Fiction: Shattered Reflection chapter 5
How are you all doing this Monday morning/afternoon (depending on where you are)? I hope your weekend was great and fun. Here is the next chapter of Shattered Reflections (otherwise known as Lent fiction). Please, please let me know what you think. *nervous grin*
Title: Shattered Reflections
Chapter: 5
Author: Jailynn
Word Count: 3093
Couple/Show: Ashlee and Rocky, Guiding Light
Disclaimer: Not mine at all
Summary: Ashlee moved away from Springfield after Coop's death and Rocky came back. What if Rocky was Coop's twin? What if Ashlee didn't know that? What then?
Warning: Not beta'd
Type: Angst, romance
Acknowledgements: Thank you to Jenny for the beautiful banner.
Feedback: Please I love and need feedback! I'm not afraid to beg... *begs* Please!
Rating: PG-13
==5==5==
Daisy avoided her uncle’s eyes and slowly picked up her school books that were scattered across the floor. She felt Rocky’s curious stare on her back as she placed the stack of stuff on the coffee table next to his feet. She tried to think of how to start this conversation. Ashlee and she lost touch not long after her best friend moved to New Orleans. It wasn’t abrupt, it wasn’t because of any fight or because Daisy didn’t care about Ashlee anymore or because Ashlee stopped caring…at least Daisy didn’t think that’s what happened. It just became too hard one day. Their phone calls became more silence than talking and then one day they just didn’t call. The riff really started after Coop’s death, but finished after Grady’s arrest. The division of their friendship, a friendship that was two years old and formed in the close quarters of Juvenile hall, took less than five months to fall apart.
Sighing, she ran a hand over one of the books that was in the stack she was using for school. Her English Lit book always reminded her of Coop. It still hurt when she thought about him. He was so much more than just an uncle. He was her friend, her protector and her support. If Coop hadn’t died, if he hadn’t been so stupid to mess with Alan, if he hadn’t convinced himself Beth was worth more than just a passing glance, Daisy was sure life would be different now. It wouldn’t have changed the Grady outcome, but Ashlee would have been there. She wouldn’t have moved away and maybe Coop and Ashlee would have worked their way back to each other. Daisy held in another sigh, shaking her head slightly. The ‘what might have beens’ didn’t matter. Coop did die, he did try and tangle with Alan, he was stupid enough to believe Beth was worth his time and nothing is different.
Turning her head toward Rocky, the left side of her mouth curled up. She was happy he came back. In some ways he reminded her of Coop. It was subtle, but if someone looked they could see it. And she wasn’t talking about looks; the similarities there were obvious and at times jarring. No the ones she was thinking about were less about how he looked and more about how he acted. Rocky would never believe her, but he did have a lot of Coop in him. He was just more playful, cocky and flirty than Coop ever was. Of course, Rocky didn’t have someone try and trap him in marriage with a baby that wasn’t his, a crazy girlfriend that’s mother tried to kill her than was dumped for a Spaulding that faked being paralyzed or another girlfriend that was sent to jail for shooting Alan and he didn’t “fall” for Beth the death-eater Spaulding.
She held her breath and counted slowly backwards from twenty. The thought of Beth still brought some anger. It took a couple months to really form. At first she was like everyone else, she felt sorry for Beth because she acted like Coop meant a lot to her. But not long after his death she was already living it up and falling back into Philip’s arms. Watching her move on from Coop’s death, while their family lived with the hole she helped cause made Daisy furious. Some might say that Daisy was looking for someone to hate after his death, Ashlee leaving and Grady’s arrest and they would probably be right, but it didn’t stop her from feeling those emotions. In fact she was happy to turn all of her anger over all of the pain on to Beth. It helped her face all the stuff she needed to.
Taking another deep breath, Daisy walked over to the couch and sat down. Rocky waited patiently, or as patiently as he could, for her to start telling him about Ashlee. Honestly she had no idea what to say. Ashlee’s life while she lived in Springfield was pretty well documented by the papers. She became almost as talked about as Daisy herself. A smile pulled her lips apart. They sure did get into some trouble, both together and separately. She shifted her body so that right leg was under her and she was facing her uncle. Placing her elbow on the back of the couch, she dropped her head into her hand and arched her eyebrow, “What exactly do you want to know about Ashlee?” His slate blue eyes turned mischievous and she shook her head, “You see that’s why Buzz and Doris don’t want you bothering Ashlee.”
He looked offended at her statement. His eyes narrowed and his mouth dropped open like a fish's mouth. Daisy bit her lip and she really tried to stifle her laughter. It worked for about half a second before it bubbled up. “Why are you laughing,” Rocky wondered. His accent became slightly thicker in annoyance. “I’m not Jack the Ripper or anything. I just want to know my brother’s ex a little better. Is that really so horrible?” He turned away, scowling. “I don’t know why everyone thinks that I’m going to do something to her. She’s just intriguing to me.”
