The sound of broken glass being trampled underfoot announced Ash's entry into the living room the next morning.

Through her hangover shades, she glanced around the room; or more accurately what was left of it. To put it lightly, the place was a mess.

All the chinaware that previously adorned the room were in pieces on the floor. The television was bashed in. The centre table was in ruins. The furniture—save one surviving chair which now played host to Caleb who looked like she felt—were overturned.

He was seated mostly with his lower back, his long legs stretched out like they'd given up hope of ever being used again. And he was wearing a large sombrero over his face.

The tinkling of broken glass beneath Ash's flip-flops as she moved further into the room alerted Caleb to her presence. Tilting the hat back, he peered at her through eyes that clearly abhorred daylight.

"Did you sleep here?" she asked.

For the life of her, she couldn't remember a greater part of the night before.

Halfway through shaking his head Caleb changed his mind and wagged his finger.

"I came down to start cleaning up. That didn't quite work out." He spoke in one long groan per sentence.

She returned the chair next to him to its proper position with much difficulty and sunk into it almost in defeat.

"What," she said, "did we do?"

She looked to find Caleb gazing around as if he was asking himself the same thing. Then she burst out laughing and soon enough he followed but it ended abruptly with a chorused "Ow!".

"Where's your hangover remedy now that we need it?" Ash moaned.

"We're out of garlic."

Ash cupped her mouth as a wave of nausea hit her.

"I told you you didn't want to know."

"Well here's what we're going to do," Ash said, "I'll go brew us a pot of coffee and you will get the brooms. Then we'll fix this place up and make an inventory of all the things we need to replace."

There would be no significant damage, that much was certain. While the things they had destroyed would put a suspicious hole in their credit card that would definitely reach their Dad's attention, nothing of any sentimental value was kept within reach around the living room. They had relocated the important things to their separate rooms for preservation and well, sentimental reasons.

"That does sound like a plan," Caleb agreed. "Or we can just stay put and let Maria take care of all this when she gets here."

"That would be unfair, plain wrong and not to mention rude..." Ash said, "Yeah let's do it."

She spied a perfectly good glass of vodka just sitting on the floor by her chair and reached for it. She sniffed it suspiciously and, deeming it safe for consumption, made to drink it. It barely touched her lips when Caleb snatched it from her.

"Hey!"

"That's enough of that."

Her lips parted in a silent scream as he threw the glass carelessly over his shoulder. It came to a fatal yet swift demise when she heard it burst and splash behind his seat.

Before she could lament, he reached into the couch he was seated on and brought out a half full bottle of brandy.

He opened, took a sip and passed it to her.

"You're not a very good role model, you know." But she took it anyway and took a swig.

"The quickest way to get over old liquor is to get under a new one," he quipped.

"Amen to that, Dalai Lama." She raised the bottle to him.

The front door swung open and the buxom form of Maria filled the doorway.

"Ey! Maria!" Caleb said.

She stepped into the room, looking around in awe, her soft Latina features contorting in confusion.

"What happened here? Did somebody break in?"

Ash shrugged off the question and thrust the bottle towards her. "Brandy?"

*****

By noon, Maria had performed a small miracle. She had gotten Ash and Caleb sober, cleaned up the living room and started on the inventory, all the while lecturing them on the stupidity of their behavior—fortunately that last bit had taken place while they were still shitfaced so all they had to do was nod at the right intervals and smile.

It was much later that she realized what the previous day had been, then the poor woman had broken down in tears, stuffing them; first one after the other then both of them at once, face first in her bosom as she hugged them tight—neither had complained.

After that she had offered to spend the day with them but Caleb reminded her of an engagement she had elsewhere. Ash had spaced out so she didn't know what it was but it was important enough to ensure that Maria left, but only after another round of hugging.

With Maria gone, they went back to moping. A call came in on Caleb's cell but he silenced it and gave Ash an awkward look. That was when it occurred to her that he had been doing that all morning.

"That was Emily, wasn't it?" she asked.

His first reaction was a look of denial, but he caved before he could even attempt to lie and nodded solemnly.

"She wants to come over but..." He trailed off.

But he didn't want her to be alone.

"Let her come over, Caleb. It's fine."

"It's not fine. I'd rather spend today with you. It's been a while since we hung out just the two of us. I'll see her tomorrow."

Ash smiled, touched by the sentiment.

