University Roommates (Restart)

Emily:
I looked at him, confused. I guess I could understand why he wouldn't want his mother to know the gory details of what had happened, but something was off.

He hadnt asked her to bring us to the police station. Just him.

"Wait a second, you have to go to the hospital first," I argued. I didn't know what he was doing, but until I could figure it out, he wasnt going to the police station without me. I turned to his mother, hoping to appeal to some part of her that worried for him. She must have. She offered to call him a lawyer. "He has a nasty gash on his side that really needs to be looked at," I said.

Ashton:

“No. I don’t.” I looked at Em and shook my head. “Let me see it,” My mom said. I took a step back from her. If I went to the hospital with Emily, then my plan wouldn’t work.

“It’s just a scratch. I don’t need to go to the hospital. But Em does. She’s hurt pretty bad. Can you take her after you drop me off?” I asked my mom. She was staring at the two of us.

“Okay, but I’m calling your father first,” She said. She pulled her phone out and walked into the living room but still kept an eye on us.

I turned to Emily and put my hand gently on her shoulder pulling her back into the hallway. “Em, I’m going to talk to the police alone. Okay? I don’t want to drag you into this. You’ve gone through enough.”

Emily:
I was already shaking my head before he finished talking. "Why would you go without me? I saw even more than you did. You dont know what happened before you got there." I was still confused on why he needed to go alone.

"They're gonna need my testimony anyway. I killed that man," I whispered the last part and looked to make sure his mother wasn't in hearing distance.

"And I wasnt kidding, you really do need your side looked at," I said. "Please dont fight me, Ash," I sighed, feeling my shoulders slump. I could see the resolution on his face to go alone. "Please. I can't sit at the hospital without you, wondering whats going on at the police station. Please," I said. I grabbed his hand bit my lip. My voice went low so it would shake. "I cant do it Ash. Not after today. Just...please." I begged, losing track of how many times I said 'please'.

Ashton:

“No.” I looked away from her. I didn’t squeeze her hand back. “No, Em. You have to go to the hospital. Tell them that your boyfriend beat you up. That you ran away because you were scared. They’ll believe you. It happens all the time. They wont question you further.” I knew she would keep protesting so I continued quickly.

“Emily, I shot Ernie. Not you. I beat Justin half to death. I killed Mark. You weren’t involved in it. Okay? You’re just a girl who got into a relationship with a bad guy. He abused you. He hurt you. But you’re free now. You’re going to go to the hospital, and you’re going to be better. Okay?” I squeezed her hand gently now.

“I can’t do this if I know you’re going to get in trouble too. I can’t live with that. I really can’t. The only way I can go through with it is if I know you’re being taken care of. I need to know you’re safe. It has to happen this way.”

Emily:
I let him finish, mostly because I couldnt believe what I was hearing.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head. I ripped my hand away from him and took a step back. "I'm not doing that, Ash." I told him, trying and failing to keep my voice down. "Are you crazy? No. Not a chance!"

"God, has that been the plan this whole time? You're gonna take the fall for everything? And you thought I was going to go along with it?" I felt my body start shaking. I dont think I had ever been so mad and scared.

"If you thought for one second I was gonna help you do this...to tell anyone that you hurt me, to let you take the fall for what I did...." I trailed off and wiped an angry tear off my cheek. "I wont do it. I'll go to the police station myself and tell them exactly where to find the body of the man that I killed." I tried to lower my voice.

"I know who the bad guys are, Ash. You've spent weeks trying to convince me that you're a monster but now I know what monsters look like," I said, softly. Tears started falling again and held up my hands. I peeled back the bandage on my wrist and held it out. "A monster put these here." I whispered. "And these," I said, turning my arms to show the bruises. I lifted the front of my shirt to expose my ribs, which were getting more and more sore by the minute, to show those bruises. "And these," I continued, till my voice was just a mumble, pointing out a few more injuries.

I took a step forward and reached out a hand to his stomach and then very gently trailed my fingers to the top of the bandage that was underneath his shirt. "And this one too." I whispered.

"You didnt do any of that. And I'm not gonna let you take the fall for it. I just wont. You cant ask me to." I finished with a sniffle.

Ashton:

I stared at her. In my head I saw this going differently. I thought she would be scared and would go along with what I said. I thought she would be scared because I was scared. I didn’t know what to do now.

“I killed a man in cold blood. It wasn’t self-defense. I’m going to prison for that. I got you into this mess. I don’t want you to get in trouble for it too. You could go to jail for what you did. It was self-defense for you, but they have to prove that. You’re putting too much faith in the system if you think you’re completely safe. If you go along with what I’m saying then you’ll be free. You’ll be done with the whole matter. You won't constantly be reminded. You can move on. That’s not an option for me.” I didn’t know what else to say to her to make her agree. The thought that she would tell the police her side filled me with panic.

Emily:
"We can figure it out together. But I'm not going along with your stupid plan," I told him, hoping to leave no room for disagreement.

The thought of him going to prison was unacceptable to me. I wouldnt let him use me to help that outcome, now matter what else happens.

"You saved my life today and that has to count for something," I said, moving to turn away from him. All at once, the pain in my body doubled and then tripled and I gasped, grabbing my right side. It hurt so bad and it felt like I couldn't breath. "S-something is w-wrong," I whimpered, crumpling to the ground. I remembered a TV show where someone had a punctured lung. The pain that was described felt very similar to this. I just wished I could remember what I was supposed to do to make the pain stop.

