All Ashley managed was a mumbled a sorry but other than that she stayed quiet. She was upset and mortified that she had forgotten something so important. Her sole plan was to make enough money so she could move out and she had completely forgotten about it as soon as Maddox stepped into her path.

What was wrong with her?

As soon as Maddox stopped in front of the diner she made a move to get out of his car and hurry inside but Maddox stopped Her.

"Call me when you're done."

"You don't have to. I could get my mom to pick me up."

"I'm offering. Call me."

She nodded before she got out and closed the door before racing inside the diner.

Jerry was red face bulging mad by the time she made it inside. "Next time you're late I'm going to dock your pay."

"I won't be late again."

She went to get ready. She had never forgotten a shift before, not once in the six months she had been working here.

She spent the next few hours trying to concentrate on the job that was going to give her the freedom she needed and not in the guy who made her think of nothing else.

It was only when it neared closing time did have time to think about how being with Maddox had made her forget about her responsibilities.

All she could do was promise herself it would never happen again, she wouldn't allow herself to get into this situation ever again. She had to get away from the toxic environment before it stripped her of every positive emotion she still possessed. It was about her survival.

She paced in the staff room when she called Maddox. Speaking to him always made her nervous.

"You finished?" he asked when he picked up.

"Yeah."

"I'll be there in ten."

"Thanks."

She managed to finish up and she was waiting outside when Maddox arrived. She got into the passenger side as her heart raced.

"How was it?" He was trying to make conversation but she wasn't in the mood to talk.

All she wanted was to go home.

"Fine," she replied tightly. But she couldn't leave it at that. "Look I'm sorry for...messing you around."

"It's fine." He shrugged. "You forgot. It happens."

But that was the thing she didn't forget things like this.

He backed out the parking in front of the diner and turned into the road.

It was difficult to read him. Had he invited another girl over when she hadn't been able to hang out? That thought twisted her stomach.

"How often do you work at the diner?" he asked conversationally.

"Some Friday nights and weekends."

Her parents had refused to allow her to work on school nights and with all the homework she had to do it just wasn't feasible.

"I hope you weren't too bored waiting for me." It was her way of fishing for information on what he had being doing while she had been working.

"I would have preferred your company but no I wasn't bored."

What did that mean? She tried to soothe over her features so he wouldn't be able to read her so easily. All she needed again was for him to bring up the jealously thing again.

"When aren't you working this weekend?"

Even though she tried to work most weekends it was rare for her to get every shift so she was only working Saturday morning and Sunday morning.

"Why are you asking?"

He sighed. "Don't make this difficult."

"I don't understand what you mean."

He pulled the car over to the side of the road, killed the engine and turned to face her. The full force of his attention on her made her heart skip a beat.

"I like you."

"Like a friend?" she asked cautiously. She both wanted to hear that he liked her more than a friend but there was a part of her that didn't want there to be a way for something more serious to develop between them.

"No, not like a friend." The light from the street light we were parked under revealed his smile and her insides went mushy.

"But you said that thing at the party." This was her chance to figure out why he was saying one thing and doing something else entirely.

"I was ticked off that you were accusing me of trying to break you and Logan up. If I had admitted any interest in you it would have been more difficult for you to have accepted the truth."

She continued to stare at him trying to make sense of everything.

"Say something." And for the first time she saw his nervousness and it pulled at something inside of her.

"What about the other girls?"

"What other girls?" He raised an eyebrow.

She gave him a 'are you kidding me' look.

"The girls at your house."

"Macy is just a friend who brought some notes because I missed school and Sasha's is the daughter of her mom's best friend so we've practically grown up together. She stopped by unexpectedly. I didn't invite her over."

He had an explanation for everything but she hadn't been wrong about the signals she had picked up from Sasha. She didn't just view him as a friend but it was something he hadn't realised yet.

"You don't like letting in people and I get that you might not be ready for something to happen between us."

"There's a rumour going around that your dating a girl in college." She needed to know there was one one else. She had to be sure.

He shook his head. "There is no girl."

She shifted slightly in the seat, uncomfortable that he could read her unsaid thoughts.

"I like being around you." He shrugged. "I find you interesting and I want to see where this thing between us goes."

She wanted to say yes but she was still too weary to agree.

"Let's hang out and see what happens. No pressure." He cocked his head to the side while he studied her.

When he phrased it like that it didn't seem nearly as daunting as dating.

"What do you say?" he said, pushing for an answer.

"I like hanging out with you too."

His smile widened. "Then we are officially hanging out."

She mirrored his smile tentatively. He had a way of making the most difficult situations seem easy.

"Let's get you home before you parents send out a search party," he said restarting the car and pulling onto the road.

Little did he know the issues she was dealing with at home. And for all she knew he could be in a similar situation at home. She wasn't naive to believe that she was the only one with parents who had grown apart and were struggling to stay together.

Every time she thought about the situation it felt like a weight baring down on her shoulders and she just didn't want to deal with it anymore.

She had called her mother to tell her she had gone to work instead of going around to her friend's house so she wouldn't be worried.

It was only when they drew closer and she checked the time did she consider it might not have been her best choice to get a ride home with him. She bit her lip as she hoped her parents weren't awake. All she needed was Maddox to hear her parents fighting with each other.

"You okay?" he asked, giving me a side glance.

"Yeah why?"

"You seem anxious."

He had no idea how stressed she was getting the closer they were getting to her home. Please just this once could something go her way for once, she prayed when he turned into her street.

She felt the sinking feeling in her stomach when she saw the lights on in her house. It meant her parents weren't asleep. She knew Maddox wouldn't leave with just a thanks and goodbye if he could hear her parents yelling at each other inside the house.

Then she heard it and her heart sank. The yelling from her house carried into the quiet night air.

"What's going on in there?" he asked when he slowed done by the curb in front of her house.

"It's nothing." She opened the door before he had even come to a complete stop.

"Is that your parents?"

She closed her eyes and she felt the wave of shame.

"Ash?" he prompted and touched her arm.

"Yes," she breathed, refusing to look at him.

"How long has it been like this?" he asked softly. She closed the door knowing there was no way to ignore it.

"Long enough."

When they heard the distinct sound of glass breaking he looked at her house in alarm. "Should we go and check to make sure no one is hurt?"

She gave a hollowed laugh. "They shout and throw things but no one gets hurt."

This was so embarrassing, she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She looked away.

"It hurts you." He was far too perceptive his hand touched hers.

"I don't want to talk about it." She firmly closed the door on opening up to him about what it was doing to her.

"Thanks for the ride," she mumbled before she got out and swung the door shut.

With hurried steps she entered her house. She ignored her parents who were in the kitchen to go straight up to her room.

She felt the sting of tears when she reached her room.