"We will spend another day together. You've taken care of me enough. Let someone take care of you."

"Ash..."

"I'm serious, Caleb. I'll be fine. You don't have to sit around and mope with me. You can be happy. I want you to be happy. Do this for me. Please."

She stared him down till he nodded in resignation then she made to leave for her room before he could continue the argument. But he had something to say.

"One more thing." She stopped. "Dad called."

Ash shook her head slowly.

"Not today, Satan," she said, "Not today."

*****

The temptation was strong but somehow Hailey managed to keep herself from calling to check up on Ash.

She wanted to be the understanding girlfriend and give Ash the space she needed but she really wanted to know how she was doing.

She tried to distract herself. Running errands. Doing chores. She even arranged her room for the first time in months—a feat that almost sent her mom running out into the streets with a bullhorn proclaiming that her daughter had been possessed.

By early evening a call did come in. Only it wasn't from Ash.

It wasn't from Cait either. And it wasn't a number she recognized.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hailey...it's Caleb. Hi."

*****

Ash felt empty and it wasn't because she had only had Maria's pancakes for breakfast—basically being force-fed by the housekeeper who no doubt meant well. She had a gaping hole in her chest where her mother used to be. A hole that now held her most cherished memories. Memories that she knew and feared would one day fade.

But at least she was miserable alone. Caleb had gone ahead to invite Emily over and she had avoided them both completely to give their conscience a break from worrying about her. Now she sat at the edge of the swimming pool, fully clothed but contemplating a swim.

The urge to do something regrettable was strong. Not suicidal but definitely regrettable. The longer she sat and watched the ripples form and slowly disappear at her feet the stronger the urge got till finally with a hand over her nose, she pushed off the edge and dunked herself with a rather satisfactory splash.

She tested the limits of how long she could go without breathing before she returned to the surface with a famished gasp. Spreading out her weight, she let herself float aimlessly around the pool, her gaze fixed on the sky.

The fact that their father had called annoyed her greatly. Ash did not want to speak with him or listen to anything he had to say. As easily as he had flown overseas after their mother's funeral and never so much as texted before now, she had also pretended he no longer existed.

It was at times like this that she envied Caleb.

When their mother had passed away, Caleb had gone to pieces before her eyes. Ash on the other hand had forced herself together, held fast by a boiling hate towards her father. Now Caleb had for the most part put himself back together, at the same time Ash was starting to realise she was cracked.

He was somewhere inside in the comfort of his girl because he was able to let her in. As much as Ash wanted to, she could not bring herself to call Hailey and ask her over. No. She was confident she would either dig herself out or failing to do that she would dig herself deeper into her pit, but she would rather do it alone than reach out to anyone who was not the one constant in her life—but even he needed to be supported in a way she was not able to right now.

She floundered about in the water till her fingers and toes were pruned and the chlorine began to sting her eyes. Then she decided it was time to go inside.

Leaving a trail of water in her wake, Ash sauntered up to her room, shedding her clothes along the way, but not too much since Caleb was not the only other inhabitant of the house. It would have been inconveniencing if not plain awkward to run into Emily stark naked.

She had turned the doorknob of her bedroom when she realized that the room next door was open just a fraction and the light was on. Someone was in her bedroom.

Ash had two bedrooms and for more reasons than the simple fact that she could afford to. Her regular bedroom—the one she slept in—was mostly unfurnished, lacking her own touch in any way: no pictures, no Punk Rock band or naked lady posters, no trophies or collector's items. No. Those were all kept in her other room. The room she had called her own until her mother had passed on and Ash's room which had already been a giant memorabilia to her—with her jersey hanging on the wall and her trophies lined side by side with Ash's and photos from all the places they'd been—became just that: a giant memorabilia to her.

After her mother's passing Ash had found it almost impossible to sleep there and much easier to just leave, taking nothing with her.

Now the door to that room that had become a museum dedicated to her mom was open like the casket at her lying in state...and someone was trespassing on her sanctum.

That was beyond unacceptable.

And I was sure I liked you, Emily, Ash thought as she approached the open room.

She pushed it open, her words preceding her entrance,

"What are you doing in..."

She had started off ferocious as an untamed creature but by the time her voice died out she had been tempered down to a fluffy bunny.

Taking in the trespasser who jumped at Ash's entry, losing grip of and catching a picture she had been looking at, Ash could not fail to recognize that the girl was not Emily. She was brunette where Emily was raven-haired. Five foot eight where Emily was a solid five foot eleven. Freckled where Emily was clear skinned.