“The question is why,” she said, stressing the ‘why’ part. He rolled his eyes in response. Teasing him was one of her favorite things to do. It made her feel connected to someone. But honestly she was curious. Rubbing her forehead, she eyed him. “I have seen the women you usually chase; I’m surprised Ashlee made the list. She’s not tattooed, doesn’t have more than two piercings and doesn’t own a Harley.” She laughed slightly. The image of Ashlee dressed like that floating in and out of her mind. The picture was so wrong she couldn’t help but giggle a little over it. “Unless she’s changed completely since I saw her last.”
“I have only dated one girl like that,” he said pushing her shoulder gently. “Kelly was fun and if you gave her a chance you would probably have liked her.” Rocky rubbed his forehead with his thumb and Daisy held her breath. The tick that always seemed to be Coop’s was mirrored in Rocky. She could remember seeing Coop do that so many times. He dropped his hand down and she breathed a little easier. “I really don’t know why I want to know anything about Ashlee. She seems like a lot of work. Especially with Dorrie the mum dragon-lady and pop telling me to back off every two minutes.”
“Maybe that’s why you’re really interested in her,” Daisy asked logically. “Maybe it’s because Doris and Buzz don’t want you to see her that you do want to. And if that’s the case then I have to agree with them, you don’t need to stir the pot.” Her eyes glazed over as memories of Ashlee and Coop filled her mind. Part of her still couldn’t believe they didn’t make it. They always seemed so happy together and brought out the best in each other. But as she’s learned from her time with Grady, looks can be deceiving. The truth can sometimes be completely different from what everyone else sees. “She’s been through the ringer.”
“So I keep hearing,” Rocky leaned forward and leveled her with his puppy dog look that usually got him what he wanted. She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I want to know whatever you can tell me. Is it wrong to want to learn about someone you don’t know? Come on, Dais. You know you want to tell me. Give in, it feels so good.” Daisy fought the smile that wanted to burst onto her face before finally giving in. It was a losing battle anyway. He grinned, his blue gray eyes sprinkling in triumph because he knew she was going to give him what he wanted. “Let’s start with: what does Miss Wolfe like?”
“What?” Daisy dropped her hand from her head and she stared at him like he had lost his mind. “What are her likes? What does that mean? What are you planning to do once you get all this information?”
“I’m not planning to do anything,” she tilted her head and rolled her eyes then stared at him disbelievingly. “Okay,” he held up his hand. “I like her. The couple times I have ran into her she’s been very fun. The first time I saw her she fainted, the second time she practically ran and the third she acted like I was more of an annoyance than anything else. The girl has something, some fire or whatever, that fascinates me. Is that so wrong?” He tried to look innocent but she knew him too well and wasn’t buying the act one bit.
“It is if you are just going to use what I tell you to manipulate her,” Daisy told him passionately her thoughts turning to Grady. “Grady did that. He used the fact that I was hurting over Harley leaving me without a backwards glance, my emptiness over the abortion and Rafe’s arrest to get under my skin and I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker and trust me it hurts to know that he was able to blind me so well that I went against my family for nothing.”
Rocky’s eyes darkened. “Don’t compare me to that bastard. I would never do that to anyone, especially Ashlee. I just want to find out what makes her tick.”
“You better be telling me the truth, Rocky,” she asserted. “Ashlee and I haven’t talked in a while, but she’s still my friend. I don’t want to have her hurt again. Losing Coop nearly killed her just like it killed our family.” He crossed his heart. She met his eyes and searched for any kind of deception. Daisy couldn’t find anything in her uncle’s orbs or face to give her a reason not to trust him. She silently sent a prayer up to Coop that she was doing the right thing and took a deep breath. Licking her lips, she began, “Ashlee likes…”
==5==5==
Ashlee walked slowly down Main Street, looking at nothing in particular and avoiding anything that reminded her of her past with Coop. The bad part was that everything reminded her of Coop. They used to kiss here, they would talk about his book there, and he took her in his arms by the bench and so on. She rubbed the back of her neck then tucked the ends of her hair behind her ears. It wasn’t that the memories were bad ones. Most were the happiest of her life. It was that bittersweet feeling that nearly choked her. It was the “what ifs” that killed her. She closed her eyes, stopping in the middle of the plaza and took a deep breath. She had to get a grip. Reliving the past wasn’t going to do anything but hurt her more and she was so sick of hurting. Nothing was going to change so why dwell on it, right?
She blew out her breath and opened her eyes again. Somehow she ended up in front of Company. Ashlee didn’t even realize she was that close to the Cooper’s restaurant. She walked toward the parking lot, looking left and right for Rocky’s motorcycle. When she didn’t see it, she tried to convince herself she was relieved, but that didn’t feel like the emotion she recognized in her heart at the moment. Shaking her head, Ashlee sighed. Of course she was relieved. He was everything she didn’t need. Rocky was like a rose. Beautiful and thorny. She shook her head, no, that wasn’t right. Rocky wasn’t anything to her. He was an annoyance that could only complicate her life. Staying away from him was the only smart course of action and obviously the slight attraction, if that’s what she felt when he touched her, was because he looked like Coop.
‘He doesn’t act like Coop, though,’ a nagging voice whispered in her head.
