Ash POV

When I said all my sentence. She turned her head and blinked up at me for a moment as we stare at each other's eyes in silence and finally she found her words to spill out. "You want the complete story or the condensed version?" she asked, a joking tone in her voice. But the look in her glisten eyes was pensive and it made me want to hold her close. Really close so our bodies could touch each other.

"I'll listen to whatever you want to tell me," I replied truthfully, wrapping my arm tighter around her slim waist until her slender body was close to mine.

"Well, My dad. He got whatever he wanted and with good reason- he was really trustworthy. But when he started middle school he fell through the cracks. It started with smoking and before you know it, he was drinking, staying out all night- all this at the age of 13." Her voice hitched. "He met my mom in around the time he started smoking weed. She was 14, he was 16, but he told her he was 14. "She paused for a quick second and continued. "When he found out that my mom was pregnant, my dad had already left to go back to his home. Of course, she had no way of contacting him." Sere shook her head and gave me a faint gentle smile around her innocent face. "He was such a ditz. Didn't even get his address. Just knew his name, but they didn't have Facebook back then. His parents- my grandparents- they were furious. Kicked him out of the house because he didn't want an abortion. They disowned him just like that. So my dad ended up in a shelter and I was born. That's when things really started getting bad. He started doing crack, meth and we moved from place to place. I don't remember it that well, all I remember is his yelling and laughing and crying when he was high." Hanging her head. Staring down at her own feet, Sere shuddered. "It was scary. Child Protection took me away once and he swore at the lady who came to get me. Just stood outside in the road and swore, screaming and throwing his shoes at the car."

"Did you go to a foster home after that?" I asked, engrossed in her story. She was talking in a monotone, almost as though she was detaching herself from what had happened. I felt guilty for bringing it up, but I'd been curious about that part of her for a long time. And she spoke like she needed to tell someone.

She nodded without looking up. "Two months. My dad went to government ordered rehab. It's not like he was abusing me or anything, he just had to get clean before she could get custody of me again. When he got me back, things started looking up. He got a job as a shop keeper, we got public housing, life was better and more stable. He took me to go meet aunts for the first time when I was 4. But- it didn't last."

"He relapsed." Was all I could say.

It wasn't a question. Why Sere wasn't up beyond all reason was beyond me. Maybe she had repressed everything, but I knew some people who had grown up in better conditions and had still managed to be screw-ups. Like me. My respect for Sere grew.

Sere gave a humorless laugh. "In a huge way. You see, now that he had my mom back in his life, he would drop me off at her place and leave for days. Then he'd come home and- he was just cracked out. Like the people you see panhandling on the street. I look at them every day, Ash, coz I think I'll see my dad among them one day." She rubbed her eyes fiercely with the heel of her hand letting out a couple sniffs and I quickly handed her a clean napkin, but she wasn't crying. "On my 5th birthday. He took me to Aunts - he was making me a birthday dinner. My aunt was out of soda and dad offered to go buy a bottle." She shrugged. "And that was it. I never saw him again." She finished her whole story making me speechless for first time throughout my life.

I stared down at her for the whole time, not sure what to say. Was there anything I could say that would make her feel better? Nope.

"Damn, Sere- that sucks." I muttered. Feeling very bad for Sere for all the cause of her father. My arms gently pulled her close to me as her slender body moved towards near me until her legs touched mine.

"I know. The fact that he wasn't coming back didn't register with me for a long time, but when I finally- you know, understood- I just broke down and cried. I was just a kid and he left me." Sere cleared her throat, pushing her short honey-blond hair back behind her ear. "But I'm okay with it now. It was probably all for the best."

Immediately I shook my head."You didn't deserve it," I told her, hating the sad look on her face. "You don't deserve it. I'm sorry you had to go through that." I said apologetically.

"What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger," she remarked. "Anyway, there was nothing I could have done. My mom had no idea my dad was just going to leave me there."

"What about your other family members? You ever met them?" I asked receiving a shook of her head.

"I don't know anything about them, not even their name. I know my aunt, that's all." She sighed. "And to be honest, even if he knows about me, which I doubt, he doesn't want anything to do with me."

This whole conversation was just too depressing for words and it was my fault for bringing it up.

I got up to my feet, popping my knees and grabbed her hand, pulling a surprised Sere up to her feet. "C'mon," I said with a signature smile, slipping my hand into hers. My fingers trapping between her fingers which fitted perfectly and leading her out of my bedroom.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously while we walked together across the hall. There wasn't anyone around. Not even my dad. Just me and Sere.

"To make hot chocolate. I'm thirsty. I'm sure you are too coz you've been talking non-stop." I said as I get a slight rumble down my lean stomach. Telling me it was really hungry, but I hope Sere didn't hear it or else that would be embarrassing.

"Um, a little. You're random, you know that?" She replied.

I grinned at her as we walked into the empty kitchen. Dad, Hope and Leaf were in Vineyard for the whole weekend.

"So I've been told. Now, where the hell are those marshmallows?" I said as I opened random cabinets to find any. Searching inside, scanning my brown eyes to find an item and finally found what I was looking for.

Sere sat on a comfortable stool at the breakfast table while I started making the hot chocolate. Getting out two empty cleaned mugs from the draws.

"Ash, did your doctor tell you when he'll be able to operate?" she asked suddenly, just as I poured the hot chocolate into each mug and found the whipped cream.