"Hailey?"

*****

When she thought back to the first thing she had said upon arrival at the premises, Hailey felt an unforgiving pang of shame.

"Uh hello?" she had said, "I'm at the gate in front of a giant mansion like something out of a Batman comic. It's possible I'm at the wrong address or something."

But then again she would never have in a million years guessed that Ash's house would look like the Wayne manor.

"No, Hailey. You're not at the wrong address." Caleb had laughed.

With an ominous click the large hunk of metal had swung apart.

"Oh, the gates are opening."

"Just drive in, Hailey."

So she had, pulling up in front of the huge mansion.

As she parked the truck, she reflected on everything she knew about Caleb and Ash, and she saw them. Really saw them. From the fancy cars Caleb never seemed to run out of to Ash's spendthrift tendencies to their outfits which she had guessed correctly were designers but was now of the strong belief they were hand crafted by the designers themselves. Then she felt stupid.

Caleb met her at the front door and ushered her in. He had already explained to her why she was here over the phone so when he directed her to Ash's room to meet her, Hailey didn't ask questions.

The first door she opened following his directions led to a room that did not look like it was in use. It was empty of all forms of identity. Assuming it was a guest room, she went to the next door and opened it. This one she had been instantly certain was Ash's room. From the trophies on the shelves to the football jerseys entombed in glass and the posters of female soccer stars on the walls—one of which bore a striking resemblance to Ash—this could have been no other person's room.

It was like being in Ash's mind.

A picture on the chest of drawers caught her attention and she picked it up. There was Ash, hauntingly beautiful as ever with her dark makeup and hair and tattoos standing in front of what appeared to be this very mansion. She stood with Caleb by her side and they were both flanked by an older man and woman who were no doubt their parents. And Ash was smiling; a smile like Hailey had not seen in a long time. They were all smiling.

Everything about the room felt surreal and sacred and strange. She was not supposed to be in this room.

"What are you doing in..."

The voice rattled Hailey at the core, solidifying the feeling she had about being somewhere she shouldn't be. She jumped, fumbling with the picture in her hands. She turned to find Ash in the doorway.

She was dripping from head to toe like she had taken a shower fully clothed. Speaking of clothes, unless she normally walked around in a push-up bra and shorts, she was missing a few items of clothing.

"Hailey?" she asked.

"Hi," Hailey said, her voice high pitched—a telltale sign she was nervous out of her wits.

Ash got over the shock swiftly—while Hailey was still trying to take in her appearance—and repeated her question, completing it this time.

"What are you doing in here?"

There was an edge to her tone. If Hailey hasn't realised she was walking the edge of a knife she realised it now.

So Hailey reduced to the second indication of her nervousness: she rambled.

"I'm so sorry. Caleb invited me over. He said you needed me but you wouldn't admit it yourself. When I came over he asked me to meet you in your room. I thought this was your room, I didn't mean to go snooping."

Ash went through series of emotions—each one burning bright in her grey eyes—before settling on anger without enthusiasm.

"This is my room," she admitted. "I just rarely use it."

Hailey returned the picture to its original position.

"I'm sorry for entering without permission. I-I'll see myself out now." Her head hanging low, Hailey made for the door.

Ash didn't move as she slouched past her but then she said,

"Wait."

When Hailey looked at her again something had changed in her demeanor. She had shifted to resignation with a hint of desperation.

"You don't have to leave."

Looking in her eyes, Hailey saw that what she was really saying was "Please don't leave."

Ash walked further into the room, taking great care not to let her eyes linger on anything.

She sat on the edge of her bed and her frame sunk low.

Reentering the room, Hailey shut the door behind her.

"I'm here, Ash. As long as you need me."

She waited there. Waited for the invitation to approach she knew would soon come.

"I...I haven't really been in here since the funeral," Ash began. "I couldn't go to sleep in here. I could barely bring myself to come in here."

There it was.

Hailey approached tentatively and sat next to her without a word.

Ash let loose a short laugh, but there was no humor in it. It was a sound that tormented Hailey.

"Everything I have of my mom's is in this room and I avoid it like the plague." She shook her head and gazed into thin air as if speaking from a trance. "But the memories... They... They haunt me. It's like when I come in here everything becomes a thousand times clearer. Everything becomes painfully...real. She'll never come to another of my games. She'll never see me play on the national team. I'll do some more stupid things—I always do, I can't help myself—but she won't be there to tell me that mistakes are how we learn our biggest lessons."

