University Roommates (Restart)

Ashton:

“I know. I’m going to get you home,” I said not knowing if it was truth or a lie. “But first we need to get to safety. Come on.” I put my hand on her back and made her walk. I read the street sign when we got close enough. Now I knew exactly where we were. I had to think for a moment to get us where I was trying to go without going on main streets where we would be spotted.

“There’s a train track on street down. We can follow it to the house. We can figure out what to do from there.” I couldn’t think clearly enough now to come up with any more of a plan.

Emily:
"What?" I asked, confused. "Why dont we just find someone and ask them to call the police?" I asked, stumbling along in the dark. I was thankful my eyes had adjusted but it was still hard to see.

Ashton:

I paused for a moment. “It’s… not safe. Once we're at the house I’ll… I’ll call the police. But it’s not safe here on the street. Someone could be looking for me.” It was a half-truth. Calling the police now would probably be safer than not, but I couldn’t do that yet. I had to think and I couldn’t do that out here in the open.

Emily:
I didnt realize how cold I was until then. I didnt have a jacket and the temperature couldn't have been very high at this time of night. How long did he need me to walk? "Okay...okay lets go," I said. I didn't care anymore how we got out of this. I just wanted to wash the blood off my body and forget it all happened. I didnt know if that was even possible.

"We drove for a long time. Where are we gonna go?" I asked, looking around. There wasn't anything as far as I could see.

Ashton:

“Someone I know lives nearby.” They weren’t home often these days. If I had any luck they would be gone tonight. Doubtful considering my luck so far this night. “It’s only about ten minutes down the track,” I told her. I tried to ignore the pain in my body as we walked, the cold didn’t help. I knew she had it worse.

Emily:
I started walking again, ignoring the pain that seemed to stem from every one of my limbs, right down to all my fingers and toes. I havent been able to see anything clearly since I woke up in the back of the truck. Its been too dark. I almost hoped wherever we were going, the sun wouldnt come up so I wouldnt have to look at the bruises that I was sure were all over the both of it.

I could walk for another ten minutes. Out of everything so far, there was no way that was going to kill me.

Ashton:

We walked in silence. I couldn’t think of anything to say to her. I had gotten her into this situation and there wasn’t any light at the end of the tunnel. I togged her off the tracks when we came to the back of my parent's property.

The lights were off which boded well for them being out of town. I lead her to the back door and found a key touched under a garden gnome.

Emily:
When he lead me around to the back door, I turned my head to look at him in confusion. When he found a hidden key, I paused. "You're not gonna knock?" I asked, quietly. What kind of friend was this that would be fine with him coming in unannounced?

Ashton:

“I don’t think they’re home. The house is all dark. It shouldn’t be late enough for them to have gone to bed. It will be fine. They wont mind,” I told her. They likely would mind, but I was hoping to be gone before they found out. I unlocked the door and walked in, fooling for the light switch on the wall.

I squinted when the light came on. When I saw Emily, my stomach turned. She was bloody and bruised. It brought on another wave of guilt.

“Let’s get cleaned up,” I said, turning my face away from her and swallowing my guilt. It didn’t matter how I felt, I just needed to take care of her.

Emily:
When the lights flicked on, my eyes immediately went to his face. I wish they hadn't. I practically saw him wince at the sight of me. "I guess I don't look so good," I mumbled. He didn't look great either, but mostly intact.

I looked down at myself and wished I was wearing something darker. The entire front of my light t-shirt was covered in blood. The exposed skin of my arms was also caked in it. I wanted to throw up, mostly because I knew a lot of it wasn't mine.

I had killed that man. It seemed surreal. I felt nauseous. My legs felt like jello and I wasnt sure how it was possible to still be standing. "Is t-there a bathroom?" I asked, staring at my red hands.

Ashton:

I took her into the bathroom and turned only the light above the sink on, it would lessen the shock of seeing herself. I didn’t look in the mirror as I passed and turned on the water.

“Do you want me to help? Or leave?” I asked her I could understand if she wanted me to leave her alone but judging by her injuries, it could be difficult for her to wash herself.

Emily:
I hesitated for a second and then answered carefully. "Is there anything for us to change into here?" I asked. "I don't want wear these clothes anymore," I said, shaking my head. If he could find some clothes, I would have time to clean up a little bit and then he could stay and clean himself up. I was torn between wanting privacy and never wanting to be left alone again.

