Chapter 9- Justin's P.O.V.

Well, it’s been a few weeks since Tony showed up and the good news it he hasn’t shown his face since. The bad news, you ask? Ashlynn is terrified to even step foot in her own home and she hasn’t been to work in weeks. The company told her she could stay out as long as she needed to get herself back together and that’s exactly what she needs. She’s been so fragile and just plain weak lately and in all honesty, it scares me. Now I know that she has a tendency to be shy and all but Ashlynn is a very strong, independent woman. I would have never imagined that she could break to the point that she has these past few weeks. But I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. She needs me and until she’s back on her feet, I’ll be right by her side.

That prick pisses me the fuck off. Who in the fuck does he think he is coming back into her life like this? Fuck, if I could get close to him right now, I’d probably kill him. It also pisses me off that he has my baby afraid to walk into her own home. I’ve had to go over there and get her clothes and things because she’s been staying with me, although it’s not all that bad. If this were under different circumstances, I might have brought up us maybe moving in together. But, since the situation is fucked up, I won’t say anything until the air is clear and we are Tony free. She does come with me when I have to go to work, I think she enjoys it a little more than I do. I think it’s because she feels safe when she’s around Trace and I, I don’t know.

Right now, Trace, Ashlynn and I are walking back to the shop because we have just finished lunch. We walk in through the open bays where some of our employees are hard at work and Ashlynn walks back into the office. Trace gets called over to help someone out and I follow Ashlynn back into the office. I shut the door and the walk over to where she has planted herself on my desk.

“Hey.” I say placing a soft kiss on her lips.

“Hi.”

“How are you?”

She sighs, “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

She nods her pretty head again and gives me a soft smile. I think she’s okay, I really do. She’s not as great as she used to be but I can see her building up her confidence again as the days go by. Maybe things are getting back to normal. Just then, Trace opens the door and leans against the frame, “Are ya’ll busy?” He asks with that damn smirk on his face.

“No, what do you need man?” I ask.

“We need a part for the Lexus IS and I think we can get them one from the Merlin’s down the street but I need someone to go down and get it for me.”

“I’ll get it.” Ashlynn says getting down from the desk and walking towards Trace.

“Are you sure? If you guys are busy I can-“

“Trace, just shut up and give me the money.” She says holding out her hand.

Trace digs in his pocket and pulls out some cash and he tells her what part to get. She blows me a kiss and I watch as all my male workers stop to admire that basketball booty she has. I have to tell her about wearing that tight shit when she comes into work with me. I don’t want these greasy dudes staring at my lady. Trace and I walk back into the bay area and make small talk for about ten to fifteen minutes. Just then, a tall black guy in a pair of khaki shorts and a Polo shirt walks in and looks over the place. He looks over at me, smiles a little and then approaches me.

“Hey, what can I help you with?” I ask while taking the hand that he extends to me.

“Nothing much. You don’t know me but I used to be friends with someone that you know.” He says while taking off his sunglasses and hanging them off of the collar of his Polo.

“Umm, I’m not sure who you’re talking about.”

“I think you do. She is very special to me and I need to talk to her.”

I shift my weight from my left leg to my right and chuckle a little, “Are you talking about Maggie?”

“No, I’m talking about your girl.” He says while cracking his knuckles and then staring back at me.

“Oh, you mean Ashlynn?”

“Yeah.” He says curtly.

“Well, um, she’s not here right now but she’ll be back soon. Can I ask how you know her?”

He laughs, “We used to date in college.”

They used to date in college? I didn’t know that she dated anyone other than… holy shit. My body tenses up like you won’t believe and I stare into the eyes of the man that caused so much pain in Ashlynn’s life. He notices the change in my demeanor and his cheesy smile widens as he realizes that I know who he is. My fists ball at my sides and mind totally shuts down as my vision goes red.

“What in the fuck do you want?” I breathe out through clenched teeth.

“Dude, what the hell is your problem?” Trace asks.

“Shut up Trace. Answer my question.” I ask the prick.

His smile never wavers as he answers, “Listen here, white boy. Ashlynn will forever belong to me. She is my girl and you are not going to stand in my way. She loves me and we are going to be together.”

“You are sadly mistaken fuck face. Ashlynn told me all about your sick ass and I will do everything in my power to keep you away from her.”

“Oh, don’t act like some damn hero okay? You don’t want this.” He steps closer to me.

“Oh yeah? What in the fuck are you gonna do?” I ask getting centimeters from his face.

“Don’t test me white boy. Mess with the bull, you’ll get the horns.”

