Bittersweet Sundown

It was a Friday evening and they were all sitting in Matt’s living room. There was some movie playing on TV and music blasting through speakers on the other wall. Most of the people were not so sober anymore. Ash was sitting on the couch, squished between Zack and Jimmy, listening guys joking around.

​"Oh, I know one," Ash announced after Jimmy finished with his joke. "A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said,

'I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.'

The distressed woman wailed, 'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead,' replied the vet..

'How can you be so sure?'the woman protested. 'I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.'

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.

A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, 'I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.'

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill.

'$150!' she cried, '$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!'

The vet shrugged, 'I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150." Ash finished, fighting with laughter.

Everyone around her were laughing hard, Jimmy was patting her on the back.

After a while they settled down and absentmindedly watched the TV. Zack was sitting next to Ash, two gummy bears between his fingers. He squeezed them together, front to front, with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Oh my God! Your gummy bears are having sex,” Ash shouted with wide and accusing eyes, pointing her finger at them.

Zack turned his frightened gaze at her, all the others burst out laughing again. Johnny even fell out of his chair and to the floor, holding his stomach with both of his hands. Val was wiping tears from laughing so hard.

“Ash, they were just hugging,” Zack tried to save himself from embarrassment.

“Right, you keep telling yourself that,” she stroked his hair like he was a small boy.

“You are mean,” he muttered, throwing the bears in to his mouth.

“No honey, I’m fun,” Ash beamed happily.

Brian got up suddenly and started for the front door. Ash followed him.

“Where are you going?” she asked him, stepping up to him. She had a bad feeling.

“Home,” he answered shortly, not bothering to even look at her.

“Walking?” she inquired, knowing the answer already.

“Yeah, right. Bye,” Brian didn’t stop, he was headed straight to the door.

“I’m not letting you drive. Give me your keys,” Ash demanded, resolutely stepping in front of him.

“Get out of my way,” Brian slurred angrily. He was pretty drunk.

“Not until you give me your car keys,” she stayed on her spot, determined on not letting him go.

​“You have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do. So step aside,” he demanded, getting pissed off by her.

“So you could get your drunk ass to your car and go and kill someone on the way home? Forget it,” Ash was starting to get mad too.

“I know when I’m capable of driving,” Brian said and tried to get past her. She stepped in front of him again.

“You are not leaving here alone,” Ash seethed. She was irritated now.

“What the hell is going on here?” Michelle asked, walking next to them.

“Your husband here wants to go driving, drunk,” Ash said, not turning her eyes from Brian.

“Brian? Are you mad?” Michelle demanded, trying to turn him to look at her by pushing his shoulder.

“Stay out of here,” Brian commanded, then turned his hateful stare back to Ash.

“Of all people, you have no rights to tell me what I can’t do. You have no idea why I even drink. I’m sure you have never even lost someone close to you,” he accused angrily, pointing his finger right at her chest.

“Bri, don’t go there,” Michelle tried to warn him but he didn’t listen.

“What? I’m sure she’s had a perfect life, everyone always taking care of her. Just like she now has all of you wrapped around her little finger,” Brian was raging now.

But he didn’t expect that punch when he turned his gaze back to Ash from Michelle. And his drunk reflexes were too slow to catch Ash’s little fist. To his surprise, he found himself sitting on the floor, holding his cheek with surprise.

“You asshole, you have no idea what I’ve been through in my life. You remember that nightmare on the bus? You really think that I would cry like that for just a stupid nightmare? I’ve lost someone much closer to me than you could ever imagine and I lost him because alcoholics like you can’t think about anyone else than their stupid pitiful ass. You never think that because you’re driving drunk, you can hurt or even kill some innocent bystander. You’re nothing more than a piece of shit,” Ash yelled at him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

She turned around quickly and walked out from the door. There was an audience in the hall now, everyone looking at the door that Ash had closed with a pang.

“Fuck,” Brian muttered, finally realizing what he did.

“I told you to not go there. She had a twin brother who died in a car accident with a drunk driver. Your stupid mourning for Jimmy can’t get even close to that, Bri. Besides, you didn’t even really lose him, he’s still fucking right here,” Michelle said sadly, then turned around and walked away. She was embarrassed by her husband’s stupidity right now.

“Jimmy, you better go make sure Ash’s alright. I think Brian hurt her bad this time,” she said when walking past him. Jimmy nodded once and disappeared.

