Fool With Dreams

“Aunty Assy!” little girl came running at Ash, colliding hard with her legs. Girl’s two years younger sister followed her lead, making another impact with her.

“Ava! Scarley!” Ash squealed happily, squatting down to hug them. “I’m so happy to see you two.”

Both girls entwined their little arms around her neck, happily hugging their favorite aunt.

“Look at you two, you look like princesses,” she fluffed their frilly dresses, making both girls bloom in happiness.

“Where is Hemi? I wanna play with him,” Ava asked, searching around the room.

“He’s outside. But I think you can let him in. And no running around inside, okay?” Ash said, playfully waving her finger at them. The two of them took off in an instant, no running rule already forgotten.

“Ash! Happy Holidays, sweetie!” Kelly came to hug her, Bam’s brother, Jesse, standing a few steps behind her, with a small baby boy in his arms.

“Thanks honey. Merry Christmas to you too,” Ash gladly hugged her back, before stepping to Jesse and hugging him too.

“And you, little heart breaker, did you get some cookies yet? I made some especially for you. They even have your name written on with frosting,” she tickled giggling baby London who tried to hide behind his daddy’s big arms.

“Well then, we have to look for them,” Jesse smiled, lifting his son up to his shoulder. “I mean, after dinner of course,” he corrected quickly, seeing his wife's scolding gaze.

“Ash! Could you come here for a moment!” they heard Brian calling from the doorway. He looked a bit anxious to Ash, so she excused herself and quickly walked over to him.

“Is everything alright?” she asked quietly, trying to recognize those emotions switching through his eyes.

“Yeah. Well, almost. It’s just my old man. He threatened to whip my ass if I won’t introduce you to him. And I know he’d do it,” Brian laughed a bit nervously, scratching his neck at the same time.

“Your dad is here?” Ash looked at him with wide eyes. She wasn’t expecting this. It hadn’t been even a week since she made up with Brian, and already his father wanted to meet her.

“Well, yeah. He just kind of packed himself with me. And my step mom Suzy and McKenna,” Brian mumbled in the end, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Ohkay,” Ash inhaled deeply. She really loved Brian and she was so nervous to meet his whole family, especially without a warning. “Well, where are they?” she looked around, searching for that older version of Brian, she had once met already.

“You sure? I don’t want to force you,” Brian asked, looking at her worriedly.

“Yes, I’m sure. Besides, I don’t want to be the reason behind your daddy kicking your sexy butt,” Ash laughed. She froze just for a millisecond when she realized she had just called Brian sexy. But she recovered quickly, praying that Brian hadn’t noticed it. And she hoped Brian wouldn’t mind being called sexy by her.

“Yeah, I’m not sure my sexy butt could take it,” Brian smirked while throwing his arm around her shoulders and guiding her towards the kitchen, where he knew her parents and sister were waiting. He saw McKenna’s face lit up the moment she laid eyes on them.

“I knew it. Pay up pops,” she smiled, reaching out her hand to Brian senior, balm up.

“You knew what?” Brian asked, not daring to let go of Ash. He was scared of how Ash would react to his crazy family.

“That she’d have dark hair and that she’s beautiful,” McKenna beamed, her hand still in front of their father.

“Fine! You won,” Brian senior dug out his walled and set a twenty dollar bill on her daughter’s hand.

“You made a bet on me?” Ash asked stunned, her eyes traveling from Brian’s dad to his little sister.

“Well, yeah. Pops was sure you’d be some preppy blonde but I knew you had to be more to make my brother so happy. I know him good enough to know that it takes a lot more than a dumb blonde to get to him like that,” McKenna was talking freely, not bothering to hold herself back.

“McKenna!” Suzy scolded, giving Ash an apologetic look.

“It’s okay. I’m not offended,” Ash smiled, looking at McKenna. She looked so much like herself in her teen years. She had an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt on, with some black skinny jeans, and her hair was all purple. And she wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. Ash really liked that in her.

“Well, mom, dad, this is Ashlee. But don’t call her that, she hates her name,” Brian fake whispered his last sentence.

“Ash would be fine,” Ash elbowed Brian but kept smiling at his parents.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Ash,” Brian senior came to hug her, a warm smile playing on his lips.

“Nice to meet you too, sir,” Ash hugged back, a slight shiver going through her body. She took a deep breath while stepping away, colliding with Brian who was standing close behind her.

