Chapter 1, The Great Misunderstanding

Maria Hayford

Snow covered the ground, a thick layer of bleach white linens that seemed too perfect to be apart of this world. It fascinates me to no end, really. The world outside my own door can change in an instant, and all I can ever seem to do is stare at it like a child. Too bad people can’t change as easily as the earth’s seasons.

The car stops outside of my mother's house. My brother Scott exits the driver's side and walks over to open my door. Reluctantly, I am forced out and into that wretched house. She sits at the table, and waves us in with a bleak smile. The atmosphere feels dark and depressing.  How on earth did I survive my adolescence is beyond my understanding. I’m just glad to have my own place these days.

I felt like I was gulping down poison while my brother droned on about his new job at Microsoft as a computer repair man. She praised his success while maintaining her hurtful looks in my direction. My stomach did flips for those two never ending hours. I wish she’d just tell me to leave.

"Scottie, would you pass the tea please?" Mother looked at me, frowning,"Enough about your brother, why won't you speak a word to me?"

I sucked in my gut and paused a moment. At anytime either of us were going to start the fight that was inevitably coming; Even Scott saw the blaze in my eyes.

"Because whenever I try to tell you about my life, you seem so uninterested," I tried to say in the nicest way possible. She was not amused. I stood up and headed for the door. There was no way I was fighting with her today, of all days. Before I reached the door, Scott's hand grabbed on the end of my jacket, preventing me from moving.

"Let go. I'm not staying any longer, Scott."

"Listen. You and mom never were on the same page, I know that. But it's dad's birthday, and together we will remember him. As a family. Okay?"

I sighed, “Fine. You’re right. I’m being selfish, I guess.”

I had to listen to him, for Dad. I stood in the living room, tension still there but not as intense. We talked a bit more, Scott brought a cake for us to share, and the night was finally over. I could go home. But, of course things never go my way.

I was cleaning the plates up when she started complaining. All I did all night was sit quietly, what could I have done to get her angry this time?

"You’re always so miserable around me! I thought we were going to have a nice reminiscent night together but you’re always too sour to make it enjoyable. " She spat at me as she talked. I’m not about to have this discussion.

" That’s it, I’m leaving." And I did. I open the front porch door and stepped into the freezing cold snow. I passed the car, now covered with a fresh layer of white, and started walking down the street. Tears started running down my cheeks and froze mid-way from the air.

___________________________________________________

Ashton Marcello

God, Della was at it again. She insisted I was over-reacting, that it was no big deal. We fought for hours, until I was too angry to stay in her presence. 'I'm not seeing ANYONE! We're engaged, don't you remember? Why would I cheat on the man I love?' Those words replayed in my head over and over. I kept thinking, If she really loved me, she wouldn't go out drinking with her college friends and flirting with my own friends in front of my face. Call me a fool for giving a girl like her up, but I don't see any reason to trust her anymore. That's why I broke our engagement.

The snow was a few inches stuck to the ground, and made crunches under my feet. I had no clue where I was going or what I was doing, but whatever was happening was getting me away from her. It became increasingly dark as I went on, and that's when we bumped heads.

"Oh! I'm...I'm sorry!" Her voice was all I could make up of her; The darkness that surrounded us limited my vision of her face.

"It's no big deal, really. Ah.." I helped her up from the ground. She took out her cellphone to shine some light.

"Name's Maria. You?" She had a smile, but from what little light we had, the red puffiness around her eyes suggested she was crying.

"I'm Ashton. Cold day, eh?" She laughed. For some reason, my anger was completely gone. I couldn't even remember why I was angry in the first place. We mingled for a few minutes, until a blue sedan pulled next to us.

"Oh, my brother is here," She said in a rather sad tone," Let me give you my number, we can go out some time maybe?" And so I took it willingly. Maybe my luck was changing. And she was gone, as fast as she entered my life.

___________________________________________________________________

Maria Hayford

The car's seat felt sticky and leathery while I sat down. Scott drove away, and all I could do was look back as him walking the opposite way. Ashton. Ashton, Ashton, Ashton. I never believed in love at first sight. It felt too fairy tale-like; Too...unreal. That's why when I woke up the next morning, I thought it could have been  a simple dream.

The pathway to my office around the corner was icy and piled with snow in some sections. I almost slipped twice walking in the door. My desk sat neatly in the corner, unnoticed by most. That's the life of an intern, you may say. My passion was architecture, but I dropped out my sophmore year. I felt it wasn't time. So now I'm stuck working for a paper work filing company that no one has ever heard of, because they suck at filing paper work.

The worst part is that we have a creepy boss upstairs, and according to my co-workers, he has his eyes on me 90% of the time. I sat down typing reports to the head honcho, trying to gain focus. Then, my phone rang. Ashton read as the contact, and it took me a while to realize last night was no dream. I may just be in love. It's bizarre, believe me. This is coming from a girl who never believed in Disney’s promise of handsome princes and beautiful princesses. There were no happy endings in life, I should know. But there it was. His name. And it was on my phone.

