Page 87 of Marley
“Yeah?” She tilted her chin in the way she did when she was feeling challenged.
“Yeah.” I nodded my head and hoped that she could see that I meant it.
“Well, the last place I wanna be is here.” She started to cry. “How could you, Marley? How could you come here? I’m so ashamed, I’m so embarrassed.”
I fight to stop my bottom lip from trembling. “The last place you wanna be is here? You don’t wanna be here?” I asked.
She wiped her tears on the sleeve of her hoodie and shook her head no.
“Milo,” I called out.
“Boss?” He popped his head in around the door.
“Pull the car up to the front doors and I’ll take Ash down to it. Can you come back up and gather all of her clothes, shoes, anything personal, and bring it down for me please?”
“No problemo, Marls.” He disappeared out of view and I walked towards Ashley.
“What are you doing?’
“You’re coming home with me. I’m calling you a doctor and while you get yourself better at my place, we’ll find you somewhere else to live.”
“Somewhere with lights and glass in the windows and everything?”
“And everything.” I promised her.
She looks up at me through watery blue eyes, my heart pounds in my chest, echoing in my throat and ears. I hope she doesn’t fight me on this because there is no fucking way I’m leaving her here.
She lets out a long sigh.
“I’m not sure Marls, I’m just not sure.”
“Ash, look, whatever you might think of me and my reputation, all I wanna do is help you out right now.”
“Why?” Her chin wobbles as she asks and I hate that she just didn’t get that I was genuinely interested.
“Like I keep trying to tell you, I like you, a lot. I like being with you. I don’t know Ash, I don’t have the words. I just know that I’ve never felt like this before. I need to know you’re safe and that ain’t gonna happen if I leave you here, so either you come to mine, or I’m staying here with you.”
“I might not want you here with me.”
“Tough fucking shit. Them’s your options baby.”
She looked around the room, before she looked back at me, saying so quietly, I could only just make it out, “I’ll come with you.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck as I lifted her up. “I still ain’t shagging ya.” She croaked into my ear.
“We’ll see about that, sweetheart ... we’ll see.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
1989
It took a week for Ash to fully recover. I had a doctor out to see her as soon as I got her to my place and tucked up in my bed. He declared she had laryngitis, as well as a chest and sinus infection. He prescribed a five day course of antibiotics and paracetamol for the pain. After taking her tablets and eating a bowl of tomato soup, she slept for almost fourteen hours.
In that time, I got myself set up in Maca’s room and moved all her clothes and girlie shit from her place and into my room.
I left her to rest the first couple of days, just bringing her food and making her drink plenty. She was up and about by the following Thursday, and watching telly on the sofa, curled up next to me under a blanket.
It’d been a week, and I already didn’t want to imagine her not being there every day. It was killing me to lay in bed at night, knowing that she was in the other room.