Ashton:

“I’ll find something,” I told her and left her alone in the bathroom. I paused in the kitchen to wash my hands so I wouldn’t leave marks on anything then I went down the hallway. I paused at my old room. Nothing was the same as when I lived here, but that had been a long time ago. They wouldn’t have any of my old clothes and they wouldn’t have fit anyway. I had better luck in Tasha’s room. I grabbed a change of closes for Emily then went to my parents room for my dad’s clothes. I also grabbed a first aid kit from under their bathroom sink.

Emily:
When he left, I scrubbed my hands in the sink until they felt raw. The water was so hot, my fingers came out pink. But anything was better than red. Watching the bloody water disappear down the sink made my stomach turn again but I focused on getting it off me. After the blood was gone, two red, raw looking lines circled both my wrists. I uncovered bruises as I went, but I told myself they would heal. Even if it felt like they never would. I didn't take my clothes off. If Ash found me something to wear, then I would change, but if he didn't, I would have to make do.

When I felt brave enough, I looked in the mirror. The whole right side of my face was one big bruise and I had a pretty nasty looking gash on my forehead. I couldn't remember exactly which hits caused which bruises. This might have come from rolling around unconscious in the back of the truck. I wasn't sure. I grabbed a towel, feeling bad because I knew I was about to ruin it, and ran it under the warm water. I lifted it to my face and pressed it against the gash, hissing at pain and pulling it away. It felt stupid. After all the pain, the towel I couldnt handle?

Ashton:

I knocked softly on the open door and walked in. I set the clothes on the counter top and the first aid kit next to them. I didn’t directly look at her. Instead, I bent down and grabbed a couple trash bags.

“Put your clothes in the bag when you take them off,” I said holding it out to her. They might be needed for evidence. Or, if I couldn’t bring myself to that, they could be destroyed. Either way, they couldn’t simply be washed.

Emily:
I took the trash bag and set it on the counter next to me. I could have waited for him to leave again, but I didnt want anything more than I wanted to be out of the blood soaked clothing. He wasnt looking at me anyway. I turned my back to him and stripped off my shirt and pants. The plan was dress quickly but the soreness I felt needed some inspection. I had boot sized bruises on my sides and along my ribs. I wasnt sure what it felt like to have broken ribs but it seemed unlikely there wasnt something at least cracked in there. Clear finger and hand prints dug into my hips. I didnt know what to do about any of that, so I slipped on the new shirt first and then the pants. I stuffed my ruined clothes into the trash bag and set it next to the sink. I didnt want to look at it anymore.

I still had a fair bit of cleaning myself up to do but I looked at Ash. "You were bleeding before." I reminded him. "How bad is it?" I asked, trying to remember what I could. It had been dark in the truck and didnt know where the blood had been coming from, only that there was a lot of it.

Ashton:

I tried not to look but I couldn’t help but see the bruises. It sickened me even further. I shook my head when she spoke to me. “It’s not bad. The bulled just grazed me.” I hadn’t looked at it but if the shot had done any more damage, I wouldn’t be standing.

I grabbed another towel and wet it. I wiped my face down then peeled off the bloody shirt. I tossed the shirt in the other bag then scrubbed my chest and side down with the towel. I didn’t pay too close attention to my injuries. It didn’t matter. I pulled my pants off and dressed in the fresh clothes. They were a little big on me but I care. I didn’t care about much now.

I had to call the police. I had to turn myself in. I had to keep Emily safe. There was no other option now. I had avoided it for too long. I put my hands on the counter and let out a long breath.

Emily:
I let him have a minute of silence as I went through the first aid kit he brought. I did the best I could with a bandage on my head. It probably could have used stitches, but I wasnt worried about it. Its not the only scar I would have.

I also wrapped a thing bandage layer around both my wrists to keep the raw skin from hitting into anything and bleeding. There was a small cut above my lip that wasnt bad enough to need to be covered, so I left it alone. The rest of my body could probably use an ice pack and a long nap.

I grabbed a couple more bandages and sat down on the closed lid of the toilet seat. "Would you let me cover it?" I asked, softly. "You'll bleed through that shirt," I said.

"You don't have to look at me if you don't want to, but you cant stand there bleeding," I said, my voice cracking a little. It hadnt escaped my attention that he wouldnt or couldnt look at me without seeming like he was going to be sick.

Ashton:

I looked at her then, without saying anything. She had tried to bandage herself up but she needed more care than that. "It's fine," I said but I reached for the box and grabbed a large bandage. I lifted the shirt up and slapped the bandage on crookedly. It wouldn't last but I assumed when I went to the police station that they would have me patched up eventually.

