Chapter 114
ASHTON
Ashley’s raised voice on the phone catches my attention. I retrace my steps and advance towards his room.
"Ash, are you okay?"
When he doesn’t reply, I let myself in. His room is a hot mess. He continues to stand and beg on the phone. From the snippets of his conversation which I manage to pick up, he’s talking to Demi. They’ve been in a very bad place since her miscarriage. She’s gone off the rails. Ashley chucks his phone to the corner of the room and rubs absentmindedly at a spot just above his eyebrow.
"Hey, Ashley, calm down."
"She’s not coming home, Ashton. She’s so pissed at me that she has moved in with Anna for the time being." He whistles a breath while a small, unfunny smile tugs at the corners of his lips. "She doesn’t know how long she’ll be staying or how long it’ll take her to forgive me. She’ll stay at Anna’s, go to work from there and will only return to the mansion when..." He trails off and plunks down on his bed.
"When what?" I ask, crouching beside his nervous form. I haven’t seen him this nervous since Shay’s attacks. "When what, Ash?"
"When I tell the entire family about Nicci."
"Nicola? What’s there to tell?" We all know she’s his ex whom he hasn’t been able to let go of. Why would Demi be upset about Nicola right now?
"I don’t understand, Ashley. Did Nicci have something to do with Demi’s miscarriage?"
"No." Ashley pushes to his feet and holds his head in his hands. "God, I fucked up." He starts pacing his room and with every gasp or bad-tempered kick to the innocent furniture, my anxiety grows. I grab him by his shoulders and try to shake some calm into him.