Heat

Chapter 24

Ashley, her mom, and Roger were on their way to the hospital. Neither of them said a word and the Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

tense around them was thick and suffocating. Ashley was still silently crying in the back as she could

only imagine what Jay’s brother could’ve possibly done for Jake to end up in the hospital. She knew

this would’ve happened, but no one listened to her.

Katie slightly turned to check on her daughter. She was still very worried about Ashley’s condition and

to see how worked up she was getting over Jake’s incident made her more worried. Everyone was

worried about Jake, but for some reason, Katie felt guilty and maybe it was because she was viewed

as a home wreaker, not only by the child of her husband but by the mother of his child.

Katie couldn't even imagine what Jake’s mother had to go through when she received a call from

someone saying that her child was in the hospital for almost being beaten to death. If she was in Jake’s

mother’s position, no thought of how she would’ve reacted came to her mind. She just hoped that Jake

would be fine and have a speedy recovery and that he gets justice.

Roger was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. He was sad, angry, nervous, scared, and guilty. He had

completely failed as a father and not only did he hear it but he has seen it as well, himself. Jake’s

incident really opened his eyes, but he hopes and prays it wasn’t too late and that his son doesn’t

permanently hate him.

As Roger continued to drive while trying his best to not lose focus and crash until a small hand was

placed on his left thigh giving it a gentle squeeze. His nerves slightly calm down as he quickly glances

at his wife, who smiled gently at him. “Everything is going to be alright, my love,” she mouthed as he

sent her a small smile before refocusing on the road.

Soon everyone arrived at the hospital. Ashley took a deep breath while wiping her tears before exiting

the car. Her mother silently came beside her pulling her side into hers while wrapping her arm around

her waist. A reassuring smile was plastered on Katie’s lips as she petted her daughter’s hair.

They walked towards the entrance of the hospital with Roger leading. As they entered the hospital,

Ashley looked around at the people, who had both worried, relieved, and scared look on their faces.

Roger walked up to the front desk with the girls close behind. The nurse looked up from her paperwork

and smile calmingly at Roger, who seemed anxious. “Hello, good night, sir, how may I help you?” She

asked as Roger forced the saliva down his throat before speaking, “My son was brought to the hospital,

I’d like to see him,” he said as the nurse furrowed before reaching for a clipboard, “And what’s your

son’s name, sir?” She asked flipping a few pages, “Jake Stephen James,” he replied as the nurse

began searching for the name before smiling at Roger, “Your son is in room 158, but we only allowed 1

visitor at a time,” she said noticing Ashley and Katie behind, sending them a gentle smile, which Katie

responded to with a small smile.

The nurse took a glance at Ashley, who seemed weaker and paler. Her eyes were focused on the floor

as she clenched her mother’s arm. “Mrs, may I ask if the young lady is alright, she looks very pale?”

The nurse asked catching Ashley's attention as she smiled weakly at the nurse, “I’m fine,” Ashley

replied as the nurse tilted her head not really buying Ashley assurance, “Are you sure?” She asked as

Ashley nodded, “Yeah, I just really want to see my step-brother,” she said as the nurse sent her a small

fake smile, “Alright then, hope everything goes well,” she said before they left to Jake’s room.

Roger stopped in the corridor causing the girls to stop as well, “Um- I’ll go first,” he said as Katie

nodded, “Ok, Ash will go after and I’ll just stay here,” she said as Roger looked at her with guilt in his

eyes before nodding, “I’ll be right back,” he said before leaving.

Ashley and her mother sat on the beach in the corridor. "Why didn't you tell the nurse you weren't

feeling very well, Ash, she could've helped," her mother said as Ashley sighed, "I need to see if Jake's

alright and I'm not going to let the simple flu stop me from doing so," she replied as her mother sighed,

"Alright, well, since we're waiting, how about you tell me why Jake's in the predicament in the first

place?" She asked as Ashley licked her chapped lips, "Well, you remembered Jay, right?" She asked

as her mother nodded, "Well, I really liked Jay and I thought he was different, so I started going out with

him," she said as her mother's eyebrows raised, "You went out with him, I thought it was a one-time

thing?" She asked as Ashley shook her head, "No, we went out a couple of times, and Jake wasn't

really please with that, he kept trying to tell what a snake Jay really was and I didn't listen and

continued to let Jay in," She said as her mother's eyes widened.

"You had sex with him, Ashley?" She exclaimed as Ashley's eyes widened, "No, mom, god no," she

said as her mother sighed in relief before raising her hands in the air, "Oh thank, the lord," she

mumbled as Ashley rolled her eyes, "Are you done, mom?" She asked as her mom surrendered with

her hands in front of her chest, "Sorry, honey, please continued," she said as Ashley playfully rolled her

eyes, "One day, Jay took me out to eat at Aunty Jackie's, it was the day after Jake and I decided to be

more considerate about each other's feeling and be more open with each other and he wasn't happy

about me going out with Jay, after eating at the diner, Jay dropped me home and I asked him if he was

going to call me tonight, but he said that he will be busy tonight so I brushed it off," she said getting a

bit emotional.

"He lied to you, didn't he?" Katie asked as Ashley nodded, "There was this party that Anna's cousin,

who hates me by the way, she threw the party," she said as her mother furrowed, "Why does Anna's

cousin hate you?" She asked as Ashley scoffed, "Apparently she likes Jake, and with me being the

step-sister, she thought that I would prevent Jake from seeing her and apparently Anna felt the same

way because she was helping her cousin plot against me," she said as her mother's eyes widened.

"Was that problem going on between you and Anna, that Jake was talking about that night?" She

asked as Ashley nodded, "Yeah, the night of the party, I got a call from someone saying that Jake was

drunk and making a scene, so I went down to get him to only find Anna and Jay's tongue down each

other's throat," she said as her breath came out shaky before her mother softly petted her hair, "I'm so

sorry, my love," she said trying to comfort her daughter as best as she can.

"Jake's been there for me all this time until we went down to Aunty Jackie's, where Jake and Jay fought

because Jay wouldn't leave me alone," she said wiping away her tears before looking right into her

mother's eyes, "Mom, do you think I could've prevented this, I mean I tried to tell him, but-

"Ashley, Ashley, there was no way you could've prevented this okay, so stop blaming yourself," her

mother said as Ashley nodded before Katie brought her in her arms. Minutes later, Roger came out

while wiping his face, his eyes and nose were red and he looked completely miserable. Katie and

Ashley stood up as he approached them, "Honey, is everything alright?" Katie asked but Roger ignored

her words and look right at Ashley, "He wants to see you," he mumbled before taking a seat on the

bench. Ashley turned to her mom sort of asking for permission as she was nervous, "Go on ahead,

sweetheart, we'll be right out here," she said as Ashley nodded before walking towards Jake's room.

Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt lightheaded, her palms were sweaty, and she found it

somewhat difficult to swallow. Standing in front of the door, she took a deep breath before opening it,

but that was the biggest mistake that she could've ever done because the next thing she saw was

darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED...