Ashes of Sunlight

Ash fell asleep flopped on the bed, too tired to do anything more than toe off her shoes. She woke huddled in a ball near the headboard, shivering and afraid. She coulsb't really remember her dreams, but they had left her sweating, and as the airconditioning was on, made her freezing. After looking around the room to make sure everything was where she had dropped it and no one was hiding in any corners, she walked to the window and peaked out behind the curtain, hiding behind it as much as possible while still getting a view outside. Nope, no crowds or police cars, no indication that she had been found out and Gavin was on his way to get her.



Ash took her first real, steady breath since getting into her bath that morning. Talking about baths, she was probably kinda dirty from running around and having the daylights scared out of her. A shower wouldn't be a bad idea. Taking out a clean set of clothes and laying them on the bed, Ash stripped and turned on the shower, getting in once it was the right temperature. As she washed her hair and body with the complimentary soaps, she was amazed to see that her body looked the same as it always did. There were no marks, bruises, scratches, nothing to indicate that she had almost been raped. 'Ok, don't think about it. Thinking about it won't make things better, only worse at this point. Move forward.' Ash ordered herself when her breathing started to speed up and she began to feel a little dizzy.



Once clean and out of the shower, she dried off and put on her clean clothes. Gripping a pillow for courage, she sat on the edge of the bed and turned on the tv. Flipping through channels, Ash was amazed to see that there were no "wanted" articles out about her...no mention of her or Gavin in the news at all. Maybe she had just imagined it, or blown it out of proportion, or something. That's when she noticed her cellphone on the table, where it had slipped from her overturned bag when she'd dropped it on the surface. A soft beeping sound that she hadn't previously noticed indicated that she had at least one message waiting for her. Maybe it was her parents, letting her know that they had cancelled their trip and were coming home. Ash leapt for the phone as if it would disappear and entered in the code for her voicemail.



"Such a bag dirl you are. I'll have to punish you when I find you. You couldn't have run too far; not far enough to escape me. For now, this is just between you and me. But if you don't come home soon and apologize...I might have to start talking to some people about what a naughty girl you are. Don't make me wait." Gavin's voice ozzed over the line, giving Ash chills as she stared blankly at the wall. No she couldn't go home. She couldn't call her parents, because they'd never believe her. Especially not once they heard whatever Gavin made up as his side of the story. Ash shut her phone off and shoved it into the bottom of her bag. If she wasn't going to call anyone, she should conserve the battery. Plus, she didn't want any more calls from Gavin.