Chapter 10

• Ashley
• "Why would someone do something so horrible to Emily?" Elena mouthed as I recounted what went down at the bakery as she stuffed her mouth with roasted chicken.
• "I felt so scared after the first blow and she was so terrifying." Emily muttered, her hands holding boxes filled with her things while I followed, dropping her bags on the centre table.
• "She's just a big bully." I responded, my hands rubbing out sweat and grime on my forehead, "She was just crazy, obviously."
• "And you can't tell Mrs Ping about it?" Elena sighed heavily as she cradled her belly.
• "That would be bad, pretty bad. Mrs Ping hates attention and anything that might hurt her business." I hurriedly spoke while settling my ass on the couch.
• "Exactly." Emily took out the hair band, settling her tousled brown hair down to her hips.
• "So you girls, you suffer in silence?" Emily mouthed.
• "You can call it an investment." Emily chuckled,"Beer, anyone?" Her hands held on to the neck of a Hennessy bottle, shaking it.
• "I have zero tolerance for alcohol." I yelled, raising a finger in affirmation.
• "Don't look at me. I'm pregnant." Elena's face transformed into a smug look and then I and Emily suddenly erupted into ripples of laughter.
• "You know, I think Joe gets tired of me sometimes." Elena muttered slowly as she adjusted her frame in the couch.
• "Why?" I asked, opening the fridge in search of bottled water.
• "Maybe it's because I demand too much attention or it's the cravings. He sometimes looks as if he's tired of me." Elena let out a sigh, "I feel the spark is dying. The energy we had before I was pregnant is just gone."
• "And what kind of attention do you demand?" Emily spoke.
• "A run for ice-cream at midnight or a feet rub. I sometimes ask him to cook spaghetti too." Elena chuckled.
• "Or maybe he's just a little bit nervous about the whole baby thing." I chugged in several gulps of water, "You just need to sit him down and tell him."
• "I hope so." Elena whispered, "I'm crashing here tonight though. Joe has..uhm some work overnight and I can't stand being alone."
• "That's great. A sleepover for we girls!" Emily yelled.
• "What sleepover, Emily? We got work to do, tommorow." I laughed.
• "We can do that. I can wear your-" Elena started but I cut her off.
• "You can't fit into my pyjamas."
• "And why do you have to be so salty about it?" Elena pouted.
• "I'm not the one who's pregnant." I countered back with a smirk.
• Emily clapped, "Enough with the pregnancy jokes. I really have something to say."
• "Then spill. Spill the tea." I urged on, dropping the empty bottle on the table.
• "So when I went over to pack my stuffs at Ingrid's. Ingrid told me she was pregnant." Emily started.
• "Are you okay?" I asked with a concerned expression, my hands wanting to reach out to hold Emily.
• "Is that the douchebag that made your eyes so wet when you stepped into the apartment?" Elena inquired,"He even had the gut to spill his seed. Who's Ingrid?"
• "I used to live with her." Emily stated.
• "So what? He's gonna leave her, someday." I spoke up again.
• "And what if he doesn't? What if I get a wedding invitation probably next month?" Emily's eyes began to turn wet.
• "You are overreacting, Emily. " I rubbed my forehead hysterically.
• "Fuck a wedding invitation. He doesn't deserve you and baby girl, he doesn't deserve this pretty face." Elena reached out and wiped streaks of tears off Emily's cheeks.
• "Language, Elena. " Emily tried to hold back a laugh, "You don't want your baby's first words to be " fuck".
• "Alright. I'll restrict myself from saying that." Elena rolled her eyes and I giggled.
• I was delighted to finally have company overnight after living alone for two and a half years. I have grown accustomed to the sound of my alarm clock that I could hear it from a distance.
• My thoughts drifted off to the man I saw at the bakery. His eyes looked so similar to someone I had met before. His voice too.
• The way he stood. The way his eyes lingered on mine.
• Did he recognize me from anywhere?