“Oh please, call me Brian,” the older man was all smiles.

“Gates! Come’ere!” Jimmy was yelling from the direction of the front hall.

“Just a moment,” Brian yelled back, not wanting to leave Ash alone with his parents.

“Come on! Your gift is here!” Jimmy popped his head through the kitchen doorway, grinning like a mad man he was.

“Really?” Brian’s eyes lit up. “I’ll be right back,” he said to Ash, then ran out of the room, following his friend eagerly.

“Well, I’m happy to have you guys here. Please, find yourself some snacks and drinks and dinner will be ready in about and hour,” Ash smiled, her polite hostess mode kicking in. She had hated through her childhood how her mother always insisted all that fancy manners shit. But now, she realized it’s not that bad.

“We’ll do that,” Susan took her husband’s hand, a loud sound of shattering glass drowning out her last word.

“Those motherf...! Excuse me, please. Gotta go,” Ash quickly walked out of the kitchen and towards the direction that sound had come. She was looking around frantically, trying to find what had been broken. Soon enough she found a guilty looking Zack, standing next to a shattered glass vase.

“What happened?” Ash stopped next to him, careful not to step on broken glass pieces.

“I was kind of wrestling with Hemi and I accidentally bumped against the table,” Zack said, fear evident in his eyes. He had seen earlier what she had done to Knoxville and Steve-O and now was afraid of the punishment that would be waiting for him.

“Oh,” Ash just said, a bit shocked. She was so sure it was those Jackasses that broke something. But it was only Zack accidentally breaking a vase she didn’t like anyway. Seeing fear on Zack’s face brought her out of her daze and she fought hard to not to start laughing.

“Hmm, I know a perfect punishment for you naughty boy,” she turned her face serious, a glint of mischief playing in her eyes. Zack shrunk visibly, waiting for something painful to come.

“You can clean it up,” Ash couldn’t keep it inside any longer, her laugh filling the room.

“What? That’s all?” Zack finally dared to look at her.

“Yup. It’s not like you did it on purpose. Look, those two deserved what they got, they should know better than to go crazy in my home, but they did it anyway. You broke this stupid vase accidentally. Everybody has accidents and I can’t punish you for that now, can I? So, if you just clean it up real nice then we’re even,” Ash ruffled his hair a bit. Zack looked like a little kid who had been bad. “But you have to really clean it up properly, we have small kids and a dog running around here.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave a dust behind. Where do I find a dustbin and a vacuum cleaner?” Zack was now eager to clean it up, relieved getting away without a punishment.

“In the hall closet,” Ash said smiling. Zack took off instantly, disappearing behind a corner.

“Hey, J, can you make sure no-one steps into this mess until Zack gets back?” she asked from Johnny, who was sitting on the armchair next to the table, with her laptop on his lap.

“Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on this,” he nodded while looking at the shards on the floor.

Ash walked around the mess and went to her mom, standing near the window with Kelly. Just when she reached them, two boys ran by, almost knocking her down.

“Hey! No running around in the house!” she yelled after them while Hemi bumped into her, running after the boys.

“Hey, mom, whose kids are those?” Ash asked from her mother, not remembering who of her guest would have kids at that age.

“I’m afraid those little demons are mine. Sorry for the havoc they’ll probably cause,” someone said behind Ash’s back. Hearing that unfamiliar voice, she turned around and froze, recognizing the man who was smiling wide at her.

Ash couldn’t believe her eyes. Jacoby Shaddix, her half-brother was standing in her living room, smiling at her.

She noticed Brian, standing a few feet away, with a mischievous smile on his lips. He waved shortly and winked his left eye at her.

“I hope you don’t mind that I just crashed in like this,” Jacoby’s voice brought her back to earth. She quickly ripped her eyes from Brian’s and looked at the man in front of her.

“Don’t be silly! I’m happy you came,” Ash gathered her guts and gave him a short hug. “Mom, this is Jacoby…”

“I know who this young man is,” her mother cut her off, giving Jacoby a very stern look.

“It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Storm,” Jacoby extended his hand with a polite smile on his lips.

“Oh, I don’t believe that for a moment,” Ash’s mother laughed, seeing through his politeness. After all, she was the reason his father had left him behind. “You two have a lot to talk about. Take your jackets and go outside. I’ll keep an eye on your boys,” she added, noticing Jacoby’s eyes searching through the room.

