Turning in the bed which reeked of a masculine scent, Ashley wondered why terrible things were happening to her.

First, her cheating husband, then the divorce, then her home which she used time and money to build was set on fire.

Pulling the pillow beside her closer, Ashley replayed the moment from earlier that night.

After she realised that it was her house that was on fire, she became numb. And all she could do was helplessly watch everything go up in flames. And from there, the image of the voracious inferno got stuck in her head.

Even when firefighters arrived to take control of the situation, even when her entire soul shivered because of the tears that fell from her eyes, the fire was all she could see.

Though, at some point, Dave's voice reached her ears. At certain intervals, he told her that things were going to be okay.

But, things were not okay. Nothing was okay.

Sighing, Ashley turned again to face the ceiling of the room which was mostly made up of polished wood planks. With her lashes fluttering and her lower lip feeling the ends of her incisors, Ashley decided that she wasn't going to cry anymore.

Most of her tears had been spent mourning her destroyed marriage anyway. She doubted that she had any more tears left to shed.

She didn't want to feel anything either, but there was an increased burden on her chest that she could not entirely ignore.

So, with a mind that was slowly crawling back into misery, Ashley hugged the soft pillow closer and decided that it was for the best if she lacked sleep. She feared that the heaviness in her heart would invade her dream world and make things worse for her.

So, Ashley remained in that lazy position, her weary eyes firmly trained on the shiny ceiling.

~

Dave's scent on the pillows that kept her company through the night woke Ashley up. Yes, she ended up sleeping. And as she guessed, she had a terrible dream.

In that damned dream, her house was on fire and she was burning with it. While her screams and pleas for mercy pierced the night, her ex-husband appeared. He laughed at her predicament with every strength he had, and then, he tortured her further by grabbing her mother to his side before devouring her lips.

It was a pure nightmare. And it shook Ashley's soul to the core.

But as Ashley sat up and took in the light that seeped into Dave's room, the woman recalled certain parts of the nightmare that weren't terrible.

Her Uncle Sam appeared a few seconds after Kevin started drilling his manhood into her mother. Her uncle kept screaming about something that she could not afford to pay attention to and that was when she saw the other soul that found his way to that heart-wrenching scene.

Dave Scott.

He was in that damned dream.

With a face greatly decorated by sweat and soot, Dave kept bringing buckets and buckets of water to quench the fire while he screamed words Ashley could not hear.

Ashley's vivid remembrance of the dream caused her to feel a slight headache. Then, as she massaged her forehead and let a groan slip from her lips, she wondered what would have happened if she was at home during the fire.

That thought swiftly made her shake with fear and she became thankful that such a thing only happened in her dream.

"You are awake." Ashley's eyes flickered to the entrance where Dave stood, the side of his body resting against the wall. "You slept through the night without eating. I bet you are hungry." Dave walked towards her and sat on the edge of the bed. Ashley watched him in silence as he brought his hand to caress the side of her face. "I made us breakfast. Freshen up and join me for a meal."

Unable to open her mouth to utter a response, Ashley nodded. Then, she made her gaze travel to the window on the right side and she looked at the sky from where she was.

The morning sky sure was clear, and Ashley wished that her mind could be as empty and bright as it.

"Ashley, are you going to be fine?" Dave asked and retracted his touch so that he could reach for her hands.

But Ashley had no desire for such contact. She pulled her hand out of his hold and made sure their eyes didn't meet. Thankfully, Dave Scott didn't do anything more nor did he try to achieve body contact. A light sigh was all he gave before he walked out.

Minutes later, Ashley came out of the room. Dressed in an oversized tee shirt and barely fitting shorts, she swept her hair into a ponytail of some sort.

"Have your seat," Dave ushered her in.

Ashley sat on the sofa that defined his living room and trained her eyes on the breakfast. She didn't want to look at the man.

"I hope you like waffles drizzled with chocolate."

The excitement in his tone was met with a swift nod from Ashley.

As she grabbed a plate from the stool in front of her, she sensed the way Dave watched her every move and she wondered if he was analysing her.

She didn't want to be analysed. She didn't want to be fixed either.

