Chapter 14 – Ainsleigh
fourteen
AINSLEIGH
With my arm linked in Aspen’s, we raced up the stairs with Dylan behind us. Seeing the two people who'd held me together the past four years made my heart happy and my anxiety lessen. I didn’t know what I’d do without these two.
I walked past my room and down the hall to the room two doors down from mine.
Opening the door, I unlinked mine and Aspen’s arms and walked inside with the two of them behind me.
“Dylan, this is your room. Aspen’s will be the one right next to yours. It’s a Jack and Jill bedroom with a shared bathroom. If you don’t want to share with Aspen, she can just use my bathroom,” I turned as I told him, holding in a laugh. He hated sharing a bathroom with the two of us in college.
“I’ve shared a bathroom with two girls for the past three years. I think I can manage for a couple of days until we leave and go to her cousins,” he said as he threw his duffle bag onto the bed.
Aspen and Dylan stopped here first because they couldn’t not see me for long.
We hadn’t been separated for the past four years except for holidays.
They even stayed behind for most of the summers with me so I wouldn’t have to be alone.
They were the best friends a girl could ask for.
They were going to see Aspen’s cousins in Sunset River a couple hours away from here.
“I won’t hog all the hot water. Promise,” Aspen teased as she walked to the doorway, turning to wink at him.
Their playful banter always made me laugh.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll believe that when I see it.” Dylan laughed.
“It’s fend for yourself night in this house, so we are going to go get ready and be downstairs in about an hour and a half to go out. There’s a new bar called Whiskey On The Rocks that my brothers said was a good time,” I told him as Aspen and I left his room.
We walked the few feet down the hallway to my room, and Aspen followed behind me and shut the door.
Leaning against the door, she let out a squeal and laugh combination before she started talking a mile a minute.
“Oh my goodness. You never told me how gorgeous Gentry was. Like THAT’S Gentry. The one you left behind. Girl, I don’t think I could’ve done it.”
It wasn’t easy. Trust me.
“He didn’t look like that when I left him,” was the only response I could come up with as I sat on my bed. I didn’t want to be in this room, but having Aspen here helped.
“Oh, I love a good glow up. How’s it been being back home?”
I hadn’t told her much because I didn’t want her to worry.
“It’s been an experience, let me tell you.”
I told her all about how Gentry had to come and pick me up, and I could see the hearts in her eyes.
Aspen was a romantic at heart and loved to find a story in every encounter.
We often sat in the coffee shop back at school and would try to guess how people met and where’d they be in five or ten years.
I just didn’t want those hearts in her eyes to turn to hopes that Gentry and I would rekindle old feelings.
No matter how much I loved that man, it wasn’t meant to be.
Aspen and Dylan would likely be staying in Sunset River after graduation, and I’d go back to Virginia alone.
They hadn’t told me their final plans, but I could tell they were keeping something from me out of fear of how I’d react.
I let them because I didn’t want them to stay and put their lives on hold for me.
I wanted them to go out and make all their dreams come true.
Even if we’d have to be friends from a distance.
“Don’t give me that look. I know what you’re doing over there.” I pointed my finger at her.
“Who, me?” She gasped and brought her hands to her chest to make herself appear innocent.
Only I knew different.
“There can’t be anything between Gentry and me.
I broke his heart when I left. If I’m honest, I broke mine in the process.
Plus, I don’t know if I’m staying,” I admitted.
I couldn’t possibly give him hope if I didn’t know what my future held.
I'd hurt him before, and he didn’t deserve it.
I couldn’t be the cause of his heartbreak again.
“We’ll see. What do you have back in Virginia anyway? Oh that’s right. Kyle’s awaiting your return so y’all can get back together,” she said, a gleam of mischievousness in her glance.
“That’s never going to happen. I’m not taking him back no matter how much he begs.” And he’d been begging. At least from the messages I’d read.
“He still bothering you?” she asked, concern etched on her face.
“Yeah, but I’ve been deleting the messages.”
“Good, now back to Gentry,” she said, sounding giddy at the thought.
I shook my head and continued to tell her how my dad decided it would be a great idea for Gentry to be my boss for the day.
“See, even your dad is trying to push y’all back together.”
Ever the romantic.
“I talked to him, and I can assure you it was just a fluke due to staff members being sick. I told my dad today that I wouldn’t be staying.
