[ 18 ] 2014

-

"I know this is going to sound really crazy, but I need you to trust me and do everything I ask you to. Hurry back to Anne-Sophie's place and call the police. You have to hurry."

-

Ashton could no longer enjoy his meal after his friends left, though Claire seemed overjoyed to have seen Hayley being dragged out of the restaurant by Bobby. Harley sat there, two seats from Ashton, looking down at her hands. She didn't know what to do or say, the whole situation felt awkward to her now. But if she were to leave at that moment, she knew Ashton's life would be in danger. She had to stay and stall him for as long as possible. So she got back on her feet and went around to sit on the chair immediately next to Claire. In that lifetime, she and Ashton didn't know each other. They surely were not friends and did not talk to each other. She also knew that he recognized her from the previous day, and was choosing not to say anything.

The waitress slid his plate of food in front of him and he merely looked down at it, suddenly losing his appetite. It had started out so well, a group of friends going out for bowling and then some food, and Claire had to make her comments. He looked up at the waitress, who asked if he needed anything else before she could move onto the next person. 

"Can I get this to go please?" He asked her. She nodded and took the three plates with her back in the kitchen to place in to go boxes.

"To go?" Claire eyed him, blue eyes judgmental at his decision. "We came here to eat and have a nice night."

"I'm not having such a great night anymore, kitten." Ashton admitted to her with a sigh. As he looked up, He found that Harley was already looking at him too and they locked eyes. She quickly looked away shyly. The last thing he wanted was to start an argument with Claire, but he also didn't want her to think that the things she was doing were okay. Taking in a breath to steel himself, he began. "I don't like the way you treat my friends, and I'm going to have to ask you to treat them better next time."

Claire gasped at his words. Never in their whole relationship  had he said something like that to her. He was always letting her do whatever she wanted. "Are you trying to tell me you care more about your friends than me?"

He gave a shake of his head. "That's not it. They don't mistreat you, so why do you find it okay to mistreat them?"

"Because I don't like them." She responded simply.

"Okay." He sighed, starting to feel exasperated. "I understand that you can't always like and get along with everyone. But there is a way to treat people, and I'm thinking maybe your parents didn't teach you those ways."

As Harley sat there awkwardly, with Claire turned in her seat, her back to Harley, she could not help but break out into a small smile. She really tried to hide it, but it was forcing its way onto her lips. Ashton seemed like he was always letting Claire do what she wanted and always doing what she asked of him. For him to be standing up to her like that was something major. Harley was internally cheering for him. But for the sake of saving his life, she kept quiet. She wanted to stay on Claire's good side. She wanted her young grandmother to like her for now.

"Watch the way you speak to me. I'm your wife." She warned him. At that, Harley was taken by surprise. In the time she had known Ashton, he never mentioned to her that he had been actually married to her. But she figured it had been a hasty wedding so that she could get his money upon his death. Still, Harley Quinn was genuinely surprised.

"I'm starting to think we may have rushed into this marriage, Claire." Ashton said sadly. He was in love with Claire, but he was coming to realize there were some things about her that he did not like. He thought she could change and learn to accept his friends, or at least treat them right. But he had been wrong.

Her bright blue eyes narrowed into a glare. "Ashton, if you're thinking of leaving me, you'd better think again because I'm not letting you go." Or not letting go of his money, Harley thought to herself. That was the only thing Claire Feeney ever cared about when it came to Ashton. But Harley even wondered if she loved Con, or if she ever grew to love Bobby. Or were they just her pawns in all of it? The blonde found consolation in the fact that Con was planning something big, and Ashton would probably not live to see another day. 

The waitress soon returned with three paper bags, one for each of the three remaining people at the counter. Upset at their small argument, she said nothing and walked back to the waiting car outside the restaurant. Just as Bobby promised, there was a driver waiting to take them home. Ashton stood up from his seat and looked to Harley sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry you had to witness all of that. Claire can be a bit much sometimes, but she generally means well." As he said those words, he couldn't help but feel that even he didn't believe that anymore. 

Harley nodded her head silently. 

Ashton hesitated for a moment, but when the words finally left his lips, they sounded genuinely nervous. "Do you need someone to walk you home or something? I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you leave all by yourself."

This time, she gave a shake of her head as she started to explain. "My boyfriend knows to pick me up here. It shouldn't be too long. Plus, we're staying in a hotel and it would be a long walk."

He smiled at her nervously before waving goodbye and walking out the door, not after having paid for everyone's food. From inside the restaurant, Harley could see that Ashton had walked over to the waiting car. Claire was already inside and she rolled down the window. She seemed to be asking him to get in the car, but he refused with a shake of his head. She then turned her head, nose in the air with her pride, and closed the window. She asked for the driver to leave the restaurant and they left him outside by himself. But he wasn't there for long. Within minutes, he had started walking down the end of the street. 

When he was about far enough, Harley hurried out of the restaurant and followed him. Iggy's was a ten minute drive from the residential areas, which meant that it was about a twenty five minute walk. She kept herself as hidden as she could, but followed closely behind him and she found that he had gone back to his street. She felt her heart drop when she thought he would go to his house, but was filled with relief when he stopped somewhere else instead. He had gone to his best friend Con's house.

