Nicole got out of the backseat of the car and stretched. A five-hour ride always made her feel stiff. She walked around to the opened trunk and dragged out her bags. She'd packed more than she'd thought. It began to feel very heavy by the time she'd brought it into her room. She dropped everything at the foot of the bed and called out, "I'm going! I'll be back!"

"Not without me!" Hailey called, running into Nicole's bedroom. "I want to meet this mysterious Ashton." She was grinning.

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Of course. Go wait for me at the door – I'll be right there." Once her friend had left the room, she dug around in her toiletry bag until she found her body spray and gave herself a few spritzes, hoping it was a scent Ashton would like.

Now ready, she met her friend at the door and together they headed towards the woods. A few feet in she could see Ashton sitting on the steps to his house. "Ashton!" she called. He looked up and stood. She waved and he waved back. He walked to meet them.

He grinned at her, and she could feel her heart beat a little faster. His arms wrapped around her, and she hugged him back. For a long moment, they just stood there that way. Finally, he pulled away and he nuzzled her nose. His lips brushed her cheek lightly and she shivered. He grinned against her cheek and kissed her right under her eye.

"Ahem," Hailey said.

Nicole blushed deeply and pulled away, still holding his hand. "Ashton, this is my friend, Hailey." He nodded at her, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Hailey, this is my boyfriend, Ashton. He lives right over there." She gestured to the structure, darkened slightly by the tree cover.

"Nice to meet you," Ashton said, offering his hand.

Hailey accepted it. "Ditto." She looked over at his house. "So, you really do live in the woods, huh? I thought she was exaggerating."

He shook his head. "No, I really live here. Come on, I'll show you around." He turned and tugged a little on Nicole's hand. They walked with him up onto his porch and through the door. He gave a quick tour and finally everyone settled down in his living room. Ashton sat on one end of the sofa and Nicole sat next to him, her head on his shoulder. Hailey sat on a chair from the kitchen.

An hour of casual conversation passed before silence took over. Hailey fidgeted and Nicole noticed. "Hail?"

"Hmm?"

"If you want to, you could go into town. There's some small shops and some interesting things to do. There's a really good diner, too."

She smirked at Nicole and Nicole blushed. "Okay, Nikki. I'll see you around, Ashton. It was nice to meet you."

"Same here. Have fun!" called after her.

Once the door clicked, Nicole closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She got a good whiff of his aftershave and smiled. She felt him shift and opened her eyes to see him looking at her and smiling too. "Penny for your thoughts," he said quietly.

"You smell good." She felt herself blush a little and he just grinned.

"So do you." He kissed the top of her head. She closed her eyes again. He shifted so he kissed her cheek. She felt him shift even more and she tilted her head for him. His lips brushed across her cheek and settled near her mouth.

She knew that a slight change in the angle of either of them would end with their lips meeting. She held her breath, waiting for him. He didn't move. Neither did she. After a moment he pulled away, looking embarrassed. She watched him not look at her.

Finally, he met her gaze. He looked into her eyes for a long moment. "Nicole?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to go too fast." She nodded. He took a deep breath as his mind seemed to go somewhere else for a moment before snapping back to the present. "I like you a lot, but I think, um, we should take our time." He looked away again.

She nodded. She had thought the same things. Something inside of her made her want to treasure even the time they spent together. Anything beyond what they were doing felt like a huge step. "I agree." He glanced up at her and smiled. "We could watch TV for a little bit, if you want."

He leaned forward and turned the TV on with the remote. They flipped through the stations and after a little bit, they settled for the news.

"Um, Nicole?"

"Yes?" She turned to look at him.

"Do you trust me?" He wouldn't quite meet her eye.

"Yes. Why?"

He shook his head.

She reached over and touched his hand. "Ashton, I really like you, too. Why wouldn't I trust you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just, ah, well, earlier today this girl was wandering around-"

"Shh!" She reached over and turned the sound up.

The news was showing a video of police walking around on a beach she recognized. "Today, police found the body of 5-year-old Taylor Hebert washed up on a beach in the small tourist town of Harvey, South Carolina."

It cut to an interview with the sheriff. "We were all shocked to get this call. No one should ever have to lose their child like this. Ever." He looked close to tears.

It cut back to the news anchor. "Police have determined the death to be a homicide and currently have no suspects in the case."

When she switched to another story Nicole turned off the TV and looked at Ashton. He was white. He didn't appear to be breathing, even. She touched his shoulder. He flinched and got up quickly. He began pacing as he rubbed his face.

"What were you trying to tell me?" Her voice was a touch more panicked than she wished it would have been.

He groaned and raked his fingers through his hair, appearing to tug at it. "Um, that little girl was here today. She was walking around outside. I was bringing her home when she began coughing up blood. I took her to that beach and did CPR and when she began breathing again, I took her to the doctor and left her there and came back." He put his back to a wall and slid down with his head in his hands. "Oh God oh God oh God." He kept shaking his head.

