Ashley Davies only had a restless forty-five minutes of sleep before she finally slipped out of her uncomfortable cot and quickly got dressed. Instinctually she looked over at the clock beside Spencer’s bed and rolled her eyes when she realized, of course, the power was still out.

While trying to find sleep, the brunette thought of her next move. She couldn’t stay with the Carlins any longer; it hurt too much.

When Paula Carlin died, Ashley mourned for her as though she lost her own mother. And part of her still thought of the older blonde as a mother. After hearing Marie’s comments, however, a very big fraction of Ashley died. Her father was dead, her mother had abandoned her. And now she finds out that Paula never really liked her, and worse, Arthur went along with Marie’s plea that Spencer stay away from her. Arthur Carlin: the only person Ashley really thought was there for her besides Aiden.

With a deep sigh and one last look at the sleeping blonde, Ashley quietly opened the bedroom door and exited the house as swiftly as possible.

It was still dark outside, just after five in the morning, and with great effort, Ashley started her trek. She would go to the ATM at the all-night Quick-Mart. She would take what little money she had and be outside the garage where her car was held prisoner as soon as they opened. She would get a new tire which would give her freedom.

As much as she hated the idea, she would go back to her isolated existence at her empty house and pray that no one came looking for her. She would not, under any circumstances, think of the kiss. She would not, under any circumstances, think of the blonde. She couldn’t. Because at this point in time, she had exactly three pieces of her heart intact, and if another piece were to break off, she didn’t know if she could stand it.

Aiden had always looked out for her, he’d always been there. And although she thought the green-eyed boy was complete moron (on the best of days), and she wasn’t pleased with him for giving in to Sasha, he was like a brother to Ashley, and she couldn’t lose someone else. He was the only constant in her life.