-

She was surprised with herself, but she had found a way to climb over the stone walls of Conrad Hood's home. This was his parents' home, and as Harley followed Ashton further into the house, she found that he was actually there to visit Anne-Sophie. She had climbed the vines by the side of the house and crouched down hidden in the balcony. Conrad's parents had given him and Anne a beautiful home a few blocks away as a wedding present. But when Anne Sophie's pregnancy became more and more delicate, Con thought it would be better for her to stay with his parents, as he found her to be a burden.

Since Claire hadn't eaten her food, he hadn't either, and he knew Anne didn't go out much due to her delicate pregnancy, he thought he could have dinner with her and keep her company. He had heard from Anne that Con often arrived late at night and sometimes didn't even sleep in the same bed with her because he said he didn't want to hurt her or the baby, as though she took up all the space in their king sized bed. Anne was small and petite, and took up less than half of the space on it.

Harley watched with a warm heart as Ashton opened the door to Anne's bedroom. She was a beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair and ice colored blue eyes. Her smile was kind and a bit sad as she saw him enter the room. "Bonjour, Ashton." She greeted him kindly, and Harley could detect a very obvious French accent. 

"Hey Anne." He grinned at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Lonely." She admitted truthfully and with a sigh.

As Harley watched them, she wondered if Ashton had not died and had realized the kind of snake Claire was, could he have fallen in love with Anne? She seemed to be pure hearted, and had been wronged by Conrad Hood. He had also only married her for her money. 

Raising both white paper bags in his hands, he said with a smile, trying to cheer her up. "Well, I've got dinner. And you know what they say. A full stomach leads to a happy heart."

She laughed slightly, her voice like a melody. "Where do you come up with these sayings?"

"Bobby told me this one, and his parents are Spanish speakers, so perhaps that's why it may sound odd to us." Ashton informed her, matter-of-factly. "It was in Spanish originally, but he translated it for me." He cut the distance between himself and her bed, and plopped himself down on it. "Sorry if I get crumbs all over your sheets, Annie."

He handed her one of the bags, while she shook her head. "Don't worry. Someone can clean them in the morning. Its just nice to have someone to talk to."

-

By the time they finished their food, it was a half hour before midnight and Harley was already starting to nod off. Ashton looked at the time on the clock in her room and knew he had to get home, his parents would be worried about him. Anne had offered to have one of the drivers take him, but they would have to wake them, and Ashton didn't want to bother anyone for his sake. It was late and the workers were probably asleep. He also thought a walk would help him think things over.

Had he made the right decision when he chose to be with Claire?

As he walked the path that led to the front of the house, he thought there was something strange. Other than the fact that he felt like he was being watched, he felt a bit on edge about something Anne said to him before he left her house.

"Take care of yourself Ashton, please." She told him.

She didn't know about Con and Claire's plan, but she felt uneasy letting Ashton go home by himself. She would have gone with him, but she wasn't allowed to get out of bed, and so he left her house alone that night.

As he reached the front gates of the house, Harley bit down on her lip nervously. She didn't know if Calum was still around, or if Con was already inside the house waiting. But she knew she needed to do something, and she needed to do something fast. Ashton was already punching in a code in the front gate alarm system and there was a whirring sound heard. That would surely alert whoever was waiting for him inside of his arrival.

Before he could complete the sequence, she jumped out at him from behind some bushes, startling him. He jumped back, a few feet away from her, hazel eyes peeled in shock.

"Harley!" He shouted her name, taking her by surprise. He had just met her that day, but it still brought back a rush of memories from the present time when he called her by her name. "what are you doing here? You startled me. Have you been following me this whole time?"

At that point, she knew she would say or do anything to stall him. "I know this is going to sound really crazy, but I need you to trust me and do everything I ask you to. Hurry back to Anne-Sophie's place and call the police. You have to hurry."

His face instantly contorted into one of confusion. It was like he was a computer processing information very slowly. He didn't know what she meant by her request and he had many questions to ask her. Clearly he did not sense the amount of danger that he was in, just by the mere fact that he was standing there at that moment. "What are you talking about? Why would I call the police? And how do you even know Anne-Sophie?"

"There's no time to explain." Harley said frantically, grabbing him by the arm and turning him around, pushing him back in the direction of Anne-Sophie's house. "Just know that if you don't do what I say right now, many people will be in danger."

As it began to dawn on him, he gasped. "My family?"

"Ashton please." Harley urged him.

Before she had any time to say anything more, she felt something that felt like a burlap sack cover her head, blocking everything from sight. Something told her that was evidently not Calum's doing, and she tried to fight back, only she had been caught off guard when a voice told her to sleep. The same happened to Ashton. One moment he was being whisked away by a girl he had just met that day, and the next his head was being covered with a burlap sack. The voice who spoke to him was one he recognized, and he found confusion once again. She said he was in danger if he stayed there. 

But the voice was was hearing belonged to someone he knew well. That voice belonged to his bestfriend Conrad Hood.

-

sup guys.

so my crush and i are good again. we both went to work today and i just adore him tbh. he's the absolute best and he's so handsome. so we hung out at work and talked a lot and flirted. 

but then i got out at 8am, and he didn't get out until 1pm. but i stayed an extra hour in the back office because he was at the first window register. and he said it was nice that i stayed and talked to him so he wouldn't be alone. but anyway, guys. please enjoy this new chapter. there are still about thirty more chapters to this book and then we can continue to the new mitm series featuring the harley quinn kids.

have a wonderful night!

-clary