THE DAY THE SKY TURNED BLACK

Ash was the first one to break their hug and Ali hated the fact that she lost Ash’s touch. She cleared her throat and distanced herself.

“We should probably go, you need to rest.” Ali picked up their stuff and reached out to grab Ash’s hand.”You can squeeze any time the pain becomes too much to bare.” She smiled and Ash took her hand.

“Thank you for driving me.” Ash started to walk, slowly, as Ali opened the door for her.

They reached the parking lot and drove off. The drive to Ash’s house was quiet because neither of them knew what to say. Ash didn’t really want to say anything because she was afraid that Ali might run away again and Ali knew she crossed the line and she couldn’t lose Ash again.

“Are you okay?” Ali asked when she saw Ash holding her shoulder.”I’ll be fine. Just feeling like crap.” Ash focused on the road in front of them.

“How can you be so calm?” Ali squeezed the steering wheel trying to suppress the tears.

“What do you mean?” Ash finally looked at her being obviously confused.”How am I supposed to react?” She focused on Ali who was parking in front of Ash’s house. She turned off the engine and looked at her lap.

“I am the reason that the accident happened and y-“ Ash tried to interrupt her.

“Ali you a-“

“No, let me explain!” Ali looked up and turned to Ashlyn.”If I didn’t do that thing I did, none of this would’ve happened!” She ran her hand through her hair.

Ash was silent for a moment. She knew what to ask but was afraid of Ali’s reaction.

Oh fuck it!

“The thing? You mean the kiss?” Ash searched for the answer in Ali’s eyes but she couldn’t find anything. Only guilt. Ali was blaming herself for what happened.

Ali avoided the question and got out of the car instead. After a few seconds she opened the passenger door and helped Ash get out. Ali took their stuff and they made their way to the house.

Ash wasn’t sure how to feel. Should she be happy that Ali didn’t answer or should she be worried that the kiss might mean something? Sure, Ash has had a crush on Ali since like forever, but Ali never did anything to show that she looked at Ash that way.

God, this is torture..

“Do you wanna take the shower first or do you wanna go to the hospital?” Ali interrupted Ash’s thoughts.

“I’ll just take the shower; I don’t wanna go to the hospital.” Ash answered, sadness visible in her eyes as she quickly tried to walk away to the bathroom but Ali grabbed her hand.

“Ali, please..” Ash begged on the verge of crying.”You know how much I care about you and all of this is too much for me..I can’t lose you again. I can’t. You are my best friend..” She couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

“Please don’t cry..I can’t stand you crying..”Ali wiped her tears and embraced her in a long hug placing Ash’s head on her chest.”I will never leave you again.”Now she was the one that was crying. They stood in the living room for a while, not even noticing how much time had passed.

Ali never looked at Ash as just her best friend, but as something more. She never told Ash about it because she was scared of rejection. Ash always had a girlfriend and never treated Ali as anything more that best friend. She never tried anything on her.

They both had feelings for each other and neither side knew about just how both sided it was.

“Go take a shower.” Ali said distancing herself and looking at the ground.

Ash didn’t try to comfort her because she knew that there was nothing she could do now. She made her way to the bathroom and closed the door.

Oh fuck..How am I supposed to take my clothes off? Shit.

She tried anyway but with every move she made it hurt a bit more. She had two choices. To ask Ali to come inside and help her or to shower in her clothes which she later figured was a bad idea since she would have to eventually take it off.

She tried to figure out another way but she couldn’t think of anything.

“Ali?” Ash called opening the door.

“What happened? Are you hurting?” Ali ran to the bathroom door and opened them fully so she could see Ash.

“No..umm..I-“Ash stuttered.”I need help.”

“Yeah, sure, anything!” Ali stated nodding her head.

“I can’t take my clothes off.” Ash looked away; she didn’t want to see Ali’s reaction.

Ali's eyes widened at the realization of what Ash said. She didn’t know what to do, she froze. When Ash finally looked at her and saw her frozen in front of her she decided to take back what she said. Maybe it’s better if she just calls Whit.

“Sorry, forget it. I will just call Whi-“

“No, I’ll do it. I mean..You are hurt and you need help, I’m your friend, I’ll do it. It’s no big deal, right?” Ali was quick to interrupt her when she saw that Ash was about to call it off.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to, really..” Ash felt terrible. She was in love with Ali and this wasn’t really helping the situation.

Ali closed the door and approached Ashlyn. She searched for the permission in Ash’s eyes and got it. Ash sat on the bathtub and tried to do it by herself once again but Ali stopped her. Slowly, she untied her shoes and took off her socks.  Ali told her to get up and Ash listened which led to Ali taking Ash’s shorts off. She was now standing in her tank top and boxers and felt so nervous.

Shit! I can’t do this.