She could hear the tightness in his voice. She walked over and knelt next to him. "Ash? Ash, I am so sorry. It's going to be okay." She touched his shoulder again and this time he didn't move.

"Nicole," he began, his voice shaking. "Whatever things will be, they won't be okay. That's my dad. He will try to pin this on me." He took a deep breath and looked at her. Unshed tears shined in his eyes. His face had reddened.

"I won't let him."

His lips parted in surprise. "You believe me?"

She nodded. "Of course. Ash, whatever will be will be. No matter what, I'll be right here. I'll be on your side. Don't ever doubt that." Her eyes pleaded with him to believe her.

He nodded. "Thank you," he whispered. She smiled. "You don't know what that means to me." She had an idea by the way he was looking at her.

She felt her face grow warm. She stood and backed up a step. He also stood, albeit a little shakily. "I want to help you," she told him, voice unsteady. "I want to help you with anything you need."

His shoulders slumped and she could see relief all over his face. "I don't want to put you in any danger at all."

She smiled at him. "Ash, I won't be in danger. I promise."

He reached out and took her hand in his. "That's a promise you can't make."

"I promise I'll help you no matter what."

He kissed her hand and smiled at her. "That's a good promise."

She blushed. "I should go. Hailey will be wondering where I am."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

She nodded. "Okay."

---

Ashton watched her leave him. Once the door had closed behind her his thoughts went back to the girl. Who had killed her? Surely it couldn't be hard to figure out. After all, the only people to have seen her before she died were the doctor and her family, but surely, they wouldn't have killed her.

He walked towards his bedroom and his bathroom. The mirror reflected his red face back to him. He watched as it grew redder. She had seen him nearly cry. He hated that. He didn't want anyone to see it. He didn't want anyone to know, especially not about the ones shed in private during the middle of the night. He didn't want to remember the other little girl, at home with his parents. She was so sweet. She loved him with all her innocence. His little sister should be with him. He missed her so much. But he had to get out of there. He couldn't take spending another day, week, or month in his family's home.

That was how he thought of it now: not as his, but theirs. He no longer had any part in it, nothing to do with it, and, strangely, he was fine with that. It was, after all, just another house. It could easily be replaced with another building.

He stared into the mirror, his memories to leave him alone with his thoughts. He forced his mind to focus on Nicole. He didn't kiss her. He wanted to but couldn't actually do it. He didn't want to think about what she must think of him now. It was too much.

He pushed away from the counter and walked into his bedroom. Those thoughts weren't working. He remembered the vomit on the sand. During everything he'd nearly forgotten about it. He sank onto the bed. Taylor had vomited food. She had to have been poisoned with her last meal. He didn't want to think about the food.

Fried chicken. Peas. Stew. He remembered his mother's dishes very well. He closed his eyes. When he was small, she would take fried chicken from last night's dinner and make a thick stew like a gravy with peas and seasoning, and sometimes other vegetables, and shred the chicken it. He loved it as a kid, but now it turned his stomach to think about.

He lowered his head into his hands. His mother was involved. His mother. He took his hands away from his face wet. He couldn't see them clearly. The world was blurry as he felt that familiar darkness wash over him.

Sleep. He should sleep. Things would look better when he woke up. He kicked off his shoes and took off his shirt and crawled under the covers of his bed.

---

Nicole walked to town, away from Ashton, and thought about the almost-kiss. She wondered what his reasons were for not making the first move. He had to have them.

She didn't want to dwell on it. Instead, she thought about his obvious anguish over what had happened to the little girl. She knew Taylor. She'd babysat her the previous summer. Taylor was adorable and sweet. She didn't know how anyone could harm her, let alone kill her. She knew, though, that Ashton had a real fear. He firmly believed he would be blamed for it.

Her mind snagged on words from the past summer. Hadn't he told her that all tourists were blamed for anything bad happening there, that locals were always innocent? Why did he believe he would be blamed if he were a local? Wouldn't she be blamed first?

The door to the general store loomed closer. Hailey stepped out, carrying a candy bar. She looked up and saw Nicole approaching. Her face lit up. "Nikki! How did things go?"

She forced herself to smile back. "It went too fast." She forced a smile. "Want to go hang out on the beach?"

"Sure." They walked back to beach house, passing the candy bar back and forth until it was gone. "I heard something," Hailey began as they neared the house. "There was a dead girl found on the beach."

"Yeah, I heard about that too. It was on the news."

Hailey looked quizzically at Nicole. "When did you watch the news?"

She blushed. "I watched it with Ashton. We just felt like watching TV together. Anyway, what about it?"

"Nothing. I heard something else." She stopped. Nicole stopped. They were almost to the house. "I'm not happy to be the one to tell you this, but Ashton has been lying to you." Thoughts swirled around in Nicole's head too fast to grab. Had he killed the girl? No, he couldn't. His father was messing with her head. She barely heard Hailey's words, but one hit her like a slap.

"Girlfriend?"

She nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so. She works at the general store. She says they've been dating since the fall."

Nicole frowned. That explains him not kissing me, she thought. "Hailey, I need to go do something." She turned and started jogging down the beach. "Tell my parents I'll have lunch out. I'll meet you on the beach later!"

"Nikki! Wait!"

She held up a hand to wave at her friend, not even slowing to look back. Soon she reached the forest and Ashton's house came into view. She stopped at the bottom of his steps, unsure of what she was even going to say. Maybe she should've thought a little bit before running off. With a sigh, she went ahead up the steps. She knew that if she didn't find out what she needed to she wouldn't be able to think straight.

A knock on the door went unanswered. Another knock went unanswered, and she thought that maybe he had left for a long walk or something. She thought she'd go inside and wait for him, maybe raid his fridge. He'd said she could before.

She opened the unlocked door and stepped inside. The TV was still on. She frowned at it and turned it off. An unlocked door was unusual if he was out for a walk. He had to be close by. She walked down the hallway and as she passed his room, she heard someone sniffling through the closed door. Weird. She stopped and tapped on the door. "Ashton? Are you in there?"

The sniffling suddenly stopped. Some movement. "Yeah," he called, his voice sounding strained. "I'll be right there."

She stood there and listened, concerned, to another door close. A couple of minutes later he came to the door and opened it, looking sad but not much different than when she left him. "Why are you here? I thought you had to go back for lunch or something."

"I did," she replied, eyeing him. "But I needed to come back to talk to you."

He sighed and rubbed his face. "Did you eat?"

Something was wrong. She could feel it. "Ashton, are you okay?" She started to reach out to touch him, but retracted her hand.

"I'll take that as a no." He dropped his hands and smiled at her, though it looked forced. He stepped past her and headed to the kitchen. She followed him. He dug around in his fridge and sat several things on his counter. "What do you want?"

She shook her head. He looked back at her. She walked over to him and took out a couple of slices of bread and a butter knife. He smiled a little at her again, and again the smile didn't quite touch his eyes. She put mayo on the bread and made him a ham and cheese sandwich. She handed it to him. "Thanks, Nicole." He kissed her cheek and went to sit at the table.

While she made another sandwich for herself, she watched him eat. His bites barely qualified as just a nibble. He kept rubbing his forehead and never looked up at her. She finished making her sandwich and put everything away. She joined him at the table and watched him take larger bites of his sandwich and chew slowly. She took a big bite and began to chew. While they ate in silence, she watched him.

He stood abruptly and sat his plate in the sink. She stood and did the same. They stood at the counter for a moment in silence, just looking at each other. He finally sighed. "Why did you come here, Nicole? I'm just curious."

"To talk. Hailey told me something." She watched confusion spread on his face. Was it real? "She said she talked to this girl in town." Something changed on his face, but she could place just what. "The girl said that she was your girlfriend."

He sighed. "Trisha. She's not. We never have been, never will be. You're the only girlfriend I've had. I just never was interested in any of the girls here, and I don't get out much." Color crept into his face as he spoke.

Nicole took a deep breath and sagged against the counter as she released it. "Good." He watched her, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. A beat of silence passed between them. "Can you answer another question for me?" Slowly, he nodded. "What's wrong? You're not you right now."

He frowned. "Nicole-"

"I want to know, Ash."

He sighed again and leaned against the counter. She watched him search for words. "I just . . . get depressed. That's all. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's not as bad, sometimes it lasts a long time, other times it lasts for a couple of days and I'm fine." He shrugged.

She touched his arm. "Why?"

"Lots of reasons. A lot of things can trigger it, and sometimes even nothing at all."

"No, I mean to start with. What happened?"

A look of shame and sadness settled on his features. She wanted to take it back but knew she couldn't take back words once they were out. "I'd rather not talk about it." He shook his head.

She frowned. Why wouldn't he tell her? Still, she didn't want him to feel worse, so she let it go – for now. "Okay."

He reached out and gently touched the side of her face with the back of his fingers. "You're so pretty, Nicole," he whispered.

She blushed slightly. "And you're so handsome," she whispered back.

He smiled at her, and studied her face for a couple of minutes. Finally, he gave a sigh. "I'm sorry." He watched confusion dance across her features before giving her a small smile. "Would you like me to walk you back to your cottage?"

She wrapped her arms around him. After a moment's hesitation he awkwardly returned the hug. "You can keep your secrets, Ash," she said into his shoulder, words muffled by his shirt. "If you're not ready to tell me, I can wait." She kept wondering if this was a good thing to tell him.

He seemed to think it was. His arms tightened a little, pulling her closer. He kissed her hair and then his lips rested on her temple for what was probably a few minutes, but it didn't feel like more than one moment. When he pulled away, she kissed his cheek and left. He didn't stop her.