"Nope. Same old story. It's driving me crazy that there's nothing they can do about it," I replied, sticking my head into the cold fridge to locate the milk.

"It must be scary, not knowing what's gonna happen," she mused.

Scary was one way to describe it. I tried not to think about the whole situation, for fear it would make me crazy. "I'm taking each day as it comes," I admitted.

"And you still haven't told Calem, Misty and Ursula about it?"

I laughed as I placed Sere's mug in front of her. If there's one thing I can do well, it's make a mean hot chocolate.

"They're not talking to me. Well, Ursula just says hi to me, so I guess that's something. Misty and Calem like to pretend I don't exist."

"I'm sorry," Sere said before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. Rewarding me a moan of delight.

"It's not your fault. I should have picked better friends. In fact, I-," I started, only to be interrupted by Sere's loud gasp as she looked up at the clock on the wall after she took a sip.

"Oh no! It's almost 10pm! Ash, why didn't you tell me it was this late?"

I bit my lip in shame, vaguely remembering Sere telling me she had to be home by 8pm or her cousin would freak. I told her airily that I would get her home way before that but as you can see- didn't happen.

"Oh, man, sorry. I forgot." I covered Sere's hand with mine as she stared wild eyed at the clock like she was willing it to turn back a few hours.

"What am I gonna do?" she wailed with defeat.

Then a straight answer popped into my head unbidden. I swear I hadn't been thinking about this all afternoon.

"You can stay over." I suddenly said.

Now Sere was looking at me like I was crazy.

"That would just make matters worse. I gotta get home. Right now." She took a last sip of her hot chocolate, clearly burning her lip, and started to stand up. I pulled her back down again in her seat.

"No, stop. Is your your mom home?" I questioned. My hands placed above her shoulders.

She shrugged. "I guess. But what-."

"Call her and tell her you're staying over at Dawn's. You've done it before, right?" I said logically and slowly slid my hands off from hers.

"Yeah, but not when I was planning to stay over at a boys house!" She remarked.

"I won't jump you in the middle of the night. I'm just trying to give you a way out. Alain doesn't have to find out."

Sere blinked, tugging on her earlobe as she looked up at me into my eyes. "I don't know if this is a good idea..."

I handed her the cell phone. "Trust me. It's way better than showing up at your place this late."

"Ash," she breathed, a faint smile on her guiltless face as she took the phone from my hand. "You make me so bad."

God, I wished.

Sere's cheeks flushed a little as she spoke to her mom and my guilty conscience flared up. Obviously I wasn't going to jump Sere, but it felt wrong for me to get her to lie to her mom. Still, I tried to tell myself that it was for a good cause. The consequences for Sere arriving home this late would no doubt be dire, especially if her cousin had anything to do with it.

"Okay, we're all set," Sere announced as soon as she was off the phone finishing her short conversation from her mother. She gave me a mock threatening look. "This better be worth it." She replied with a smirk formed on her thin lips.

"Sure it'll be! We can order pizza and hang out on the deck," I said, warming to my idea.

And that's exactly what we did.

We went outside the penthouse together. Walking along the grass in silent and Looking up at the clear dark sky as we sat in the hammock together, Sere murmured "It's so beautiful out here."

"You know what, we could totally sleep out here," I said getting the idea from my head.

A bring it on look on her face, Sere smiled at me. "Let's do it!" She exclaimed.

We raided the laundry room and came out with a ton of blankets and sleeping bags.

"I swear, I don't know why we even have sleeping bags. I've never been camping in my life!" I laughed once we were laying down in our improvised bed getting ourselves cosy and warm, Sere's back snuggling against my muscular chest on-top of me while my arms wrapped around her slim waist hugging her closer to me. She didn't fidgeted or hesitate just let herself laid on me. It was almost too comfortable to be legal. She felt so good in my arms.

"I went camping once," Sere murmured sleepily. "All the insects kept biting me. Not an experience I want to relive."

I chuckled shortly. "Yeah, it doesn't sound like something I'd want to go through."

"You know what I've always wanted to do?" Sere asked suddenly.

"What?" I turned my head a little down enough to give a view on Sere.

Giggling slightly, like she thought what she was about to say was stupid, Sere replied, "Make a wish on 11.11pm. And it's..." Her voice trailed off as she squinted at her cell phone. "11.10!"

"Let's do it," I said, grinning and looked up to the night sky. "You know, that's also on my list."

"Our thinking pattern sometimes synchronizes," Sere said. She paused for a second. "That's actually kinda funny. Oh, it's 11.11!" She exclaimed surprisingly.

She quivered as I massaged her shoulder. "Make a wish," I invited.

"I wish... I wish that one day, I'll get to meet my dad. Just one day, but I hope he does well from all these years," she said softly, all the playfulness evaporated from her voice. I felt for her. All she wanted was a chance to see her dad again and get to know him. Come to think of it, that's exactly what I wanted to happen with my mom.

"Not to be a copy cat or anything, but I wish I could see my mom again." I sighed. "Now what?"

"We've wished. Now we wait," Sere smiled, her back pressed against my chest.

Without any interruption or stopping me from doing so. I wrapped my arms around her body, cuddling her closer as the conversation dwindled and I finally realized that she had fallen asleep. And as corny as it sounds, I'm glad she was in my own arms.

Although. There was one wish strolling in my mind that made me smile even more.

And that was...

To be with Sere.