two suitcases in front of the door.

Ashley put on her shoes and walked into the living room to look at the pictures one last time. She swallowed hard as tears began to pour down her face, and she put her right hand in front of her mouth. Most pictures were of Kim, laughing, still alive.

Ashley walked over to one of the bigger pictures. It was a picture taken in a park and it showed Dom and Kim, sitting together on a large plaid and smiling happily into the camera.

Ashley held out her hand and touched Kim�s face. �I�m so sorry,� she mumbled to the picture, as sobs began to break through her whole body. �God, I am so sorry.� She pulled her hand back as she took a few steps back. �This shouldn�t have happened.� Then she turned around and walked out of the living room. She grabbed her coat and opened the front door, using the keys which lay on a small table standing in the hall. She picked up her bag and suitcases and walked out of the house, without a moment of hesitation. Then she closed the door again, locking it with the keys before throwing them through the mailbox. After that she walked away towards the nearest bus
stop, never looking back.

~

Ashley placed her thumb against her teeth, a sad look on her face, as she waited for the announcer to say that she could now board the plane. She still felt like crying, but all her tears had gone dry. She wasn�t afraid that he would come to try and stop her, because she knew for sure that he
was still vast asleep. And she hadn�t left him a note, she hadn�t left him anything, so he wouldn�t even know where to find her. But she knew that eventually he would try to find her. And he would find her, seeing as how Kim had her address in New york.

Ashley sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. The only problem was that she didn�t want him to find her. She had betrayed her best friend, and this had to be her punishment. And that meant that she had to find another place to stay. At least until she had found a new place of her own. She bit her lip, before nodding. Jenny would probably take her in for a short while.

Ashley looked up as a voice came through the speakers. She got up and grabbed her suitcases. The voice had just said that her flight was ready for boarding.

As she followed the crowd, all walking in the direction of the gate to which she had to go, Ashley looked back one last time. �Farewell,� she softly whispered, before bowing her head and walking towards her plane.


THE END

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