Beautiful Mate

* The Beauty*

Ashley woke up with a quick grasp as she looked around then at her wrist which was covered in hair bows and bracelets. Seeing she was still in her hotel room and her wrist was still covered she looked over to the floor where her brother Paul snored on the floor, they had landed from England around 5am this rainy morning in North Carolina, they still had a ways to go before they reached Virginia Tech. She was excited, but also slightly nervous of a new place. She got up, grabbed her ripped blue jeans, a oversize Motionless in white t-shirt and her bra set that came with undies out of the duffle bag she had and went to the bathroom. She took a quick shower, using her vanilla body wash and honey shampoo and conditioner. Once she got out, when all the hot water was gone, she grabbed a towel and dried off with a loud bang echoing on the bathroom door. "Don't use all the water!" Her brother grumbled and yelled. "I'm not, I'm almost done." She said sweetly knowing good and well he would more than likely end up with a cold shower. She brushed her teeth and got dressed, putting on her ripped jeans and oversize t-shirt, she looked in the mirror and sighed. Ashley always hid her body, she wasn't a size 2 nor did she want to be, but to her and other people she was chubby, she had a gut, she had thick thighs and curves for days. So, baggy clothes helped with that and, because of the fact, they were her brother's old clothes. He was a Marine, so most of his clothes were bigger on her anyway.

Once she was ready, she stepped out of the bathroom and sighed "There ya go rudeness!" She said, sticking her tongue out at her brother, who just pushed past her and slammed the door. He was still not a morning person after all these years, but she knew that would have to change. She was headed to college, and he was headed to his girlfriend in Florida. They had met during basic training, and they always visited her, but this time was different. They were moving in together, miles away, and even though Ashley was excited for her brother, she was getting a little anxious. "Get a grip Ashley!" Ashley said out loud but mainly to herself, as she huffed and put on her non-matching socks along with her french fry Vans. All of her items had been delivered to her new apartment, which was on campus but still gave her privacy. After about 2 minutes, she heard a scream and began laughing "Did you lose something?" She said loudly with no response.

After some time, Paul came out looking miserable. "I hate you." He said blankly as Ashley sat there laughing harder than before, "You'll miss me." She said happily as he shook his head, sending cold water on her and himself and his gray shirt he was wearing." You are right, I will miss you. But you are not hogging all the water now. Jerk." He said, laughing once more as she smiled as it soon fell "Are you ready?" Was all she had to say as he looked down, putting his boots on and nodded. "Yeah I guess so. You know you can come live with me and Kat. We would love to have you. Or maybe go to Florida college." He said, not making eye contact. This was the same argument they have had for 2 years now and always ended the same way. Ashley sighed, biting her lip "I have to go to Virginia Tech. They have amazing courses in fields I am really interested in. Like Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program." She smiled "But Florida has Marine Biology". He said, feeling proud enough to speak up, "Do I look like I want to swim with the fishes?" She said with her brows raised and smiled. "It's going to be fine. I promise" Ashley said with a smile, once again trying her best to put on the show of a lifetime for Paul and herself.

After that, she grabbed her car keys and walked to her "skittles car" as she liked to call it. It is her Dodge Neon. It was neon green and many other colors. She bought it that way. She said it added character even though Paul offered to buy her a newer car. "Are you sure you don't mind driving a skittle? I mean you can ride with me and I can have that junk towed." Paul laughed, which made Ashley roll her eyes as Paul got in the truck beside her, "Oh shut up, you'll hurt its feelings." She said, petting the car, as Paul laughed harder." Okay, you got the place on your GPS, let's go." He said as she got in turning on her car which sounded amazing enough the outside looked rough. Paul soon turned on his truck with his radio blaring, which made him groan "I was not the same person a couple of hours ago." He muttered, turning the radio down as he backed up following the little skittle neon.

They began driving for 6 hours until her GPS went off, letting them let her know she had reached their destination. She turned her left blinker on, so Paul would know to turn as well. Once they pulled onto the road she turned on her blinker once more even though she wasn't turning and just parking on the side. She waited till the Ram 1500 pulled up behind her to turn off her car, get out and saw a very attractive man staring aggressively at her. She blushed and looked down, turning to her brother who she hugged once more, kind of needing a hug and kind of needing to hide her face. "Hey. You're okay, he's just a guy". Her brother muttered into her hair as she pulled away and turned, hearing a motorcycle come beside them. She looked at the dark eyes and looked shocked. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen someone with eyes like that before. Until a quick flashback came into her mind and sent a shiver down her back.

The night she refused to speak about, the night she still has nightmares about. That night, her parents were both murdered in front of them. Even though they should have been dead with them. They were chased for a good hour before the animals stopped, and they were in more woods than before. Luckily, they found a nice man who gave them a ride to the local police station. "Ash..." She heard it faintly, then once more "Ash". She was shaken softly as she looked up at her brother Paul, who looked worried "I'm fine." She said quickly with a smile.

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"Poem by Erin Plewes"

Let go of the fear

It lies to you

A jealous child

Afraid of being left alone