Maddox made a move to step closer but Ashley stopped him. She didn't want a scene.

"He'll use you and when he gets bored he'll break your heart. And I'll be there to watch it happen. Remember what goes around comes around."

He was probably right but she didn't think she could stop it even with the knowledge that Maddox wasn't boyfriend material. He would break her heart, it was inevitable.

"You better leave before I forget I'm supposed to be a gentleman tonight," Maddox told him, his voice deadly.

Logan gave him one long disgusted look and he stormed off.

Ashley stood still reeling. Her earlier carefree mood was gone and was replaced by the knowledge she had been so thoughtless to someone she was supposed to care about. She didn't like how that made her feel. She watched Logan's retreating form feeling like the worst kind of person.

"You okay?" Maddox turned her to face him. His eyes searched hers.

"Did you know he was here?" she asked, feeling exposed and vulnerable.

"And what if I did?" he asked. His eyes defiant.

She had to know if this had been his intention. But it wasn't like she could put all the blame on him. She had agreed to come here, it wasn't like he had dragged her against her will.

She remembered Logan talking about a party had not even thought about the possibility that this was the party he had been talking about.

"Is that was this was all about?" she asked, not liking the idea that this could have been part of his plan. What she couldn't figure out was why? "You think this is some joke?"

"That's not-" He began to say.

"-this is my life. You don't get to come in and wreck it."

"That's what I'm trying to get you to see." His hands enclosed her arms. Her gaze was fixed on the fierceness in his features. "Real life isn't what we plan. It isn't perfectly laid out. If you're living it right it's a mess but at least you feel something."

She didn't know what to say. He shook her gently.

"You're dying inside. You need to feel like you're heart is still beating. It's why you stand on the edge trying to get a rush."

She shook her head, not liking how close he was getting to her. She was like an open book to him, free for him to read.

"Deny it all you want but you know it's true." He released her, she was still suspended in his words.

"So you orchestrated this?" she asked, feeling like she had been played. Subconsciously she rubbed her arms that still felt the grip of his hold.

"Ask yourself if you're really upset about this?" He paused. "Does your heart feel like it has been wretched from your chest? It doesn't, does it?"

She couldn't look at him. He was right. She felt guilty, not heartbroken. She bit her lip unable to admit the truth to him.

"Exactly. And that's why it wouldn't have worked out anyway. It was just a matter of time before it disintegrated. This just sped things up. In the long run it was better for the both of you. Who knows how long you would have strung him along."

She hated how he could read her better than some of the people she was closest to.

He shook his head. "Honestly, I didn't know he was here. I was out back with Jasper and Leigh."

"How do I know if you're telling the truth?" She studied him suspiciously.

"If I wanted you a boyfriend wouldn't have stopped me," he replied shrugging his shoulders. Was he that confident in his ability to get any girl he wanted? She didn't like how that made her feel.

The meaning of his words sunk in. It felt like her chest was hollowed out.

"Honestly, I just wanted to get you out so you could let loose a little. You're too tightly wound." He shoved his hands into his jeans.

She was feeling emotional and raw. She didn't now if it was the situation or the alcohol that was making her feel so sensitive but she couldn't do it with an audience. "I want to go home."

He got his phone out as she followed him to his car.

"Jasper...yeah I'm taking Ash home." He let out a sigh. "Enough." He ended the call.

She remained quiet and subdued all the way home. She had felt something between them and had been convinced he had felt something as well. But she had been wrong. He had a reputation with the girls but that did nothing to weaken how she felt. He was addictive and every moment she spent with him she wanted more.

When he pulled outside her house he surprised her but switching off his car to walk her to her front door.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she tried to open her front door with her key but she struggled to slot it into the lock.

"Let me," he took the key from her and unlocked the door.

He opened the door and returned the keys to her hand. She gripped them avoiding looking at him directly. Him admitting nothing would stop him if he wanted her still stung too much to try and play it cool. She wanted to get away from him as fast as possible before he saw what she didn't want anyone to know.

"Thanks Maddox." She entered her house and made the move to close the door but he stopped her.

"My friends call me Mad." Their eyes met. He was letting her in but she was too hurt to play along. She needed him to know she was pissed off with him even if he didn't completely understand why.

"Goodbye Maddox." She made a point of using his full name before she closed the door making her message clear that she didn't want to be his friend.

Exhausted, she closed her eyes for a few seconds wondering how things in her life could have changed so quickly in such a short space of time. Maddox had done this to her. If he hadn't found her standing on the ledge, none of this would have happened.

The house was dark except for a small lamp on the table by the front door. She dropped her keys onto the table and made a move to trudge up the stairs.

"Is this the time to come home?" her mom asked from the top of the stairs with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping against the floor. She was dressed in a dressing gown. How long had she been up waiting for her?

"I worked and then I went to a party," she explained as she climbed the stairs until she reached the landing.

"I was worried." Her mom was angry. "No phone call to tell me where you were. Nothing."

Ashley let out a heavy sigh. "I thought you and dad would be too busy fighting."

Her mothers hand swung and connected with the side of her face. Ashley was stunned, her cheek stung and she put her hand to her throbbing face.

"I'm your mother and you don't speak to me like that." Her mom was livid.

Ashley gave her a resentful look before she stormed past her.

"We'll take about this tomorrow," her mother warned before Ashley slammed her door and leaned against it.

It felt like she was being tested in every aspect of her life. Her parents had never been around to care what time she got home or to worry about where she was. They were usually too busy fighting to care about where she was or what she was doing. It confused her as to why all of a sudden they wanted to play the worried parent. It didn't sit well with her.

Her cheek still stung and she went into her bathroom to survey the red mark her mom had left on her face. She felt angry, frustrated and annoyed. her eyes stung and she blinked back the tears. She wouldn't cry. She had gotten over the fact that her parents were too selfish to care about her.

Usually they left her to her own devices. Why tonight did her mother decide she cared? She scoffed. As if.

She studied the red handmark on her cheek hoping it wouldn't leave a mark. It was the cherry on the top of a horrendous night.

At least she had another shift at the diner tomorrow and then she had plans to go to the mall with Sally and Diane. After tonight she needed some time with her friends. No more Maddox if she had her way. He was too much trouble and in the short time he had taken an interest in her life he had messed things up so bad.