I let it ring the first time, until it stopped. I felt like I was just day dreaming when I didn't get a call back for 5 minutes. But it rang again. I answered it, trying to divert attention toward me.

"Hello?" I asked quite awkwardly.

"Maria? It's me, Ashton! I wanted to know if you'd like me to take you out for lunch?"

It was surreal. He wasn't a figment of my imagination. This was going somewhere.

"Sure," was all I answered.

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Ashton Marcello

I waited outside the restaurant, almost in a dreamy state. It's funny, because I can't remember the last time me and Della felt this way. It feels foreign to think that we once were like this; Going out on Friday afternoons to our favorite place every week, looking forward to the next time we see each other. The snow on the ground was melted partially from the day, and it wasn't long before I began to wonder if I had been dreaming all along.

I smiled as she crossed the street, carrying a satchel and a Dunkin Donuts coffee mug. I wrapped my arm around hers like a gentleman, and we walked in.

"God, it's been a while since I've been somewhere fancy," She said. We got a booth seat in a private corner, and waited for our drinks of lemonade and iced tea. She seemed really shy, almost timid. It made me wonder, maybe she'd been hurt in the past like I have.

"So. This is real. I wasn't dreaming last night," I joked. She smiled.

"Yea, I felt the same. I almost didn't believe you called me the first time!" We laughed. For some odd reason it was as if we'd known each other for years. Our meals arrived, I had steak with mashed potatoes and various veggies, meanwhile she ordered the Chicken Alfredo with a side salad.

"Was your hair always a dark brown?" I asked. I felt kind of stupid after I asked though.

"Yea, it's my natural hair color. I never dyed it before, felt like it would ruin my hair," she replied. I could see her blushing.

"Y'know, I used to have dark brown hair. But the Italian in me came out as I got older, and now it looks almost completely black."

"Really? That's cool," she paused a second," Hmm. Where do you work?"

"I work for the road department. We put up street signs. They don't pay nearly as much as they should though," I let out a sigh," How about you?"

"I file paperwork for a crappy company."

"That must suck. How far do you live from work?"

"About a block. Pretty convenient. You?"

"My office is the next town over, but I'm on the road more often than not." I hadn't realized it, but 30 minutes passed already. She looked at her phone.

"Oh, geez. I need to get back soon. It was awesome talking to you. You can text me later," Her smile warmed my heart a million times more than Della's has in a long time. Not that she'd been smiling at me lately anyway.

_________________________________________

Maria Hayford

We exchanged waves goodbye, and headed in separate directions. I still felt as if this were all a dream. Could I really be falling for him? It felt weird; Like I'm supposed to know him for longer than 2 days.....but then again, Romeo and Juliet were. They loved each other the second they spoke to one another, and were willing to die for each other.

My boss greeted me at the door, and I awkwardly slipped past him trying to avoid his creepy gaze. Another 3 hours of works left, oh boy. Agnes, the older lady from a few offices down, stepped in. She was probably the only tolerable person in this whole place. She was the sweetest thing and probably hated it here as much as I do.

"Oooh!" She squealed, sitting on my desk corner," You were out with a boy! What's his name? Where does he work? Is he-"

"Cool it, Aggie. His name is Ashton, and he works for the road department. And yes, he is hot," We laughed as I typed the rest of my work.

"Well, are you going to see him again?"

"Hopefully soon. I told him to text me later. For some reason, I feel like he's the one," I say sort of shyly. I didn't want to believe myself, but I think it's true.

The rest of the day dragged on, until later that night.

__________________________________________________

Ashton Marcello

We texted for hours that night, and even called to talk for several hours. At the moment Della wasn't home, out with her friends as usual. My normal routine of waiting impatiently for her to show was cut tonight with the enjoyment of talking to the only good person in my life thus far. Maria felt like a breathe of fresh air to my empty life; As if I were being reborn to the Ashton I used to know years ago. Before...Della.

I almost fell asleep.  Almost. The front door opened with a creek, signifying she was back. I heard her drunken laugh, slurring the words "Bye!" out the front door while her friends drove away. I got up.

"Where are you sleeping tonight?" I asked, trying to avoid fighting her.

"Hmm? Where we usually do. In our bed..." She was clearly intoxicated to the point that she forgot the past 24 hours. I sighed, and pulled my jacket on.

"Where ya goin' ?" She said, following me. I ignored her and grabbed my keys. I heard her sigh and walk into the house, too tired to bother with me. I pull my cell phone out and called Maria.

"Mind if I come over your house? I know it sounds a bit out there, but I really don't want to be home," The time on my car's radio said 1:00 A.M., but it was always 2 hours off.

"Mhm, that's..," She yawned mid sentence," Fine. I'll give you my address." And I punched it into my GPS.

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End of Chapter 1

Author's Note

First chapter is always hardest, i feel. I hope you enjoyed, it took me forever to think this through.

Reviews

[Emily Anne]

I feel like its a good start. Probably will edit this later and make it longer.