• I had a tingling feeling that underneath that mask he wore, a perfect face laid beneath it. I chuckled to myself on remembering the moment when he clarified that the "crazy bitch" wasn't his woman.
• I then remembered that there was a strange watch on his table after the whole drama. I had carefully tucked it into my apron and it kind of looked expensive.
• Maybe he might return to fetch it or what if it wasn't his?
• And the way he stopped her from further attack on I and Emily....
• That was amazing.
• "Ashley!!!!!!" Elena yelled, waving a hand dramatically in front of my eyes.
• I squinted a bit, my forehead producing wrinkles in confusion. My lips moved to the side and I wondered what was wrong.
• The stares Emily gave me and the eye brow raised by Elena looked strange.
• "What?" I forced out a reply.
• "You were so deep in thought, that you started smiling to yourself.That was straight up "weird", Ash." Emily took the reins by speaking up.
• "That was just-"
• "Is this about Mason?" Elena sighed.
• "Wait what? Why do you think it's about Mason?" I forced out a response.
• "Heard he got a woman." Elena pouted and then began to roll her eyes at me.
• I recoiled, "That's bullshit. He's single, everyone knows that."
• "Well it may be rumors." Emily shrugged.
• "Old women around a table don't sit to discuss rumors." Elena picked up a pillow.
• "Well old women tell tales too." I muttered, "It has to be bullshit."
• "You think it's bullshit when you never confessed your feelings to him all these years and you expect your childhood school crush to just stay celibate...for you?" Elena spoke again.
• I began to walk around the living room as Emily started to calm down, "You can just ask him when he comes around. Did he leave his card, the other day?"
• "No, he did not and what shop was that said?" My voice grew high pitched.
• "The shop doesn't matter, Ash. You just need to tell him how you feel about him. " Elena started, "The sooner you tell him, the better it gets."
• "I'm sure there's a misunderstanding. Somewhere." I tried to calm my nerves down.
• "Or maybe you just need to be direct about it. Just tell him that you had a crush on him since school and even though you have dated a couple of guys, it doesn't change the way you feel about him and I'm sure he'd definitely be head over heels for you." Emily said.
• I placed my hands on the waist of my pants and sighed heavily.
• "Maybe we should all go to bed. It's late anyways and we have to clock in by 8." I muttered.
• "Tommorow's Saturday, we clock in by 10." Emily rebuffed.
• "And that is how my dear sister, Ash kills a conversation." Elena patted Emily's thighs.
• "Or maybe I don't want to fill my head with speculations and rumors. I don't give a damn if he has a woman. There's always another man for me." I firmly spoke, my eyes crystal clear.
• "Not you trying to convince yourself of that lie." Elena chuckled lightly, "Maybe we should all go to bed since Ashley decided to kill the conversation."
• "Thank you." I managed to force out a smile. Arguments like this with Elena were always mentally draining and it wasn't because I couldn't win the argument. It was because she was always right. She was the first one to tell me about the signs that I never saw in Richard.
• "I'll sleep on the couch." Emily yelled, "Pregnant lady, you got the room!"
• "That's so sweet, Em. Don't let me the bugs bite." Elena winked as she strolled slowly, staring at me for a moment before walking towards a room that was beside mine.
• "Are you sure you'll be okay on the couch?" I crossed my hands below my bosom, "It's kinda cold, Emily."
• "I got a duvet in one of the boxes. I'll be fine." Emily spoke cheerfully, "You go to bed and think of Mason."
• "That was a bad joke, Emily. A really bad one." I sniggered at her before walking briskly towards my room.
• I settled in on the bed, dressed in my pajamas but deep in thought.
• Could Mason be dating someone?
• Or what if it's a rumor or a prank?
• I pushed the white duvet to my chest level and began to breathe in and out. That was my exercise mode anytime I felt anxious or nervous about something.
• I decided to close my eyes but his face kept popping up. My eyes were fixated on the ceiling, my hands shaking and my thoughts in shambles.
• "Dammit!" I muttered before rolling the duvet around my entire body.