Ashley's nerves were on edge when she arrived outside Maddox's house. She had known from the address he given her he lived in an expensive area but the house she was staring at beyond the open gates was larger than she had expected.

She wasn't sure if the gates were open for her but she felt nervous driving her car into the property. She half expected to see Maddox appear but he didn't. She grabbed the notes she had brought for him before she got out her car.

She felt anxious and out of place. Where was he? Slowly, she approached the front door and knocked. She gripped the notes in her hand while she waited, her heart sped with anticipation.

The door opened and Maddox appeared with a smile that did nothing to calm her erratic heart. "You're here." He was barefoot dressed in faded jeans and a dark blue shirt.

For a moment she forgot to breath when the full force of his smile hit her. She nodded still clutching the notes in her hand. He ushered her inside and closed the door.

"Your notes." She offered them to him and he took them.

"Thanks." He looked through the notes. "This is great."

"Sure...it's fine...it was the least...I could have done." She blabbered on. Stop talking, she told herself.

"You didn't owe me anything." His voice swept over her tingling across her skin. His eyes held hers. It was difficult to breath when she had his full attention.

"Maddox," a girl's voice carried into the room just before a girl appeared. She was beautiful with perfectly straight dark black hair, deep crystal blue eyes, full red lipstick lips and flawless skin. She made Ashley feel every one of her shortcomings.

Ashley's smile faltered slightly. The girl smiled before playfully glaring at Maddox. "It's your turn."

The girl touched his arm like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Ashley could tell they were comfortable in each other's presence. She didn't like how that made her feel.

"I'll be there now." He shrugged. "We're playing snooker. You can join us if you want?"

The look the girl gave her was unmistakeable. Ashley was encroaching on her territory and she felt like an unwelcome third wheel.

"I-I have..." Her brain went blank and for a few seconds she couldn't come up with an excuse. They both watched as she tried to finish her sentence.

The doorbell went. She felt a moment of relief that their attention moved from her. Maddox stepped passed her to open the door.

"You owe me Mad," a girl with a short bob said shoving a notebook into his hands. Ashley recognised her straight away. Macy Hart. Ashley knew she hung out with Maddox and his friends sometimes in the cafeteria.

Ashley was very aware Macy had called him Mad. He had once told her that was what his friends called him. Ashley wasn't a friend. She was a pity case he was trying to fix.

She and the other girl watched as Macy entered the house.

"What's this?" he asked looking through the notebook.

"Hi," Macy said to Ashley and the other girl. Despite her greeting the coolness in her eyes spoke volumes.

Ashley didn't know what to think but all she knew was she wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"I made some extra notes for you."

Ashley was still reeling and hurt. Whatever she had been thinking or hoping might happen with Maddox had been foolish.

Here she was tied up in knots for a boy who seemed to be playing the field. Her throat burned and she knew she had to get out of there quickly.

"I got to go," she said, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'll see you around."

"You don't have to leave," Maddox tried to argue but Ashley shook her head, determined to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow." As she said the words she knew there was no way she was going to do this again. He could get the notes he needed from Macy or any other girl who rocked up on his doorstep.

She hurried out of the house and straight to her car. Her hands were shaking when she got inside her car and started it up.

"Stupid stupid girl," she muttered to herself. She was such an idiot to believe even for a second there might be something between them. She felt like such a fool. She reversed her car refusing to look at Maddox who had appeared just outside the front door.

That was it! She was done. She drove out of the property and breathed shakily as her anger grew. She wanted to be mad at Maddox. She laughed at the thought. Honestly, she was the one her anger should be directed at.

It was her who had developed a fascination with him. She tried to pinpoint exactly when it had happened but she came up blank. It didn't really matter because it wouldn't change how she felt. her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly while drove home as she tried to deal with the emotions overwhelming her.

For a moment she was so tempted to go straight to her spot where she could be alone to deal with it but her mom would cause a scene and after everything she didn't have the strength to deal with that as well.

Reluctantly she parked her car in driveway besides her dad's truck.

It was her own fault. She had wanted to bring Maddox the notes. It had been her need to see him that had made her suggest it to him.

It was then she realised she was no better than every other girl who threw themselves at him. She rubbed her face and sighed. For a while she sat in the car contemplating how she was going to handle Maddox for the foreseeable future. Ignoring him sounded like the best coarse of action.

She had to stop her infatuation with him. Nothing good could come from it. Just remembering Macy and the other girl at Maddox's house made her cheeks heat with embarrassment. She had allowed his actions to mean more than they did. She sat in her car a while feeling more despondent.

When she finally went inside she found her father nursing a glass of near whiskey at the kitchen counter. It was unusual for him to be home this early.

"Hi," she greeted him when she went to pour herself some orange juice.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to be home earlier." He was staring at the amber liquid in his glass.

She closed the fridge, holding the orange juice.

"I went round to a friends to drop some notes off." She reached for a glass from cupboards.

"Okay." The tone of his voice made her frown as she looked back at him over her shoulder.

He sighed. It was deep and heavy.

She stopped what she was doing and turned to give him her full attention.

"You're home early." And drinking but she kept herself from adding that.

He shrugged taking a gulp of his drink and wincing as he swallowed it. He was so deep in his thoughts she didn't immediately get a response from him.

"You know I was your age when I met your mom."

She rolled her eyes. She had heard the story of how they had become high school sweethearts so many times.

"We had been so in love." He smiled like he was deep in the memories of their beginnings.

There was no doubt that those feelings had turned to something entirely different over time.

"We believed we were meant to be together...I had never felt like that for any girl."

She had heard the story of the star quarterback falling for the new girl in senior year. They had gone on to have a whirlwind romance that had ended in marriage and baby just after they had graduated. Her mom had only been a year older than her when she had fallen pregnant with her. It had been unexpected but they had been too young and in love to understand the emotional and financial responsibility of having a child so young.

All their plans for the future had been out on hold when she had entered the world and they had been too busy being young parents to follow their dreams. Her father's parents had been so against their union they had refused to help and a rift that would last her lifetime had been started.

"But we were too young." When he murmured it she could see the haunted pain in his eyes and she wanted to reach out and soothe it. But she couldn't stop the spiral her parents were in.

"Love is supposed to conquer all," she whispered.

His eyes met hers and he smiled but there was no humour to it. "You know that's bullshit."

She shrugged. She had given up on the hope they would rediscover the traits that had pulled them together in the first place.

"Then what do you do now?" she asked, holding his gaze.

He sighed. "I don't know."

He drained the glass and set it down. She wanted to take away his pain but she couldn't. He left the kitchen and she stared after him.