《cherry flavoured》24
Advertisement
my hair, I turn the water to cold. My eyes fall shut, and my mind wanders to the moment I shared with Parker this morning. He makes my brain hurt. I feel like every time we take one step forward, he shoves me back, and I can't help but wonder why. It's frustrating not knowing whether he's going to be hot or cold towards me every time we interact.
I wrap my towel around me before drying my hair with a t-shirt. We're having dinner in tonight since Mr Ashford won't be back until later.
Once I'm dressed, wearing a black skirt, a black long sleeve crop and black socks, I run my fingers through my hair very briefly, letting it fall down my back.
I hear faint voices from down the hallway as I leave my room, skipping down the stairs and almost slipping on the wood. When I turn the corner, the only ones at the table are Margot and Jackson.
She glances up over her glasses, smiling. "Hello dear, you look stunning."
"Thank you," I laugh. "So do you Margot."
I take a seat at the end of the table, turning to Jackson.
"Hey Jack," I whisper, bringing his attention to me. "Do you wanna hang out tomorrow?"
He smiles, nodding. "Can we paint?"
"Most definitely." I hold my fist out and he bumps it, just as the boys walk in to the dining area.
James sits beside me, Neki opposite him and Parker opposite me. He looks at me briefly, before diverting his eyes.
A couple people in chef outfits appear at the table, putting a dish in front of each of us. It's one of the fanciest burgers I've ever seen, accompanied with fries in this special little tin-cup-bowl-holder thing.
Advertisement
"Jackson picked our meal tonight." Margot smiles, looking at her son.
Parker, smiles, ruffling his brothers hair. "Thank god."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Margot, narrows her eyes, but she's still smiling.
"Hm? Nothing." he raises his eyebrows, pushing a fry in his mouth.
I would've found it funny if he wasn't annoying me.
We're halfway through dinner, laughing about stories of the last time they visited here when they were a little younger, when the front door opens. Mr Ashford stumbles in, looking slightly disheveled. It's a far cry from his usual pristine look.
He smiles as he makes his way towards his wife, the first time I've seen him display any emotion in general since the day I started working for the Ashfords'. I glance at Parker, and his face is hard. Not an emotion behind his eyes. I see where he gets that stone cold look from now.
Mr Ashford ruffles Parker's hair, kissing Jackson on the top of the head before moving along to the end of the table.
"Hello my love," Mr Ashford chuckles as he leans in, kissing Margot on the lips.
She winces. "You're drunk Daniel." she says under her breath.
He picks up her burger, taking a bite before discarding it on the plate again.
"No I'm not," he brings her face closer with his hand, planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Please go to bed Daniel. I'll come and speak with you in a moment." Margot closes her eyes, letting out a short breath.
"I'm not going without you." he replies.
I watch as Margot studies her husbands face, her eyes landing on his neck. Her eyes brim with tears and she pushes herself to her feet.
"Mar, stop, where are you going?" he takes hold of her wrist.
Advertisement
"There is lipstick-" she snaps, before lowering her voice. "On your collar."
He struggles to look at it, and she pulls her arm from his.
He chuckles. "Darling, it's nothing."
Margot turns to leave again, but Mr Ashford grips her again. Parker's chair scrapes noisily as he stands to his feet, looking at his father. Neki and James stand after him.
"Let her go." Parker stands tall and his father glances in his direction.
"You're... hurting me Daniel." she breathes, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Let. her go." Parker takes a step towards him.
Mr Ashford laughs, dropping his wife's hand and turning to his son.
Before Neki gets the chance to hold him back, Parker takes two swift strides, lunging forward and slamming his fist into his father's jaw, knocking him to the floor. Margot screams as he climbs on top of him, striking him again as his friends move to stop him.
My eyes instantly go to Jackson, who is still sat at the table, watching. I stand up, making my way around and taking his hand.
"Come on Jack, let's go upstairs and get you ready for bed." I try to give him a reassuring smile.
I lead him away as he watches his mother, James and Neki try to pull Parker off his dad. He doesn't take his eyes off them until we're halfway up the stairs and his view is cut off.