Ali didn’t realize that she was starring at Ash until Ash cleared her throat.

“Sorry, I was just..I-I was-“This time Ali stuttered.

“Riiiight.” Ash teased her and Ali caught herself smiling more than she should.

“Do you want me to help you or not?” Ali warned her crossing her hands.

“Sorry.”Ash smiled and gestured her to continue.

“Can you raise your hands up for me?” Ali was so focused on the task that she didn’t see just how nervous Ash was until Ash sighed heavily. “Hey, what’s wrong? Does it hurt?” Ali asked.

“No, I’m just.. I’m-“Ash tried to find the right words.

“You’re ashamed.” Ali nodded feeling a bit offended. They knew each other for a very long time and Ali just wanted too much at this point probably. At least that’s what she thought.

“No! I mean.. A little bit, but it’s not because of you. It’s just that I..I don’t want to push you to do this if you don’t want to. I don’t want you to distance yourself from me after this..” Ash looked at the ground and covered herself with her hands.

“Hey..” Ali cupped Ash’s face and forced her to look at her eyes.”I won’t run away.” She unintentionally glanced at Ash’s lips and licked hers which Ash noticed.

“Okay. Do it.” Ash raised her hands up as much as she could and Ali took off her tank top. Her hand decided to caress Ash’s shoulder without her consent which left Ash in shock.

God she is beautiful..Jesus fuck Ali, stop!

She blinked a couple thousand times before focusing on the task. Slowly, she lowered herself a bit and took off her boxers. They looked at each other and time suddenly stopped. Ali didn’t dare to look any lower than Ash’s face; she was scared that maybe this time she won’t be able to restrain herself. Instead, she decided to leave. She really needed to drink. She needed to get this picture out of her mind.

“I should probably go.” Ali backed away and left before Ash got the chance to thank her.

She went to the local bar and drank almost a bottle of tequila. Alcohol never did her any good and she would always do something stupid, but this time she didn’t care. She needed to drown her feelings in that alcohol and just forget about how much she loves Ashlyn. As something more than a friend.

It was half past midnight. Ash managed to get out of the bathtub and put on her boxers and tank top. The warm water eased her pain a little bit and she was happy when she realized that this time she could get dressed without anyone’s help. It was a small step forward but it meant a lot to her. She decided to watch a horror movie since she couldn’t sleep.

Twenty minutes into the movie and someone is knocking on her door. She jumped and immediately regretted it when she felt the pain. She looked to the door.

“It’s either the  killer or..yeah, it’s the killer.” Ash said out loud, carefully getting up from the couch. She tried to look through the window but jumped again when knocking became louder.

“Someone is not really patient. When is that a good sign?” She took the baseball bat and decided to open anyway.

As soon as she opened; her eyes widened and she stood there in shock. It was Ali. Drunk Ali to be exact.

“Wha-What are you doing here? It’s late and-Shit, are you drunk?” She lowered the bat and stared at Ali.

“A little bit.” Ali smiled at her and licked her lips.”Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”

She entered the house without waiting for the invite.

“Sure, help yourself.” Ash laughed a little and closed the door behind her.

Ali threw herself on the couch and closed her eyes for a second. She immediately got up and walked to Ash.

“I have something to confess.” She got so close to Ash that she could feel her breath.

“Whatever it is, I think you should probably do it tomorrow when you are sober.” Ash supported a bit of Ali’s weight as she was about to lose her balance. They stood in the dark room, alone. The only light there was the one coming from the moon.

Even when she’s drunk, she is perfect..

Ash was restraining herself so much right now. Every part of her body told her that she should go for it, but she knew better than to take advantage of the situation. Instead, she hugged Ali. She wanted her close and this was the only way.

“Ash, I’m fine. I want to do this!” Ali giggled, cleared her throat and straightened her back.”Ash, I-..I wanted to tell you that-“ She sighed feeling really disappointed in herself.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Ash took her hand and Ali protested.

“I am supposed to be the one to take care of you, not the other way around!” Ali whined.

That made Ash laugh. She was so cute when she acted like a total child.

“Come on princess, there is a plenty of time for you to take care of me tomorrow!” Ash laughed and nudged Ali.

“But I really want to do you..I-I mean tell you. Yeah, tell you that..Uhh..Wait, tell you what?” Ali mumbled and as soon as they got to Ash’s room she fell on the bed. Ash took her shoes off and covered her.”Wait, where are you going?” Ali asked when she saw Ash leaving the room.

“I’ll sleep on the couch. If I’ll be able to.” Ash grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

“Close the door.” Ali demanded.

Ash slowly closed the door, feeling a little bit scared. She had never seen Ali like this.

“Ali.. You okay?” She managed to ask as Ali got up and walked to her.

“I won’t waste any more time.”