Ashton:

I dropped to my knees next to her. “Em, what is it? What’s wrong?” I set my hand on her back but I was araid to touch her in any other way for fear of hurting her. “Mom! Somethings wrong!” I shouted to her.

My mom called an ambulance. None of this was going how I thought it would. I was terrified.

Emily:
I shook my head and gasped for breath. "I cant breathe..." I said. I felt my vision blurr from the pain and I reached my hand out for his, afraid I was going to lose consciences. "Please dont go...dont leave me"

Ashton:

“I’m not going to leave you, Emily. It’s going to be okay.” It took an agonizingly long time for the ambulance to arrive it seemed. They took me with her as they could see I was injured. I held her hand during the ride. When they questioned me I mumbled my replies. I couldn’t think of a lie to tell that would get us out of this situation.

Emily:
All I could see were red flashing lights and something was poking me in the arm and in the side. My whole body was still in pain but after a minute of the rushing sounds and flashing lights, my world went black.

------

When I woke up, everything was white. The sheets, the walls, the pillows, everything, white. I groaned at a dull throb in my head and looked around, noticing for the first time that I was alone. I groaned again as I tried to sit up.

Ashton:

I was about to be taken to the police station for my confession. The doctors had patched me up. I was just going to stop by Emily’s room once more before leaving. She had still been asleep the last couple times I saw her. If I was being honest, I hoped she would still be asleep this time. That I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to her. I opened the door.

Emily:
I was half way to a seating position when I heard the door open. I sighed in relief and sagged back down onto the bed. No need to go searching anymore, everything I was looking for just walking through the door.

"You look a lot better," I told him, my voice a little strained, like I had just finished screaming. Even through that, and the pain, I smiled at him.

Ashton:

“I’m going to the police station in a few minutes,” I said without preamble. “I just wanted to see you one more time before I went.” I moved to the foot of her bed. I had locked up everything inside. Now I was simply resigned. This was how it had to be.

Emily:
The smile melted off my face as I looked at him. He was serious. He wasn't going to stay no matter how hard I begged and cried or pleaded.

I took a shaky breath and exhaled hard enough to wince at the pain in my side. It didnt hurt nearly as much as it did to watch him stand in front of me like this.

"You said you weren't gonna leave me," was all I managed to get out without sobbing.

Ashton:

“I’ve said a lot of things, Emily. You should know not to trust me by now,” I said. I already felt dead. “I’m sorry for this. I’m sorry I got you into this mess, got you hurt. I never wanted that. I tried to leave before it came to this. I’m sorry I ever let things progress between us. It would have been so much better or you if I had never come into your life. I’m sorry…”

Emily:
"Shut up." I said, as soon as tears started falling from my eyes. "Just shut up! I dont wanna hear that my life would have been better or that you regret what we had." I swiped angrily at my cheek and regretted it. I must have a bruise there, because it hurt to touch. "So just shut up if thats all you want to say to me"

Ashton:

I stood there silently in front of her. I didn’t know how to make this easier for her. I didn’t know if I should make her hate me or if I should give her something to hold onto. It was a shitty situation and I had put us here. After a long minute of silence, I sighed. “What do you want from me Em? My hands are tied.”

Emily:
"You're the one tying them!" I yelled again and then lowered my voice. Last thing I needed was for a nurse to run in here.

"I want you to stop doing this. I want you to stay here and let me love you. You haven't, even after all this time, you never fully let me in." I told him, tears running down my face. "I just want you, thats it." I finished, completely exhausted.

Ashton:

“Even if I wanted to stay, I can’t. I have to tell the police what happened. Everything that happened. They aren’t going to let me go. You know that don’t you? There’s no way around it. It’s a done deal. It was always going to be this way. I should have turned myself in from the beginning. You deserved better,” I said and looked at the floor. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was the truth.

Emily:
"Oh so in that case you're gonna tell them that I killed Ernie, right?" I asked, sarcastically. Cause I already knew he had no intention of telling the whole truth.

"Cause if you wanna tell the truth, I'll have to march myself right into the police station with you. But thats not what you're proposing here, is it?"

Ashton:

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge on my nose. “I would rather not.” I sighed and dropped my hand. “I would rather you not get caught up in this more than you have to. It’s a bit late to say you had nothing to do with it. Not after I came into the hospital with you. So yes, I will have to tell the truth.”

Emily:
"So then let me come with you. I can vouch for you, tell my side of things..." I was grasping at straws here. I already knew exactly what was going to happen.

"You're giving up." I said, bit my lip hard. "I can see it on your face, you've totally given up."

Ashton:

“Yes,” I said. There was no question. I had given up. “I’m tired of this,” my throat tightened. “I’m tired of living like this. I’m tired of living with what I’ve done. I can’t do it anymore. Not after what happened tonight. I’m done, Emily. I’m just done.” I was defeated. It was for her that I was going to turn myself in instead of simply ending it all.

Emily:
I nodded and wiped tears that fell from my eyes with my hand. There wasn't anything I could do. It was a harsh reality. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to go on after the trauma of the past few days and then him leaving like this. I wasn't sure how to do it.

"I won't make it harder for you." I said. It was then that I knew I was giving up too. From day one, I had fought with everything in me, and here I was, giving up.

"Do what you have to do."