Around ten minutes later, we're in the bathroom as I wash Jackson's hair silently. I can't even begin to think of what to say to him.
"Why was Parker hurting Daddy?" he asks, his voice small. I feel my heart break.
"Parker was just upset. He didn't mean to." I press my lips together.
"Is it because Daddy makes Mommy cry?"
My heart aches."What?"
"Sometimes, when I have nightmares I go to sleep in Mommy's room." he says, looking back at me. "She wipes her tears away when she sees me and says she's okay."
I bite the inside of my cheek as I try to push back the lump in my throat. I let out a short breath.
"Turn around buddy, I'm gonna rinse your hair now."
Advertisement
The Side Character Turned Villainess
Leia was a successful car salesperson who didn't care who she had to trample to climb up in the ranks. She was on top of the world.
8 2286The Forest Dark
Alexa González is alone. That’s fine. Following the sudden loss of her long-time gaming partner, Alexa has fallen back to old, nasty habits; namely, wielding her independent nature like a weapon. It’s one thing to be a solo player by choice. It’s another to be a pariah when the UI disappears, taking the logout button with it. Justin Hayes is not alone. That’s also fine. As a long-time streamer, Justin’s never played DUSKFALL without an audience to keep his attention off the demon-infested forests and brutal violence. But hastily chosen teammates in a world gone sideways can have more repercussions than a few bruised feelings. None of this is fine; not remotely. If either is going to survive, they can’t do it alone, they can’t do it lightly, and they have to figure it out soon... before it’s too late for either of them. Guaranteed Wednesday updates.Contains light LitRPG elements
8 95Just empty eye sockets: Eyeless Jack x Reader *completed*
Someone has recently been leaving notes in your room. Who is your stalker, and why are they stalking you? Is it safe to write back?
8 158MARRIED TO A GAY BILLIONAIRE (GAY SERIES#1)
fraser is a rich gay or should i say gay billionaire no one on his family known his peculiarity , in order for him to hide his identity even more, he needs a woman to pretend to be his wife.Chantal is a girl that all boys dream she's rich, she's beautiful, she's smart, she has a perfect sexy body but sad to say his boyfriend cheated on her, to temporarily relieve her problem she went to the bar to get wasted and after that she drove her car to her condo but an accident happened she crashed her car and the person inside that car is fraser "what have you done with my car!"-fraser"oh sorry i didn't mean to hit your car i'm just drunk"-chantal"pay for it pay for the damage or else i'm going to report you to police"-fraser"no! don't report me! is there other way para mabayaran yung damage? god daddy will mad at me if he knows it! yes we're rich but that's not my money! for god sake-chantal"you won't pay it then pretend to be my wife yan ang pangbayad mo sa nasira mo"- fraser"ok i agreed "-chantal...dahil sa kalasingan di na niya alam ang kanyang pinagsasabi at napangisi naman si fraser.Highest rank:#1- GayxGirl (1st of February 2021)#1- Gayseries (10th of February 2021)#1-Chantal (13th of November 2021)#1-Fraser (23rd of January 2022)
8 290Breathe Princess (Daryl Dixon Love Story)
Growing up with health problems in a normal world is hard, but it's even harder when medicine is lacking and people are pretty much gone. Annora has never found it easy to breathe, but a certain crossbow wielding redneck makes it just that little bit harder.
8 171Double Booked | 509 Series Book 1
Practice makes perfect, and when you're fighting to be the best in your sport that is especially true. Ryder and Francesca are no exception. They are dedicated to their sport and refuse to let anything distracted. But when a scheduling conflict forces the two to share the ice, staying focused becomes just a little harder.TW// mentions to abuse & scenes of verbal abuse Top Ranks:FigureSkating- #1Hockey- #8Ice- #1College- #7Sports- #4Athlete- #4Wattpad- #8SlowBuild- #6 RivalstoLover- #2UniversityofMichigan- #1CollegeRomance-#1Slowburn-#7College hockey-#1Lovestory- #14
8 180