Brian took his head between his hands and just sat there, feeling like the biggest ass in the world. Suddenly he felt much more sober, realizing that what Michelle said was true. He had to acknowledge his problems finally. It took the hurt in one tiny girl’s eyes to make him open his at last.

“You okay sweetie?” Jimmy sat on the sand beside Ash, throwing his arm around ​her slumped shoulders.

“How can you even ask that?” she muttered, still feeling angry from the fight with Brian. She couldn’t believe how stupid he was. She didn’t want to believe it.

“Sorry. You know he’s an ass,” Jimmy apologized, hugging her closer with both of his hands now. He needed to give Brian a serious talk when he’d sober up.

Ash didn’t say anything for a long time and Jimmy just held her, trying to comfort her with just being there for her.

“Can you talk to the souls on the Shadow World?” she asked at last, almost too quietly for Jimmy to hear.

“I don’t know. I’m trying to stay away from that place as much as I can,” he said sadly, the pain in Ash’s voice somehow hurting him too. With this two weeks, she’d become close to him, she was like a little sister to him already.

“Once I somehow ended up to the crossing line to Shadow World and I did have a chance to talk with my grams. I don’t know how that happened. I was so angry when Kyle died and I kept raging at my grams grave, accusing everyone when suddenly I was there. But she couldn’t stay for long and I don’t know how to go back there,” Ash talked quietly, lost in her memories.

“I would so much like to talk to Kyle, even if only for a moment. I miss him so much.”
She started to cry at last, letting all her build up emotions out.

“I’ll see what I can find out. I’m sure he misses you too honey,” Jimmy tried to console her, by stroking her hair and hugging her closer.

They sat there for a long time, until Ash finally cried herself to sleep, feeling secure in Jimmy’s arms. He didn’t want to wake her up and although it was dark outside, he didn’t want to risk by carrying her himself. So he decided to try something he never had done before. He knew he had the closest connection with Brian and the chance for this to work was best with him. He truly hoped that he’d be now sober enough to realize what’s going on.

Jimmy tried to get a message to his friends head, that he’d send someone out to the beach, to help him get Ash safely home. After concentrating for a minute, he gave up. He had no clue had it worked or not, he didn’t get any response. Maybe Brian was already passed out.

Five minutes later he was close to waking Ash up. It was getting chilly out there and he knew they had to go. But someone walking towards them stopped him. It was Brian himself. If he didn’t have Ash leaning in on him, Jimmy would have punched his friend for being so stupid.

“What the hell are you doing?” he whisper asked when Brian knelt down and started to carefully pick Ash into his arms.

“I’m taking her home. Isn’t that what you wanted? Now help me out a little,” he whispered back. “Look, I haven’t drank anymore, I took a shower and drank a can of coffee. I know what I said was stupid,” he said quietly, feeling embarrassed by his actions earlier.

Looking at his friend closely for a moment, Jimmy gave up. He helped Ash gently into Brian’s arms and hoped she didn’t wake up. Then it would be hell on the loose.

Walking back to Matt’s house, Brian tried to move Ash as little as he could. He didn’t wanna wake her either. When he lifted her a bit higher on his arms, she shifted in her sleep, snuggling closer to him, her head falling against his neck.

“Don’t go,” she mumbled, gripping his shirt in to her fist.

“I’m not going anywhere Ash, I’m right here,” Brian whispered, holding her closer ​to him. He felt guilty of causing all those painful memories of her to surface again.

“Jim, could you go and ask Val to make a bed for her ready? I think it’s best if she stays there tonight,” Brian asked his friend, keeping his voice down. Jimmy gave him a stern look, but seeing Ash sleeping peacefully, he disappeared without saying a word.

Val herself opened the front door just before Brian reached it, giving him an angry stare. Not exchanging a word, she guided him to a spare bedroom she had ready for Ash.

Matt and Zack laughed rather loud over something Johnny had said, just when they walked past the living room and Val and Brian both looked at Ash, afraid she’d wake up. But she only mumbled something and snuggled closer, not waking up.

“Oh man, you’re so dead if she wakes up now,” Jimmy laughed quietly, not feeling sorry for his friend at all.

If it wouldn’t hurt Ash to be around Brian, he would have woken her up himself. Brian deserved more screaming at him and Jimmy liked how Ash said everything she had in mind, not holding anything back like most of people did, because they were kind of famous. She had done this from the day they met.