Is He for Me?

Ashleys POV

After Kimber and CC left I went to seek out Riley. She was curled up on her bed staring at a photo album. Tears had dried on her face.
"Riles, please talk to me. I can't handle you shutting me out" I said standing in the doorway, facing her.
She slowly looked up towards me and motioned me to come sit near her.
I obeyed and looked down at the photos she was stuck on. Side by side there was a picture of her with her parents and another one with just her dad.
"Did you know I suffered severer anxiety when my mother died?" She said looking up at me.
I shook my head still looking at the pictures.
"I was completely convinced that I was going to die. It was unbearable because my dad didn't reassure me, that we were going to be okay. He fueled my anxiety" she paused for a moment living the memory. "I was paranoid every day that they would come for us. The suspense of it nearly killed me because I would lay awake most nights. I don't think I got a decent nights sleep until I hit senior year. My dad let me down for many years. He told me that I shouldn't expect to live a long life. Other than him I had no one else to talk to or trust. I never wanted to let anyone else in because I was ashamed of the life I had" she stopped and looked into my eyes and placing her hands on my face so I had to look back.
"Thats why I have so much trouble with letting people in. It has nothing to do with you. It is purely me! The only people that know this is Kimber, Andy and now you. Please don't take offense to anything I might say or do. I just need to let myself trust you as someone that will reassure me that everything will be okay" she said looking like she was going to collapse from exhaustion. Her hands felt frail on my face.
I placed a hand on her neck and touched my forehead to hers. "Riley, I want you to listen to me. I will always be there for you. If you ever feel unsure or unsafe, I will assure you that I will protect in every way I can. You mean the world to me and if anything were to ever happen to you I would be lost. I need you, no one else. I want you to forget the rest of the world cause it's just two" I said locking my gaze on her. I placed one of my hands on hers and it was like she crumbled. She wrapped her arms around my stomach and cried into my t-shirt.
"Thank you, Ash" she said between sobs. We laid down on the bed and I stroked her hair, letting her get everything out. After about 30 minutes she fell asleep. Poor thing. She has been holding on to so much. She hasn't had anyone in her life that has always been there for her. Shes only known Kimber since she moved to LA and that was only 2 years ago. Me and Andy even less time. What about when she lived Las Vegas? She was all alone with an unsupportive father.
I might plan something special for her tomorrow. She needs to know how much I care about her how much I want her in my life.
I went to sleep planning my surprise for Riley hoping now that she let her guard down a bit, she might be less anxious about me.

Rileys POV

I woke again to the familiar throbbing on my head. Will I ever learn to not fall asleep crying. I went into the bathroom to wash my face and when I looked back at my bed I realised that I had fallen asleep with Ash next to me. I called out from my doorway, but no answer.
I looked out on the driveway and his car was gone. Must have gone out for a bit. I should really apologise for last night.

Ashley arrived home around 4:30. I sprinted out the door and ran into his arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I said into chest.
"Riles! Hey! Its okay" he said pulling away to look at me. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm feeling better" I said reaching up and kissing his cheek.
"I'm taking you out tonight, okay? Go get dressed in something cute" he said smirking.
"What do you want me to wear?" I asked.
"Wear a dress, but with sandals" he said with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Okay" I said a little confused. I went upstairs to closet and picked out an A-line deep purple dress with a layer of black lace over the top and it went down to my knees. It had a low scoop neck and the back was cut out to reveal majority of my back.
I put on my tie up black sandals, grabbed my leather jacket and let my hair out of the bun and my natural soft curls completed the look.
Ashley was waiting for me downstairs wearing black skinny jeans and dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
He smiled when he saw me "You look beautiful" he said taking my hand.
"Where are we going?" I asked, looking at his attire.
"Its a surprise" he said leading me out to his car.
In a few minutes we were on the highway headed out towards Malibu. We reached the Malibu beach and there was a canopy set up on the sand with a small loveseat, bonfire, food and wine.
I looked at Ashley and gasped. "Is that for us?!"
He smiled "I wanted to do something special for you. You deserve something amazing."
I couldn't stop smiling. I walked under the canopy to see lanterns hanging above and candles on the table near the food and wine.
"Ash, this is too much" I said looking out at the surf and the sunset.
"Then it's perfect" he said wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my cheek.
We sat down on the loveseat and enjoyed the sunset and a glass of wine.
Ashley made me forget everything I was worrying about. I couldn't believe this was happening, it didn't seem real. After hours of just talking and cuddling Ashley pulled out a black velvet box and handed it to me.
"Open it" he said smiling.
I was relieved that the box was too big to be a ring and gladly flicked the lid open.
Inside was a silver guitar pick shaped pendant.
"Read the inscription" he said flipping it over.

'Saviour will be there for when you are feeling alone'

I felt like crying. "Ashley it's beautiful, but you didn't need to."
"I wanted to. After last night, you saying you never had anyone to turn to, it made me sad. So I wanted to make sure you would always have someone to turn to. Whenever you feel like you need to talk about anything, I want you to think of me and I will be there. I want to be your saviour.
I hugged him and buried my face in his neck. It was the most beautiful and most meaningful thing anyone had ever done for me.