Ash rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened, revealing a middle aged woman with ice blue eyes and dirty blond straight short hair worn in a small bun. Soon, Misty appeared by her side.

"Hello ladies."

"Ash! We were waiting for you! Come in!" The woman smiled as Misty opened the door wide, letting Ash in. "Come in!"

"Mom, this is Ash."

"Oh, hi. Nice to meet you! I'm Carol, Misty's mother." Carol extended her hand.

Ash smiled and handed her the bouquet of yellow roses he was carrying, instead of shaking hands. "Nice to meet you too. Please, accept these."

"Oh, thank you! This is so nice, Ash."

"I'm disappointed. I thought the bouquet was for me."

"You've got enough of those, Mist."

"Yeah, I know."

Carol giggled. She told her youngest daughter, "Go check if the food is ready."

"Okay. I'll be back." Ash and Misty exchanged a look and smiled at each other.

"Come on in, Ash. Come on in."

Carol gestured for him to head to her living room and have a seat. The older woman put the yellow roses in a vase on the counter as Ash sat down on the couch. She soon joined him.

"Thanks for the flowers again. They're beautiful."

"You're welcome."

Carol smiled genuinely. "I was looking forward to meeting you. Misty talks about you all the time."

Ash grinned. "She does?"

"Of course! She's always had a little problem getting along with boys and when she started mentioning you, I knew you were very special."

"Oh, thanks, I guess."

Carol placed her hand on Ash's lower arm. "Her heart is pure, Ash, she's just bad at showing her good intentions. Her father left when she was very young and it affected her badly. She's always felt like she had to work harder than the others to prove herself."

Ash smiled weakly. "I know she's a good person."

Carol chuckled slightly. "Her sisters and I never thought she'd bring a man with her someday, let alone get a boyfriend!"

Ash's eyebrows rose.

"Thank you for giving her a chance, Ash. I'm just glad she met you. She changed a whole lot after you two started dating!" Carol gave Ash a quick hug and pulled away, the smile never leaving her face.

"Uhm, thanks..."

"Food is ready!" Misty shouted, rushing over to the living room. "Come on, you two!"

-

After having the delicious lunch made by Carol, Ash and Misty went to this latter's old bedroom. Misty was showing him some of her old stuff.

"This is my old sketching book. I used to draw Manga! Look at it."

Misty sat down on her bed and gave her sketchbook to Ash, who was sitting at her desk. He took the sketching book and placed it on the desk.

"You don't want to see my drawings?"

"Why did you lie?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you tell your mother you are dating me?"

"What?"

"She thinks we're dating."

Misty froze in her spot. She shook her head quickly. "I—no, I didn't tell her anything. She just got everything wrong."

Ash got up and walked over to the other side of the bed. He sat down with his back touching Misty's. Their heads touched too. 

"I can't see you now, so you can speak up your heart, your mind—everything. Spill it out, Misty Williams. I'm not going to cut you off, until you tell me that you're finished." Ash closed his eyes and smiled.

At this point, Misty shed a tear. "She asked me if I was dating you and I said yes, because... I got tired, you know?"

"I got tired. I was tired of being alone. I was tired of being treated differently just because I've never brought some hot smoking guy home. I hate this! I know my mother loves me and all but my sisters were always her favorites because they're giving her grandchildren. It makes her happy."

Ash didn't interrupt her at all.

"She wasn't really supportive of the fact that I didn't want to get involve with men. No one was anyway! Not even my closest friends, May and Dawn. Everyone thought I was a creep, even you, I presume."

"I mean, I did some creepy stuff, but I'm not to blame, really. I've had a rough childhood. My father didn't want me. He wanted a boy, and that made me hate boys, because they were the reason my father left me. That's not what my mom is saying but I don't believe her. You can imagine how I've been feeling all these years, trying to live with this. I felt unwanted, worthless—I have three older sisters. Who'd care about the fourth one?"

Misty wiped off the tears with the hems of her shirt. She went on,

"Remember when you asked me if I felt inferior? Here is the answer: yes, I do. I always did. I still do, to this day. I feel inferior to everyone, both men and women. I see all the other girls who are loved by their fathers... it makes me feel horrible. It makes me feel like I wasn't supposed to be born. It's like... God made a mistake or something. I don't know—this sucks!"

Ash turned around when Misty pulled away. She was clearly crying, hiding her eyes with her arm. Ash pulled her closer and brought her against his chest. He was really hesitating about hugging her, because Misty wasn't giving any hints that she allowed that.

"I don't think a 'mistake' girl is supposed to meet a handsome guy like me."

"Ash..." Misty smiled weakly.

"I don't think you're worthless; you're a nurse, Misty. You help tons of people every day, you take care of the elders, and you help the snacks industry make money."

"Hey!" Misty pulled away and laughed.

"Consuming so many Oreo's is good for the country's economy."

"Ash!" Misty slapped his arm.

"You need to chill out sometimes, Misty. You think too much about unnecessary things, you keep reminding yourself of the past and you blame yourself for everything. You can't have a healthy life this way, and this house or even your sisters aren't the best company. I'm sorry to say that."

Misty frowned. Ash was right.

"I really want to take you out somewhere this weekend but I'm back to work, it's the busy season, they need me back at the office and I'm drowning in work. How about you go out with your friends?"

"May and Dawn? They're never free on weekends..."

"Uhm..."

Misty shrugged. "It's alright. I'll just stay home. I don't need to go out this weekend especially."

"No, I don't want you going up two sizes by Monday."

Misty's face turned red. "Hey! I didn't gain a single pound last month!"

"Don't make any plans, okay? I'll figure out something for you."

"Uhm, okay?"

To be continued.