Hello Once again. I recognize that the last story of mine was a little.... Lacking, to put it kindly. So, I decided to go back to my roots a little bit. Now, I was told to include more visual cues as far as characters are concerned, but when the chips are down, Love isn't about looks, it's about the person under the make-up, behind the eyes, whether stormy grey or dark as night. The secrets hidden behind someone's eyes are what makes them, them.
So, I don't factor in looks.
Also, this is a fairly long story, anyone looking for a quickie might want to conside going elsewhere. Like I said, I'm going back to my roots. That means longer stories. As always, leave feedback, and tell me whether I should do more like this
Enjoy =D
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Tears are not bittersweet because of the acidic feeling while they fall, but because of the loving touch of the person who wipes them away"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination" Levictus Chapter 18, Verse 20.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
CHAPTER ONE: Feelings Re-Awakened.
'Goddamn it that hurt'
Ashley woke up with a throbbing headache and a pounding in her left arm. When she tried to move it, a sharp pain made her re-think her next move. She sat up and held her arm as it sent shooting pain all the way through her. She looked around at the trashed house.
She remembered exactly what happened; she had come home with her lover in tow to finally leave Charles' sorry ass. When he found out, well, let's just say 'apeshit' would be putting it lightly.
She wondered how the hell she had come to lying down on the floor of her own house waiting for Death to finally claim her....
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ashley was a Christian. Plain and simple. Devout and honest, kind and thoughtful. She always attended the meetings, Sundays had become a time to socialise with her 'freinds' in the community. But she harboured a secret. A dangerous secret. A secret that would destroy everything she stood for.
For ten years she had been in a loveless marriage. A marriage where her husband had become her dictator. A marriage of convenience, mostly to him than to her. A marriage where sex had become a chore. Her only savior was a bottle of Bourbon under her desk at work. Yes it was a sin, but wasn't everything about her? She was living a lie, Strike One.
She drank, Strike Two.
She was gay. Strike Three.
She shook her head to clear that last thought. She poured another glass, taking a sip and letting the liquid courage warm her inside. Ten years hadn't been fought in vain. She was over it. These feelings, unpure feelings, were halted. Weren't they? But, ten years of repression and abuse hadn't been kind to her. At least in her own eyes. No-one said she was beautiful anymore. Not even her husband.
All she got was daily chastening for making more money than him, for dinner being late, for her generally having a life. And if she did something wrong, well, let's just say she had the scars. Mental and physical.
She hated people like that. Abusive control freaks that thought they knew how she should live her life. She had got enough shit like that from that slut waiting just outside the door.
She shook her head. The bourbon had never acted so fast. Maybe it was just the culmination of the entire week's events. Having her husband hit her was bad enough, but taking shit from her PA, Kylie, and falling head over heels in love with her boss Jennifer, had taken their toll. She had bags under her eyes from endless hours lying awake in bed, trying both to untangle the knotted ball of complicated yarn that was her life, and trying to stop her 'beloved' husband from touching her. The thought of his hands on her body...
She shuddered and downed the entire glass of bourbon, contemplating pouring another glass. She felt a hot trail of tears fall down her cheek and quickly wiped them away. She had never given in before, why should now be any different? She thought herself stronger than that.
She stole a glance at the clook and cursed under her breath. It was nearly 5pm. It was nearly time to go home. She needed another drink before then.
She was about to pour another glass when the door opened and in stepped Kylie. She took one look at her smeared mascara, dishevelled hair, glass in hand and bottle in the other, and walked right out the door. A concieted smirk upon her face.
'Great' Ashley thought. 'That's probably me fired then. At least Charles will get his wish'
She sighed and set the bottle back under her desk along with the glass, and began packing her stuff. There wasn't much. A pencil, a sharpener, and a picture of her and her mother.
She let out a single tear at the thought of her mother. Charles hadn't exactly wanted reletives in close proximity. Probably so she couldn't run to someone she could trust when he hit her.
Now, she was stuck in this dead end job, dead end career, dead end life. Literally. If she didn't die very soon, either from a broken heart or a fatal blow from her husband, then she would be very surprised. Those fears of her husband losing control and killing her were very plausible. He came home drunk more than ever. Now that she was fired, he would never let her out of the house.
The door opened just as she finished putting the last object in her desk.
"Going somehwere Ashley?" She heard Kylie say with all the contempt she could muster, and Ashley had to grind her teeth and clench her fists to stop from punching her square in the mouth to shut her up.
She calmed herself. With all the self control she could muster. If she was violent, then how would she be any better than Charles?
She turned, and there was her boss, Jennifer. Looking so beautiful standing there with the light behind her, the golden yellow of it melding with her hair perfectly. Ashley's breath hitched, and even though she knew she was about to be fired, even though every ounce of her mind screamed at her to stop thinking these unpure thoughts, she couldn't help herself.
"Kylie, would you leave us for a minute?" she asked and Kylie smirked again, walking out of the door and closing it behind her with another glance at Ashley.
She didn't notice, Ashley was too busy revlling in her silk voice. Focussing her self control on not smacking Kylie upside her head, she hadn't expected to nearly lose it when Jennifer spoke.
"Ashley" she said, concern in her voice, and Ashley just nodded. It was all she could do at the time.
"Kylie tells me you were drinking again" she said, sitting down across her desk and motioning her to do the same.
Ashley nodded, refusing to let the tears come as she felt them, hot behind her eyes.
"Would you like to tell me why?" she asked softly, so softly that Ashley barely heard her. Ashley watched her smooth the creases out of her business suit.
Ashley shook her head, both to calm her raging imagination about what lay under that dress, and to answer Jennifer's question. Jennifer sighed, leaning forward. "Ashley, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" she asked and Ashley nodded quickly, Jennifer smiled. "So, why were you drinking on the job again?"
Ashley shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I just" she said, then trying again. "I needed a pick-me-up" she said, her voice breaking slightly, the first time, unable to meet Jennifer's probing brown eyes.
"Okay" she said with a smile, Before she glanced at the underside of the desk.