“Back up man.” Trace said stepping in between Tony and I.

Tony places his shades back up to his eyes, “This is not the last that you’ve seen of me whitey. You had better watch her like a hawk or one day, she might not come home.” And with that, he walks out of the shop, jumps into his Porsche and speeds off into the L.A. traffic.

Just then Ashlynn walks in through the back of the shop, “Hey, I’ve got the-“

She looks at me and her eyes fill with worry, “What happened?” She asks.

I’m so furious right now, I can barely see straight. I feel her come over to me and she rubs her hands up and down my biceps and it calms me some what, “Baby, what happened? Please tell me.”

I look at her but then turn to Trace, “Man, I’ve gotta go. I can’t…I’m too upset to stay here.”

“That’s fine Justin. I can handle it, but don’t do anything stupid.”

“Why would you do something stupid? Justin please tell me what’s going on.”

I grab her by the wrist and drag her out to the Mustang and literally throw her into the passenger’s seat. I take off without looking to see if any traffic was coming and merge on the highway. I’ve never been one to follow the speed limit and today was just one of those days.

“Justin, slow down. Are you trying to get us killed?”

I don’t answer her, I just speed up even more as my mind rethinks what happened at the shop, “Justin, slow down! You are going to get a ticket. What is the matter?”

I don’t respond, “Justin, I asked you a question. What happened while I was gone?”

“Nothing, alright? Just, be quiet for a minute.”

“Don’t tell me to be quiet and something happened.”

“Ashlynn, I am not in the mood to hear your lip right now okay? Just back off.” I grip the steering wheel harder.

“I want to know what happened. Why won’t you just-“

“I said shut up! I obviously don’t want to fucking tell you what the fuck happened so just shut the fuck up and get off of my fucking back!” I scream but instantly regret it.

I see her literally shrink back into her seat and she crosses her arms over her chest. She turns her head and looks out the window and I hear her sniffle softly. It’s silent for the rest of the trip and as soon as I pull into my driveway, she gets out of the car and starts to walk across the lawn and crosses the street to go into her house.

“Ashlynn, wait.” I jog after her and catch her arm just as she’s about to walk through her front door, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any of that stuff that I said.”

“I don’t care, let go of me.” She won’t look at me.

She’s shaking violently, “Ashlynn please-“

“Just leave me alone.” She starts to fight against me.

“Baby.”

“No, just let me go!” She tugs free of my grasp and runs through the threshold and slams the door in my face.

I hang my head and turn to walk back to my place but stop when Tony’s words replay through my head.

You had better watch her like a hawk or one day, she might not come home.

I refuse to let that happen. I walk back up to the door and reach up to her lantern to retrieve the spare key. I unlock the front door and look around the sun-lit living room and into the kitchen. Not finding her, I take the stairs two at a time and stop at her closed bedroom door. I hear her sob from inside and curse myself out loud. I place my own trembling hand on the door knob and am surprised to find it open. I open it slowly and walk into her bedroom to see her on the floor, next to her bed, with her knees tucked up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. I fall to my knees and crawl over to her and collect her up into my arms and kiss her forehead.

“I’m sorry.” She whispers hoarsely.

“Don’t say that, you have nothing to be sorry about. This is my fault baby. Don’t be sorry.” I kiss her again.

We sit silent for a while, “Why were you so upset earlier?” She asks.

I really don’t want to tell her. If I tell her that Tony was there, she would break into a million pieces and I don’t think I’d be able to put her back together. I can’t tell her that he was there, it would just freak her out that he knew where I work and I don’t want her to worry her pretty little head about this. No, I won’t tell her, I can’t.

“Somebody that I knew a long time ago came in and started some shit, that’s all.”

“Who was it?” She asks burying her face into my chest even more.

“You remember how I told about that guy that slept my ex slept with a few years ago? It was him, he was being an asshole.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, so there’s no need to worry that head of yours.”

The rest of the afternoon was pretty lazy. We didn’t really do anything but take a swim and then watch movies over at my crib until night fall and now she’s asleep against my chest. I can’t sleep though, my mind is racing. I adjust the pillow beneath my head but it doesn’t help me get comfortable and I can pretty much forget about sleep for now. That prick Tony has got me all wound up and shit and I don’t even know why. Maybe it’s because I know his threats aren’t empty. He did find Ashlynn again after all of these years and you have to be pretty fucked up in the head to track someone down like that. I hug her closer to my body and pull some of the covers up over her bare shoulders.

I won’t let him hurt her. Fuck him.

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