She frowned. Ashlee leaned against the railing of the Company front porch and stared out at the blue sky. ‘The attraction is skin deep,’ she insisted to herself. ‘He reminds me of Coop. I miss Coop. And it’s not like I’m going to do anything. Rocky is just…he…’
‘He what,’ the voice taunted. ‘He’s someone that you would want to get to know if you didn’t have so much guilt and anger over Coop. Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you about his twin. Maybe he knew that you would jump at the chance to get to know Rocky.’
‘Oh shut up,’ she screamed in her head. Ashlee stopped and rubbed her eyes. She was fighting with herself over someone she’s only seen three times. God she really is losing it. ‘I should never have come back. I should have stayed in New Orleans where everything made sense.’
‘Don’t you mean you should have stayed in New Orleans where you could hide from everything,’ that same voice nagged. Ashlee glared at the sky and pushed off the railing. She wasn’t going to fight with herself anymore. People already thought she was crazy in this town. She didn’t need to prove them right by having a knock-down-drag out fight with no one but a voice in the back of her mind.
She walked over to the front door and pulled it open. The warm fragrance of Company hit her in much the same fashion it did yesterday. Ashlee closed her eyes and inhaled. While she would love nothing more than to hear Coop typing away on his keyboard, she wasn’t sad this time. It was just that same bittersweet feeling again. She sighed and opened her eyes back up. They narrowed almost immediately at the couple in the back of the dining room. Buzz and Doris were deep in conversation. Her mother’s head was down slightly and Buzz was obviously whispering something to her because she kept nodding. The hair at the back of her neck started to stand up. When she got the phone call from her mother practically begging her to come back two weeks ago, she thought her mom might have been hiding something from her. Ashlee didn’t think too much about it then. Doris was Doris after all. But now she had to wonder if the secret wasn’t Buzz.
Standing close to the bar, she watched Buzz take her mother’s hand in his. He was so caring with Doris. Her blue eyes focused on her mother’s reaction to the Cooper patriarch’s touch and was alarmed to see her sag in her chair. Doris Wolfe never slouched. Her back was always steel rod straight. Nothing seemed to break her for long, but the woman in the booth looked…cracked, not quite broken but definitely falling apart a little. Ashlee’s mind started turning. Buzz might be part of the secret, but now that she observed her mother, she didn’t believe that was the end of it. The curious part of herself took over and she decided to investigate. Ashlee knew that all the answers would be found in the Mayor’s mansion and backed out of the restaurant slowly. Her eyes stayed on the couple still talking in the booth as she moved to the entry way of Company. Half way out the door she ran into a solid form. Hands curled around her upper arms to steady her, she knew without turning around who those hands belonged to by the shiver that went down her spine and the smell of his intoxicating cologne.
Ashlee turned in Rocky’s arms slowly. His slate blue eyes grinned down at her and she had to force air into her lungs. They were too close! She could feel his heat rolling off of him in waves. Her head swam, getting fuzzy as he leaned down to say, “Well, Miss Wolfe this is the second time you’ve ended up in my arms in as many days. If I didn’t know better I’d swear you were trying to stay there.”
“I, uh,” her tongue felt thick. Pushing away from him, she started to walk around his body. Distance was what she needed to think and she needed to get home before Doris did if she was going to have any chance of snooping. “I think you and I both know I wouldn’t end up in your arms on purpose. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the mansion before Doris gets there.”
“You walk here,” he asked leaning against the side of the building.
“Yeah,” she answered on the top step of the porch. Her eyes couldn’t help but admire the way his arms looked crossed in front of him. She mentally shook her head. She wasn’t interested! The attraction was only skin deep. Don’t forget that! Forcing her head back to the conversation she placed her hands on her hips and frowned. “Why? You have a problem with walking places?”
He pushed off the wall and walked toward her. “No,” he shook his head. “I was just going to offer you a ride that’s all.”
“On your motorcycle?”
“Yeah, on my motorcycle,” he smirked. “Why you have a problem with using a bike to get places?”
“When they are basically death mobiles? Uh huh,” she nodded then turned to leave.
“Your mom will make it home before you,” she turned back around. “She’s probably not going to be going back to city hall and she brought her car.” Ashlee looked at where he was pointing. Her mother’s vehicle was sitting in the parking lot. “Who do you think will get back to the mansion first? Someone on foot or someone in a car?” Ashlee sighed, knowing he was right. Rocky read her like a book and handed her his helmet that was on the floor next to his feet. She took the heavy helmet and followed him to his bike. Rocky climbed on, scooting forward and then turned to face her. She carefully placed the protective gear on her head and then hesitated before climbing on behind him. Their thighs pressed together as she got comfortable on the unfamiliar machine. She didn’t know what to do with her hands; he took them in his and wrapped them around his waist. Her body was forced close to his and she tried not to notice how strong he felt under her hands. “Hold on tight,” he called over the engine and then they were flying down the road.
End chapter 5
What do you think? Chapter 6? Deal or no deal? Feedback please. *begs sweetly*