Ashes of Sunlight

The next morning, the frightening reality of Gavin and her situation were back in full force. What could she do? She was planning on going to college in the fall, she couldn’t keep running. But her parents would never believe her. Actually…gathering her courage, Ash turned on her cell phone, ignoring all of the messages and missed calls left by Gavin, and called her parents. Maybe Gavin hadn’t said anything at all, and then she could just stay out here until her parents got home, and then…move into college early? As she waited for her mother to pick up her cell phone, Ash held her breath, thinking she might have a chance after all. “Lily? Lily, is that you?” her mother asked, annoyance clear in her tone. Well, considering her mother had caller id, that was a pretty stupid question. “Yes mom, it’s me. Are you and dad still in the Hamptons?” Ash winced as soon as the words left her mouth. If her mother hadn’t known something was going on before, she would now. “Young lady, I heard all about your stunt from Gavin. Now I don’t know where you are right now, but I want you to go home. When your father and I have finished our vaca – responsibilities out here, we will deal with you. Until then, no hanging out with friends, no driving anywhere, you are to stay home. Do you understand me, young lady?!” “Um…yeah. Just, what did Gavin tell you?” “He said you came onto him, that you were drunk and possibly high. You hit on a married man, a police officer, and upstanding citizen of our community. And seriously, Lily, if you’re going to indulge, at least make sure you’re not going to get caught. The scandal, if this got out! You are in big trouble, big, big trouble.” Ash hung up on her mother before she could continue, then turned the phone off before her “mother” could call her back. Staring dejectedly at the wall across from her, Ash mechanically got her things ready to take a shower. Even after stepping under the warm spray and getting clean, she still felt adrift. Dressed, she found her way back to the café she had gone to the day before and had breakfast. What could she do? What should she do? What the hell did she do?

After breakfast, Ash found herself back at the beach, but felt too exposed sitting out in the sun. Finding a bookstore among the shops off the bookstore, Ash went in and started reading Pride and Prejudice, one of her favorite books, and one she hadn’t read in a while. After finishing the book, Ash sat up and stretched, the hard wood of the chair she’d been sitting in making her muscles tight. It was dark outside, and Ash decided to go back to the boardwalk. But if she needed the restroom, she was going back to her hotel. Wandering around the lights and sounds, Ash just took in the atmosphere, not in the mood to ride any rollercoasters that evening. “Hey, Ash.” Ash looked up at the sound of her name and found herself staring at David, who was now with three other guys, two blondes and a brunette. She swallowed nervously, and began to edge away, causing the four guys in front of her to smirk. “Like living dangerously, huh?” David asked, glancing around the boardwalk significantly. “Is this Ash, David?” a quite voice asked. Ash looked around and noticed a small, grimy little boy who had been hiding behind the three new guys. “Yeah, man, this is Ash”, one of the new blondes said, ruffling the boy’s hair affectionately. Ash’s heart melted, and ignoring the three strangers, leaned closer to the boy. “I’m Ash. What’s you’re name?” “I’m Laddy. Marko and Dwayne and David and Paulie are my brothers. David said you were nice.” The boy couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9, and when he asked, “will you eat with us?” Ash found herself agreeing.

They stopped at a burger joint on the boardwalk. Everyone ordered hamburgers, the guys raw, Laddie rare and Ash medium rare. Amazingly, the waiter didn’t complain about the undercooked meat order, leaving her alone with essentially five strangers.

“So, David told us about how he bumped into you last night. You really shouldn’t be walking alone in dark alleys in the middle of the night.” Dwayne said, in between bites of burger. “Yeah, David said pretty much the same thing. I like the night, though, and I got a little lost going back to me hotel. No harm, no fail, right?” Ash replied, hoping to get out of the subject.

“Yeah, this time. You’re just lucky it was David who you ran into. This place isn’t exactly safe.”

“Look, it’s not like I asked for an escort. And David didn’t seem particularly pleased to have to deal with me.”

“That’s just his deal. He probably was surprised to bump into someone like you in that alley. Plus, he can be a little cold when you first meet him.” Marko supplied, before pouring more catsup on everyone’s plate for the fries. Ash looked to David for confirmation. “Sorry if I scared you.” David said, somehow conveying both sarcasm and sincerity. “Hey, do you wanna ride the carousel?” Laddy piped up, completely ignoring the teens’ conversation. He had shoveled down all his food and was now exited to more on to the next thing, whatever that might be. “Sure, I love the carousel. It’s my favorite ride, and I haven’t been on it yet.” Ash said, getting up and taking Laddy’s hand as he pulled her towards the mechanical horses.