He wasn’t very happy about my declaration, but hopefully he keeps his word and doesn’t tell my mother.
I’m not ready to dampen her excitement about me being home just yet.
I want to keep her happy as long as I can. ”
“He missed his baby girl. Can you blame him for not being happy? I mean, I don’t even understand your hesitation on coming back home. From just the first few minutes I’ve been here, it appears that you had an amazing life growing up. I’d have loved to grow up in a place like this.”
“I had a great childhood. I never saw myself leaving here. Every dream I had for my future involved this ranch. When we lost Bella, I just couldn’t stay here anymore.
Now, I don’t know if I want to work on the ranch or branch out from here and see what else job wise is out there,” I told her, but even the words tasted foul coming out of my mouth.
I wanted the city life. Away from here. Away from prying eyes and heartache. Away from Gentry.
Didn’t I?
I shook my head to clear those thoughts. I could digest them another day.
“How’re you doing being back home?”
I groaned. I knew Aspen would ask eventually; she always had to make sure I was okay. But I didn’t want to ruin our night with heavy conversation. Only Aspen wouldn’t let me get out of it, so instead of changing the subject, I gave her an honest answer.
“Being home is harder than I’d thought. I don’t know what I thought would happen. That I’d return and everything would magically be okay or the grief and pain wouldn’t hit me hard, but my first night here I couldn’t even sleep in this room,” I admitted.
“I’m so sorry, Ainsleigh. I know being here is hard, but you have a great support system. Lean on them. And you can always sleep in my room with me while I’m here. Just like old times,” she said with an understanding smile.
“Now what should we wear?” I said with the brightest smile I could muster as I changed the subject, left the bed, and walked over to the closet door throwing it open.
Aspen walked over and pushed me out of the way and rummaged through the racks of clothes. She’d be sorely mistaken if she thought she’d find anything. My wardrobe from high school consisted of jeans and flannels mostly.
“You’ve got to try this on,” she said with two hangers in her hands.
My eyebrows raised because those jean shorts were tight in high school and the top was slightly revealing.
Reluctantly, I snatched the clothes from her and went over to the bed to change.
Surprisingly, the shorts, albeit a little snug, fit like a glove. The pockets in the front peeked out of the bottom just a smidge, but that was how they were made. The sleeveless top was a little shorter than I preferred, but it would do.
I walked over to the mirror on the front of the closet door, shocked at the person who peered back at me.
Wow. The reflection was the old Ainsleigh through and through. I just didn’t know if I liked the person very much.
“You’re going to have Gentry eating out of the palm of your hand.” She giggled.
“Don’t even. I’m not wearing this for him. I’m wearing this because I feel good in it and to keep you from throwing a fit because of how good I look in it.” I couldn’t deny this outfit was fire.
“Now shoo and go get the horse stench off you. You should leave your hair natural tonight. That curly hair down is going to make this outfit even hotter than it is right now.”
She went back over to the closet to rummage through it for an outfit for herself, as I left her to it and went and showered. Did she forget how hot it was in Texas? There was no way I’d be able to leave my hair down tonight without it being a frizzy mess as soon as we left the house.
Fifteen minutes later, I walked out of the steam-filled bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body and one in my hair, the outfit Aspen chose clenched in my hand.
Hurriedly, I walked down the hallway into my room and shut the door behind me.
After quickly drying off, I got dressed.
Aspen followed suit. I peered over at her, and my friend was drop-dead gorgeous.
She picked out an outfit like mine, only she was in a fitted tank top instead of a sleeveless shirt. Dylan was going to have a hard time tonight that was for sure.
“We are two beautiful ladies.” She laughed as she styled her hair in an updo.
“Why do you get to put your long hair up, and I have to leave mine down?” I pouted as I began the lengthy process of putting all the product in my hair to hopefully tame the frizz that was sure to come as soon as the humid night air hit it.
“Because you look smokin’ with your naturally curly hair. If I had your curls, my hair would be down too, but my board straight, won’t hold a curl no matter what I do hair does better when it’s up, and it’s not boring this way. Trust me.”
“Well, when I have to put it up five minutes after leaving, you can’t complain. This bar has an outdoor section that we will likely be at, and it’s hot as hell outside.”
“Deal.”