In Your Arms (7 page)

              His body moves against mine and I feel his hands under my shirt. He pulls my shirt over my head.

              “Ashton.” I freeze. It's not Braxton. It's him. His face replaces Braxton's and I am no longer on my couch or in my apartment. I am back in that house, in that room, with him.

              I shoot up from bead in a cold sweat. I instantly feel nauseous and I run for the bathroom. Spending a few minutes with my face in the toilet, and I start feeling a bit better.

              “Why won't you leave me alone?” I whisper.

              The knock on the door makes me jump. Quickly looking at the time, I realize that it's early. It must be Braxton.

              Before that dream went to hell...I was dreaming about Braxton. I felt my face get hot from embarrassment. I've never had a sex dream that vivid. It was a dream, something that would never happen between us.

              I quickly brush my teeth and run to the door. I unlock it to find Braxton indeed standing there. I smile.

              “Someone is late for work.” He says. Shit. I was. I looked at my clock and saw it was eight thirty. How did I sleep past my alarm?

              I ran into my room, and I started grabbing whatever I could find on my floor. I wasn't even a hundred percent sure I was matching. I put my hair into a braid, and I did my eyeliner, no time for eye shadow and I put lip gloss on.

              I grab my shoes and as I'm passing my living room to reach my bag, I notice Braxton just watching the TV.

              “You can't stay here, I have to go.” I motion for him to get up but he just chuckles.

              “Maybe you should watch the news.” He nods towards the TV I rarely use, it was my grandmothers.

              “...Biggest storm of this year, Frank.” I looked at the reporter who was standing in snow. I slept through a blizzard. It was pretty much horrible getting home from work yesterday, but I thought it was no big deal, but it had snowed heavily through out the night. “Two feet of snow has fallen, the worst part seems to be over. The state of New York is asking that everyone stay indoors, snow plows are working as fast as they can, but for now, it looks like they won't be done until tonight.” I look to my phone and see I have a voicemail.

              “Ashton, not opening the practice today, it's basically impossible to get from Brooklyn to Manhattan, so enjoy the day off.” Dr. Henley says.

              Also have a text from Callie. Rec Center is closed.

              I look at Braxton. “You watched me get ready and freak out, and you didn't tell me that there was no possible way I could even get out that door?”

              He smiles. “Yes.”

              “You suck.” I can't help but smile. “I'm going to change back into pajamas and then I'll cook us some breakfast since you clearly didn't bring anything.”

              “Hey, New York is snowed in, I got lucky that I spent the night at my grandfathers, and he has a neighbor who always has her fridge stocked and is really hot.”

              I roll my eyes and go into my room. I grab a gray t-shirt, throw on my black shorts, and my bunny slippers that Braxton just loves to make fun of. They're warm and comfortable, that's all I look for in my slippers. I go out to go make us breakfast.

Chapter 11

Ashton Pennington

              It's been a few days since I last saw Braxton, he hasn't been by and it was odd. I feel like he may be avoiding me, but I can't think of a reason why.

              “Hello, beautiful.” Charles greeted me at the office. I was about to take my lunch, so the office was going to be closed for an hour like it always was during lunch. We didn't have patients in the building right now.

              Charles asked that we have lunch together since it was nice day out, and I agreed. I was sick of munching on crackers on juice from the office, so I would have taken anyone's invitation for lunch or dinner.

              “How much longer until you're off?” Charles always wore a suit, and he explained to me that it was because he was constantly in meetings with important people which is why he and Braxton were always in suits.

              “I'm done.” I grabbed my bag.

              “Well, lets go. I found the perfect little restaurant with the best sandwiches I've ever tasted.” I giggled.

              “It's not Subway is it?”

              He chuckles. “Of course not. It's called One Bite.” Charles grabbed my hand, as we walked to the little restaurant.

              “Where did you find it?” I ask.

              I knew this restaurant, it was part of the Pennington empire. My parents had a thing about food, and everyone eats so it's a good investment. It started when I was about four, my mother had a talent for baking and my dad got her a building where she created Pennington Bakery out of old recipes, and it just kept growing. She has a Best Seller cookbook and she is pretty much the Bree Van De Kamp of Chicago.

              “Braxton actually showed it to me. He seemed to be very intent on us eating there.” That did not make me feel...good. He couldn't know, could he? Although we were rich, it's not like we were extremely famous. He shouldn't be able to find much by searching me on Google. All I knew from searching on Google was that my parents refused to talk about me, I couldn't find anything else, so maybe Braxton couldn't either. Did Braxton know who I really was?

              “Well, the food must be really good there.” I give him a fake smile.

              Something didn't feel right, and I had a feeling Braxton was up to something. I didn't want to say anything because he's Charles' best friend, and I don't want to ruin anything. I knew enough to know that Charles was the good friend, I didn't want to lose anymore friends. I don't want to look like I was trying to hide something, either.

              “Always so optimistic, aren't you?” He smiles at me.

              I listened to everyone's stories, and it came down to me. Callie was sitting next to me, like she has been once a week for almost four months. Every week it got a bit easier, and I had good days and bad days. Today was a bad day.

              “I had another dream about both of them. I don't know why or what is triggering them. I just wish...” I sigh.              “I wish I knew what to do.