“Thank you, Mrs. Storm,” Jacoby smiled again, thankful for having a chance to speak to Ash in private.

“Don’t worry about it. Now go,” she pushed her daughter gently towards the front door.

“How did you know where to find me?” Ash asked while they walked out of the room, side by side.

“Actually Brian called me few days ago, saying he found my little sister,” Jacoby couldn’t hide his smile, constantly sneaking glances at her face.

“I thought so,” Ash muttered, remembering Brian’s sneaky smile when she had seen Jacoby.

“Look, if you don’t want to be in contact with me then just say it, I understand,” Jacoby said, his heart sinking at the thought. This was the reason he hadn’t searched her out sooner, fearing that she didn’t want to see him.

“Oh, no, it’s not that. I do want to talk to you. Of course if you want too. I’m just surprised he did it. I thought I made it clear to all of them that I don’t want to bother you,” Ash mumbled, looking down at the floor, passing by under their feet.

“Hey! Let’s get this clear now. Do you want to get to know me?” Jacoby stopped her by grabbing her hand and spun her to face him.

“Of course I do!” Ash looked straight to his greenish eyes.

“Well, everything’s just great then, because I want to get to know you too,” he smiled at Ash. Her eyes spotted Brian once again, talking to Jimmy near the kitchen window.

“Could you hold on for a second?” she said to Jacoby and after receiving a short nod, she walked to Brian.

Without any warning, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed Brian on his cheek, surprising him with that. “Thank you.”

“Merry Christmas,” he wished, sliding his arms around her waist before she had a chance to back away.

“Hey! What about meee? I need a hug too,” Jimmy forced himself between them, goofing around once again. It was clear he wasn’t sober anymore.

“Of course you get a hug too,” Ash laughed while hugging him and Brian at the same time.

∞∞∞∞∞

“So,” Jacoby said, after sitting down on the last step of her porch. “Tell me about yourself.”

“I... I don’t know what to say… Well, dad left us when I was seven. Kyle died six years ago, in a car crash. I took it pretty hard, acted careless and was constantly living on the edge, so to say. That’s when my relationship with mom went down the hill. Luckily Bam pulled me out of that pit. We were together for almost three years before we decided to stay just friends. After that I moved to Jamestown, North …. . Found myself another boyfriend. He was a total pig. Left him almost a year ago. Went back to Pennsylvania for few months, and then moved here. Got a dog as you already saw, I’m sure. And my best friend Dani practically lives here with me,” Ash said, not bothering to explain wider. “Now’s your turn.”

“Well, I was six when our dear daddy walked out on me and my brothers,” Jacoby smiled, stressing the words ‘dear daddy’. “Met my beautiful wife, Kelly, when we were in high school. We have two boys, Makaile and Jagger.”

“Is your wife here too?” Ash asked, interrupting his speech.

“No, she’s at her parents. Her sister, Karen, just had her first baby and Kelly wanted to support her, seeing as their parents are so strongly against single parenting. They blame Karen for not managing to keep her relationship with the father of her child. But Kelly would love to meet you,” Jacoby smiled again. He felt so easy talking to Ash, he felt he could trust her with details from his life. After all, his friends from Avenged and Bam Margera trusted her too.

“Have you seen our father after he left you?” Ash asked, wanting to know if her scumbag of a father had abandoned Jacoby like he had done with them.

“Yeah, I have. He contacted me about five years ago. I’m not close with him but we keep contact. I’m assuming you are not talking to him, right?” he looked at her bitter face.

“No. Last time I heard from him was on my thirteenth birthday, when he sent us a lousy greeting card with a plain Happy Birthday on it,” Ash grumbled, her fingers clutching the hem of her shirt.

“Can I tell him I met you?” Jacoby asked. He didn’t like that hurt he saw in Ash’s eyes.

“Tell him what you want, I don’t care. I don’t want to see him. At least not yet,” Ash muttered, regretting that she had to bring up this subject in the first place. She didn’t want to ruin her Christmas with thinking about that traitor.

“You’re that mad, huh?” Jacoby half asked, half mentioned.

“I’m not mad at him for leaving us, I’m angry at him for not keeping contact with us,” Ash sighed, lifting her gaze up at the horizon. The sun was low on the sky, already creeping behind the streetlamps, making her realize it was near sunset already. “We’d better go back inside. I’m sure everyone is already beyond hungry,” she stood up, holding her hand out to her half-brother. Jacoby took it and followed her back inside.