"I will be lodging at a hotel from tonight," Ashley casually dropped the decision she made before she fell asleep the previous night.

"Why? You are already staying here, aren't you?"

He could have just said; 'Okay, no problem Ashley. If that's what you want.'

"I don't want to impose."

"Impose?" His frown ran deep. "You are now a part of my life, Ashley. Like it or not you are my responsibility."

Anger filled her soul immediately. "Responsibility?" Ashley's tone failed to be friendly. "I did not ask you to take care of me. And, I don't need to be taken care of!"

Dave met her infuriation with calmness.

Then, after a few minutes of staring at her patiently, he asked, "What exactly is wrong, Ashley?"

"You want to know what is wrong? Having you in my life is wrong! I don't want you in my life!" Her tone remained merciless and her eyes kept bulging with fury etched in them.

Regardless, Dave was still calm.

"What exactly is wrong?" he asked. Ashley's eyes darted to the side. "I can tell your anger is because of something else. Ashley," he rested his hand on hers which was gripping the end of the couch, "just tell me what is wrong."

"I just don't want you in my life," she replied quietly.

"Why?"

"Because... Because I am..."

"Go on, Ashley."

"I don't want anything to happen to you."

"What do you mean by that?" The couch made rustling sounds as he adjusted his position and fully turned his body in her direction. "What is going to happen to me?"

"Look at my life, Dave." Ashley raised her head to look him in the eye and the tenderness she saw made her emotions swell in a way that caused her eyes to find tears again.

Biting into her lips at intervals to stop them from quivering, she continued, "It is as though I am cursed. First, my husband cheated, then I got divorced. I had barely healed from that pain when I found out that I am adopted. I mean, the probability that it is true is very high and that scares me. It scares me a lot. And now..." The image of her burning house flashed in her mind and her breath became ragged, it shuddered without a pause. "My house was set on fire. God knows what else is going to happen. So, I don't want you near my jinxed life. I don't want to drag you into my issues."

"Don't you think you are overreacting a bit?"

Ashley could feel her cooled rage resurface.

"Overreacting? What do you mean by that?"

"See, I won't argue with the fact that your life hasn't been easy in the past few weeks. But, Ashley, trust me when I say that you are not jinxed. And, you are not going to jinx me."

"So, what? What are you trying to say?"

Dave rubbed the base of his chin before he continued, "Whatever you are going through right now is all part of the life cycle. As a human being, you have to realise that as there are good times, there will be bad times. That is how balance in life is achieved.

But the fact that you are in the bad times right now doesn't mean you should dress yourself in sadness for too long. Bad times are periods when you should be strong, stronger than ever before, in order to pull through the situations."

"That is not possible, Dave. I am too weak to deal with this. I can't take it anymore. Everything is unbearable." Ashley meant every word she said. Even the look in her eyes confessed that much.

"Ashley..."

"Please, don't continue your philosophical talks."

"I am just trying to tell you how to go about this situation."

"I don't need your help. I never did," she retorted.

Dave scoffed, looking away for a second. "Do you badly wish to go back into the gloominess you basked in for many weeks? Ashley, don't be this way."

"I am too tired for this talk."

Ashley decided she had lost her appetite. After placing her plate on the stool, she got on her feet.

"Stop." Dave grabbed her hand and got up as well. "If you have to talk to someone to deal with this tough time, please talk to me. I really don't want to see you crawling back into great sorrow."

"What is it to you?" Ashley asked, her back still facing him. "All you ever want to do is fix. Listen, Mr. Scott, I am not a pipe. I am a human being and I can't be fixed."

"Yes, you can. Well, maybe you can't be fixed, but you can heal. So please, stop for a second and let me help you."

There was this strain in his voice that begged the innards of her soul for a positive response.

Ashley hated that strain. It made her heart feel more broken.

That insane affection in his voice then began to haunt her. Her mind began to repeatedly play his words and after a few seconds, Ashley could not take it anymore.

Forcefully pulling her hand out of his grip, she reached for her plate again and said, "I will be in your room. Don't disturb me."

Dave said nothing even when she started to walk away. But she could feel his eyes on her. And as she recalled the dejection she saw in his eyes, her heart groaned as though someone was torturing it without mercy.