Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud.
...
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Try as she might, Ashlyn couldn't find the words to answer. At least not the words he would accept.
She shifted uncomfortably beside Zion, wishing she could burrow deeper into the blanket. She shouldn't have left the letter on the bench. It should have been discarded like the last six monthly letters she'd received, courtesy of her mother's recommendations. But in her rush to get to Derek's, she'd left the open mail on the counter.
Not that she'd known Zion or her mother would be visiting.
Her head whipped in Zion's direction, her back straightening. Mom. Had she seen the letter too? Zion shook his head no upon reading her expression.
"I threw it out before she could see." Ashlyn's shoulders relaxed. At least she didn't know.
Zion bent one of his legs and drew it towards his chest. Leaning his arm against his knee, he shifted his weight to focus his gaze on Ashlyn.
"Why did you stop going, Ash?" Against the darkened sky, she could still make out the concern in his expression by the crease in his forehead and the angle of his head.
Ashlyn looked down at her hands, her fingers worrying the material of the blanket. She couldn't look at him when he was watching her that way. It would only make her feel guilty, and she refused to feel any more guilty about this.
I don't need to go. There is nothing they can do for me, she signed. Though she didn't look up or make eye contact, she knew Zion saw her answer.
She heard him sigh. While he didn't voice his concerns in the same manner as her mother, Ashlyn knew that Zion still worried for her, but he also respected her choices, for which she'd always been thankful. She would have hated to see him change his stance now. Therapy was one thing he had always stood by thanks to his own experiences with it.
"Ash—"
Stop, please. Don't make me feel bad about the choice I made. She turned on him with pleading eyes, the needs of her heart carved into her face.
She'd thought long and hard, weighing up all the pros and cons before she had made her choice. She earnestly believed that it had been the right choice. And still did. She had thought that she would have had more time before she would have to tell anyone. Especially Zion.
I can't lose you over this, please. I—Ashlyn's trail of words was cut off when Zion pulled her into his arms, his arms enveloping her in a tight squeeze.
"Nothing you could do would ever push me away," Zion spoke, his lips against the top of her head. Ashlyn tucked her head against his chest, one ear listening to the sound of his heartbeat, the other taking in the gentle lapping of the waves at the foot of the cliff.
Avoiding the ocean was comfortable most of the time, but as difficult as it was, and as much as it hurt at times, she needed the people she held close. Just the thought of letting any of them down would break her.