Hailey reached over and slipped a hand over Ash's and squeezed reassuringly.

The thought was there but the words failed her. Ash needed comfort but she didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Ash wasn't looking to receive a half-baked motivational speech. When she looked up briefly at Hailey, the pain that glared through her eyes was raw.

"I don't normally do this. I hate crying in front of people. But she was supposed to be forty yesterday and she's not and well that sucks. I don't know how to deal with everything I'm feeling."

Hailey pulled her head down onto her neck and held her there, but Ash didn't cry. Her breathing came in long ragged gasps but it looked like she had no more tears left to cry. Still she didn't try to break free from Hailey's hug.

Minutes past in almost total silence before she pulled away and looked Hailey in the eyes.

"Thank you for coming, Hailey.".

Hailey nodded slowly but said nothing. She was still drawing a blank. Pulling her close again, she went for a proper hug but Ash stopped her halfway.

"I'm sopping wet, you'll catch a cold."

"So will you if you don't change into something dry."

Ash agreed. She stood up and went over to the chest of drawers and pulled one open. While she perused, she unhooked her bra and slipped out of it then did away with the lower half of her clothing.

It was difficult for Hailey to stay somber as she watched Ash strip naked before her but since Ash wasn't looking her way she managed fine.

Ash slipped into fresh panties and quickly dried her hair with a towel.

Hailey soon realized that Ash had no plans to add any more articles of clothing to her outfit. That was when she said a silent prayer for forgiveness for all the sexual thoughts that paraded through her mind.

This was her first time seeing Ash topless and damn it was glorious!

She tried not to focus on God's gift to the Latinas but she could not not look at her voluptuous chest. Those sports bra were working overtime to keep those in check!

If only the situation was different, Hailey sighed inwardly.

To distract herself, she asked,

"Do you want anything? I don't know my way around but I'm guessing the kitchen shouldn't be too hard to find."

Ash shook her head.

"No, I just want to get in bed and stay there."

There was an air of defeat about Ash. And it felt wrong. So wrong.

It hurt her to see Ash this way.

Then realising she hadn't asked before, Ash said, "You're spending the night, right?"

Hailey smiled wanly and shrugged. "If you'll have me." The double entendre was not intended but as soon as the words were out, Hailey flushed scarlet. "Do you want to go to your room?"

Ash looked around the room in a trance-like manner and gave a rare smile. She repeated her earlier statement but it sounded different like she was accepting it not just protecting it.

"This is my room."

She crawled into bed and slipped beneath the plush covers.

Hailey did not want to assume, so once again she sought out an invitation.

"Let's skip the part where you offer to sleep in any of the other eight rooms or on the couch for some righteous reason or maybe basic formality." She flipped off the covers on the other side of the bed. "You're sleeping here tonight."

Eight rooms?

Hailey didn't need to be told twice. She parted with her jacket and took off her shoes.

Ash must have caught her hesitation on just how much skin to leave uncovered because she said,

"There's pyjamas in the top drawers if you want."

Hailey's relief was poorly concealed. As much as she wanted to, she was not as comfortable in her own skin as Ash was.

She found pyjamas as Ash had predicted, but she also found a jersey she knew would be big on her, enough to cover up to her thighs. It was Ash's with her name written boldly on the back.

She slipped out of the rest of her clothes save for her panties then put on the shirt. As expected it almost went all the way to her knees easy. Taking off her glasses, she kept it on the bedside table. Then after a goodnight message to her mother, she put down her phone—she had already informed her that she would most likely not be returning the same day when she left home so all was settled in that area.

Her heart was still pounding furiously when she got into bed and found herself staring into Ash's face but if Ash noticed her nervousness, she didn't show it. Hailey raised an arm, asking for a hug and the raven-haired girl eased forward into her arms.

Hailey took in Ash's scent as she lay there listening to her breathing slow down and feeling the subtle ba-dum! ba-dum! of her heart beating against her chest and the erect nipples pressing against hers that Hailey couldn't just ignore.

Just when Hailey was beginning to think she was asleep, Ash whispered, "I really am glad you're here, Hailey."

And those were her last words for the night.

Hailey's response came moments later when Ash had truly drifted off.

"Me too."