Ashley

Ronnie's POV

I sat, panting, on the floor in the bathroom. Good thing I hadn't broken into tears. That would've ruined it.

Whenever I mention the fight with Craig, I get really emotional. It's about the only thing that can make me cry. He's the reason why my mom left us. Well, not him, but his family.

Our dad's owned rival casinos downtown; they still do; and they were always arguing over who was stealing the others customers. My mom always tried to stay out of it, but not Craig's. Craig's mom would yell at him every day, telling him that if she caught him hanging out with me, she would beat him. My mom said to ignore our fathers and just enjoy life. Dad, however, was just like Craig's mom. He'd always tell Michael and I that we were never allowed to see the Mabbitts, ever. If we did, he'd come up with a good punishment. And we knew what that meant. See, our dad is a known drunk. He hadn't hurt us yet, but he was on verge of it. So one day, after a particularly nasty fight with Mr. Mabbitt, and a particularly strong night of drinking, Dad came home totally wasted, and stupid me mentioned Craig, and what did Dad do? He hit me. Not once, not twice, but three times, and hard. With his fist the first two times, and a broken beer bottle the next one. Mom had threatened to leave him before; she was sick of all the stupid fighting, but this was the last straw. She left for good. That's why I have a scar on my face. Thanks, Dad.

So Craig was raised to hate me, and I to hate him. It's in our blood to hate each other. I guess I'd been crying, because someone walked in, and asked, "Ronnie?"

I looked at him. It was Max Green.

"You OK?"

I nodded.

"You don't look OK," he said, walking closer.

"I'm fine," I assured.

"You sure?" I sighed and bit my lip. Then I nodded.

He just stared at me. "OK," he dismissed it.

Was he seriously concerned about me? No one ever had been. Well, besides Michael, but he was just family.

"Wait," I stopped him as he turned to leave.

He turned around. "555-4193. Call me tonight," I said.

He smiled, nodded once, and left. I think I'd just made friends with the new kid. Except, Max isn't really the one I wanted to be friends with. Not that he wasn't a nice guy. I really wanted to be friends with Ashley. In fact, I secretly hoped we could be more than friends.

Did I just admit I liked Ashley? I've only known her for two days! Don't get ahead of yourself, Ron....Oh, great. Now I'm talking to myself. I barely dragged myself through the day. When the final bell rang, I almost ran to my locker. "Hi," I said when I saw Ashley.

"Hi," she replied.

"Your brother has my phone number. Maybe if he's nice he'll give it to you," I winked.

The corner of her mouth twitched. I could tell she was trying not to smile.

I actually had my key today, so I drove home in pure bliss. Maybe I'd tell Ashley the whole story if she called. I thought about it the whole way home. When I got inside, what I saw should've surprised me, but it didn't. It would surprise most people, though.