I glanced around the bathroom. It was obvious that someone had been in here. I wiped the counter down with a bloody rag. "I'm going to take you to the hospital," I told her as I tidied half-heartedly. Just after I said it I heard the front door open.

"Fuck." I shoved the bloody towels in the bag with my clothes. "Stay in here," I muttered and moved out of the bathroom. The light in the hallway went on just as I closed the door. My mother screamed.

"Mom, it's me," I said quickly, unmoving. She had a hand over her heart, staring at me in shock. It had been years since I last saw her.

Emily:
I watched him uncaringly place a bandage over his side and I shook my head. I would have put up more of a fight if I wasn't so drained. I held the now useless bandages on my lap and watched as he started cleaning up.

"How are we gonna get to the-" I started to asked, but I was cut off by the sound of a door opening. My entire body protested with as I quickly stood up. The unexpected sound had my breathing speeding up and my fingers shaking.

When he told me to stay in the bathroom, I didnt even have time to ask who it was, before he was out, striding down the hall way. My bare feet sounded loud when I followed him to the bathroom doorway and peeked my head out, looking in the direction he went. I couldnt see anything from where I stood, trembling, but I heard a female scream followed by "Mom, its me."

Ashton:

Neither of us said anything for a long moment. "Ash... What are you doing here?" She asked shakily, "and why are you wearing your father's clothes?" she didn't come close to me. I wasn't certain but I thought I could see fear in her eyes.

"I got into some trouble. I needed a place to... rest. I'll be gone shortly. I just needed a little bit of time. I didn't know where else to go."

"What kind of trouble?" She demanded. Last she knew, I had gotten out of rehab and moved in with Tasha. Surely she would assume it was drug-related.

I looked up at a moth fluttering around the hallway light. I didn't know what to say to her. I couldn't tell her everything even though she would find out. I didn't want to see the crushing disappointment in her eyes—the look I had grown up with. I didn't want to tell her that I was about to turn myself in for murder. My throat tightened.

Emily:
I creeped out of the bathroom and pressed my back against the hall wall. I kept walking until I was at the end of the hallway. Ash asked me to stay in the bathroom. But clearly this was his parents house and he hadnt wanted her to be home. I had never met Tashas parents but when she called them sometimes to check in, Tasha would mention me. I didnt anticipate she would know what I looked like, but maybe she knew my name.

I pulled on the bottom of what I could only assume was an old shirt of Tashas and made sure as much of me was covered as possible. There wasnt a whole lot I could do about my swollen face or bruised arms, but I tried.

"Ash, is everything okay?" I asked softly, stepping out from behind the wall.

Ashton:

I winced when I heart Emily. "It's fine. Just-" I turned, about to tell her to stay where she was, but it was too late. My mom gasped at the sight of her.

"Oh my god! What did you do to her?" I didn't deny hurting her. I hadn't directly inflicted her injuries but it was most definitely my fault.

Emily:
Her words made me pause. How could a mothers first reaction to seeing a cearly battered person be to blame her son? She must have been in shock to see him. It was a mistaken reaction.

"No no no," I said, once I found my voice again. I took a few more steps forward and stopped next to Ash. "My name is Emily. I'm Tashas roommate," I told her, hoping to spark some level of recognition.

"AS you can obviously tell, I haven't had the best day." I said, softly. "Ash..." I looked at him. I noticed he hadnt rushed to his own defense at the accusation. I didn't have the same problem. "He saved my life," I told her, truthfully.

Ashton:

I shook my head.  It wasn’t true.  I nearly got her killed is what I did.  My mother looked at us skeptically.  “What are you two doing here?  What kind of trouble did you get in?  How did this happen?”  She demanded.

“I was showing Emily my home town.  We got mugged,” I said, not looking at either of them.  My mother wouldn’t believe me.  That was fair.  I had never earned her trust.  I was lying anyway.

“Why didn’t you call the police?”

“We lost our phones.  We came here because it was close.  We got cleaned up and then we were going to go to the police station.” I hoped Emily would keep quiet, let me handle it  

“Ash…  Do I need to call a lawyer?”  I closed my eyes.  She knew there was more going on than a mugging.  

“No mom.  I just need to file a police report.” My heart was thumping in my throat.  “Can you take me to the station?”  My voice strained on the last words.