The boys pushed to the front of the line, jeering, elbowing, and sneering their way. Surprisingly, Ash had fun seeing them fool around, and it was nice not to have to act so proper all of the time. Laddy picked a horse and Paulie lifted him up. Ash picked a horse next to Laddy’s and suddenly found herself no longer touching the floor of the rise; David had picked her up and placed her in the saddle. It was scary and exhilarating, having someone act without warning. Ash couldn’t help but grin at the stoic teen, who finally smiled back. Maybe David wasn’t so bad, after all. The boys spread out between the horses, rough playing while Laddy and Ash watched.

“Com on, I wanna beat your ass at the shooting range.” Marko clobbered Paulie over the head and they raced off, forcing the rest of the group to follow. It turned out that the “shooting range” was a carnival game where players had to try and shoot moving targets and whoever did the best won a prize. Marko, Dwayne and Paulie all played, leaving Ash, David and Laddy to watch and cheer them on. Paulie won second place, picking out a large blue bear as his prize, which he promptly gave to Laddy, making the young boy jump up and down with glee. Marko won first place, picking out a really cool green top hat, decorated like something from Alice in Wonderland, and NOT the Disney version. Marko spun around and placed the hat on Ash’s head, giving it a tap. “Wow, this is for me?” Ash gasped. “Of course. I could never wear the damn thing.” Marko replied with a smile. Ash leaned in and gave him a hug, surprised by ho comfortable and familiar hugging him felt. Abruptly, Ash started to pull away, realizing how long she’d been holding on to him. Marko let her go, but slowly. She started to look up, only to feel his lips on hers. The kiss felt good, better than any she’d had with the plastic boys back home. She relaxed and opened her mouth, letting him take control of her mouth, only to have him pull away moments later. Their lips parted, releasing Ash’s soft whimper, much to her embarrassment. She looked around, only to find herself surrounded by David, Dwayne and Paulie, who were all looking at her in hunger. “Um…where did Laddy go?” Ash asked, a little awkward at being the focus of such intense, heated attention, not to mention the fact that it was making her hot.

“I sent him off to get a candy apple. He’s old enough to handle himself” David said roughly, before leaning in to kiss her. He kissed with determination, proving mastery of the subject in seconds. She found herself passed to Dwayne and Paulie, who both kissed her, leaving Ash weak-kneed and a little dizzy. “So, um, what’s the deal? You guys just want to fuck me?” Ash asked, leaning against David for support. “Nah, we want to share you.” David growled from above her. “Share me? Like a toy?” “No, not like a toy” Dwayne laughingly barked out. “More like a delicious dessert.” Paulie purred, pressing his body against hers. “So you all want to date me?” Dwayne let out another barking laugh, but Marko leaned in and breathed, “Something like that.” Just then Laddy reappeared, caramel smudged all over his face. “Ready to go home, Bud?” Dwayne asked the youngster. “Oh, all right.” Despite sounding put out, Laddy energetically lead the way to where a group of motorcycles were parked. “Are these yours?” Ash gaped. She’s always wanted a motorcycle, but her parents had refused. Apparently it didn’t go with her “good girl” image, entirely created by her parents, of course. “Yeah.” Paulie answered, as each of the guys swung onto a bike, Laddy waiting behind Dwayne’s bike. “Does he always ride with you?” “Nah, he pretty much picks whoever he wants.” “Wanna come see our place? It’s awesome!” Laddy enthused, from his perch behind Dwayne. Feeling as though she’d known the boys forever, Ash answered, “Sure. But who should I ride with?” “Whoever you want. We’d all be glad to have you ride.” David answered. In the end, Ash chose Marko, simply because he had the most cargo space, so she could carry the hat with her without holding on to it.

The ride was fast and exhilarating. The wind whipping through her hair, the feel of the air on her skin, Ash felt reborn as the boys stopped the bikes and they all dismounted. “Where are we? I thought we were going to your place.” Ash looked around uncomprehendingly at the cliff before them and the bare road behind them. “It’s down here.” Paulie said with a grin, walking off the cliff. “Paulie!” Ash ran to the cliff edge, only to find the boy was waiting on some steps that had been carved out of the rock, perfectly safe. “Jeez, you gave me a heart attack. How about you give me a warning before you do something like that again, huh?” Ash demanded, placing a hand over her heart and trying to lower the pounding under her palm. “Aww, Ash, you care.” Paulie joked, and Ash gave him a casual push as she carefully made her way down the stairs, the rest of the boys jumping and rushing down after her. At the end of the stairs, Ash found herself at a bit of a hallway, before the path opened up to show her a cave, beautifully decorated, even if a little under disrepair. It was huge and gorgeous, and incredible. “It used to be a hotel, the best in Santa Cruz, five stars and everything. But the idiots built it right over the Andreas fault, and when the big one came – BOOM. Now it’s ours.” David informed her as she stared in amazement around her.