              Sandra, the lead of the anonymous group, speaks. “It's okay not to talk about them, Ash. You will be able to talk about it when you're ready. You'll know when that time comes, and then they will have no power over you.

              “It's been 8 months. Couldn't that time come any faster?” She smiles at me.

              “Could be just around the corner.” She looks at everyone else. “I'm going to end this meeting here. If anyone needs to talk outside of this group, you all have my number. I'll see you all next week.” Everyone stood and started to leave.

              Callie and I went to help Sandra clean up the table. This was a weekly thing, we were all close friends. Sandra held this meeting once a week, after all the kids left the recreation center, and it was almost always the same people here.

              Callie was my sponsor, that's how we met. That's how I found out about the recreation center, and how I started finding myself.

              “You've made a lot of progress, Ashton.” Sandra says.

              “Thanks. I wish I could just recover fully.” I often wished that this hadn't happened to me, and I wouldn't be here if it hadn't.

              Sandra was tall and beautiful. She modeled for fun, and she ran the recreation center as well. She's from California originally, and she has her sun kissed skin since she got back a few days back from LA. She escaped before the storm began, luckily for her.

              “You will.” Something caught her attention behind us, and Callie's eyes widened. “Whoa, who is that?” Sandra asks, and I turn around.

              “Braxton.” I say.

              What the hell was Braxton doing here? His icy blue eyes were fixed on me. He knows something, I'm sure of it.

              “Ashton, can I talk to you?” I look at Callie.

              “Go ahead, we'll talk later.” I nodded and grabbed my jacket. I followed Braxton outside and he stopped.

              “Mind if we get something to eat?” He was up to something.

              “Sure...”

              I knew he officially knew when he went into Pennington Bakery. He walked in without looking at me once, and ordered two coffees. I sat down and he sat in front of me. He had this smirk.

              “What do you want?” I ask.

              “Have you ever been here? I heard it's amazing.” This night was about to get a whole lot worse, why me?

              “How did you know I'd be at the recreation center?”

              “Charles may have mentioned that you were staying late to finish some stuff.” I didn't tell him that I was going to an anonymous group for sexually abused victims, so I had to make up a reason for why I could not make it to dinner tonight.

              “Spit out what you need to say, Braxton.”

              “I knew I recognized your last name, just didn't think you were related to Richard Pennington, the billionaire.”

              “You had someone look into me, didn't you?” I was trying to stay calm.

              “Yes. I had a feeling you weren't telling Charles or I the truth. I need the truth. Everything you told me was a lie.”

              “Braxton, I wouldn't lie to you! I just altered my stories, left out the parts of my life that I hated. My past is a life I'm not sure I want to go back to. I've found solace here in New York City. You have to believe me.”

              “No, you're just a gold digger because you got disowned by your parents. Were you trying to come on to Charles or even me?” Tears were streaming.

              “I would never do that. You don't know the whole story. You know what everybody else knows, including my parents. I am not a gold digger.” No one knew my story but five people, including myself. I had to sign legal documents that said I was never to say one word about what happened.

              “Sure you're not. Don't think I'll keep this between us. I'm telling Charles as well, I'm trying to protect him.”

              “You're horrible!”

              “No, you are. You've been lying to everyone.”

              “No, I haven't!” I stood up and put on my coat.

              “You're nineteen. Charles thinks you're twenty four.”

              “I never told him my age. He assumed it. You both did.” I never told him. He knows I have been to college, doesn't know I dropped, that I don't talk to my parents, and he thinks I'm older because of my fake license.

              “So you're just omitting things? You need to tell him, or I will! Learning all this about you, it's just sad. I thought I was getting to know you.”

              “I'm done with this!” I walk out of the bakery. I knew Braxton would not follow me, he got what he wanted. I had to break this friendship off with Charles. It wasn't worth being blackmailed over.

              I dialed his number. “Hello? Ashton?”

              “I'm sorry, Charles. I can't explain to you why, but we can no longer be friends.”

              “What do you mean?” He was more alert.

              “I can't do us anymore. Please don't ever call me again, I want nothing to do with you or Braxton!” I end the call and turn off my phone.

              “You never visit me this late, Joan.” She grabs my hand. “Tell me what troubles you, honey.” My grandmother was always so sweet. I never understood why my father never introduced her to the family.

              “Nothing, Elizabeth. It's just been a long week.” I give her a weak smile.

              My grandmother was beautiful even in her old age. All her hair was gray, long, and always maintained in some hairstyle. She didn't look a day over sixty.

              “Is it Richards wife? Has she been nasty to you again? I thought she was over the both of you dating in the past. Don't worry, she'll never know about the little one or that I found you in his room.” Elizabeth patted my stomach. What? She thinks I'm pregnant.

              “No, she didn't say anything. Just hormones.” Elizabeth laughs.

              “I remember those. They'll ease with time. You only have one month left of your first trimester, then it will be over before you know it. Ashton will be here in no time.” So this woman named Joan is my mother?

              “Do you know how I picked the name?” I ask.

              “You told me last week you found it in some gender book. It works great for a boy or girl. I'm in love with it, and so were you last week!” She smiles, but I say nothing.

              “What's my last name again?” I ask her.

              Her face suddenly turned blank. I was losing her. No. I've been waiting too long for this answer. The answer I didn't know I wanted to know.