Ashton came out of his dazed state and watched the cab disappear. Hayley’s words echoed in his head constantly, robbing him of his peace.
“You’re the dumbest guy on earth. I don’t feel a thing for Shaun.”
What could that possibly mean? If not Shaun, then who did she love? Could it be him? He knew she used to like him when she was young. No, that was out of the question. She had grown up and matured in the last four years. Maybe it was someone from her college. He couldn’t be that lucky! Yet his heart wanted to hope! He wanted to be the one she loved!
‘Get a grip on yourself, Ashton. Even if she loved you, then what? What can you offer her?’ reminded his inner voice. Yes, it was true. He didn’t have any surety of his own life. What would he offer her? If she knew everything about him, she would forget him and move on. No woman could love a guy like him!
Sighing, he drove on towards his apartment. With his duty at 7 o’clock in the morning, he had to move out tonight. With few belongings, it wasn’t a laborious task at all for him. He busied himself in loading everything in his car, ready to leave when Madison came rushing out.
“Are you going away without even informing me?” she demanded angrily.
“I told you earlier.” Ashton wasn’t in the mood to tolerate her tantrums at the moment. He didn’t consider it necessary to broadcast his plans to everyone. He helped Madison whenever he could, only because she claimed to be an orphan with no one to call her own. She took advantage of him in many ways, but Ashton was a man of few words. He just ignored her tantrums.
“I’m moving to Long Island too. I’ve applied at a departmental store near your Silver Spring Resorts. Soon I’ll look for accommodation nearby. Aren’t you happy, Ashton?” she asked expectantly. Ashton gaped at her for a few seconds before continuing with his task.
“What’s the use? I’ll be staying within the resort premises,” he pointed out with a shrug. Wasn’t she wasting her efforts?
“Oh, I thought you were renting a place of your own,” said Madison dejectedly. Then her eyes brightened up as a new idea hit her.
“Why can’t we pitch in and rent an apartment of our own, Ashton?” she said, clasping her hands with glee. Why hadn’t she thought of this before?
“That’s not possible, Madison. I’m staying at the resort. It’s rent free,” he said firmly.
“You’re so mean, Ashton. How can you just abandon me and go away?” she cried out, staring at him accusingly.
“I’m just taking up an excellent opportunity, Madison. I think you’re old enough to survive on your own. You had been doing so before meeting me. So what changed now?” he blurted out, feeling claustrophobic by her constant nagging. She was a grown woman of twenty-four and quite independent, both financially and emotionally. When he met her four years ago at a shopping mall, she didn’t need any looking after. Ever since, she stuck to him like a leech, moving into the same building as him and following him around all the time. For four years, she literally ate all her meals at his expense, unless he prepared tacos. He never protested. It wasn’t in his nature to be so petty!
“You’ve changed, Ashton. Do you have someone in your life now?” she accused, her eyes flashing with jealousy. Ashton gaped at this violent side of her nature. What was wrong with her?
“No, why?” he asked disinterestedly, although his mind couldn’t help but think of Hayley. She was so different from Madison in every way. Despite being ten times more beautiful than Madison, she wasn’t aware of her own charms while Madison took pride in her looks. She groomed herself regularly to stay attractive. Ashton had no idea from where she got the money to splurge at salons. Without her perfectly done-up short jet-black hair and makeup, she would look like a scarecrow!
“All lies. I know you’ve been out with someone tonight. I can smell her perfume on you, Ashton. Tell me, is she more beautiful than I am?” she scoffed with malice. Ashton rolled his eyes and walked back to his apartment to check one last time before locking up the place. A crazy Madison stomped after him.
“Yes, I was with someone. So?” he admitted with a shrug.
“You didn’t tell me. I thought we were friends. I always tell you everything,” she said, almost in tears. Ashton sighed and turned to face her.
“Please, you’re suffocating me, Madison. We’re just friends, that’s all! Even my best friend doesn’t know my whereabouts most of the time, nor do my foster parents. So? What’s the big deal? I’m a free-spirited guy and I’m not answerable to anyone,” he said, as patiently as he could, although he was running out of patience.
“I care about you more than them. I’m worried about you. So, can’t you just send me a brief message about your whereabouts? It’ll relax me to know that you’re alright.” Big tears drops fell from her eyes, making him groan. He didn’t know how to handle tears.
“Okay, stop! I’ll shoot a message to you in the future. Done? Bye, see you soon. Take care,” he said awkwardly.
“Okay. You too. I’ll shift there and call you.”
“Sure.” Ashton ushered her out and locked up the place. He waved at her and rushed down the stairs, eager to get away.
At the resort, they gave him a hearty welcome, leading him to his cottage at the backside of the resort. Being the resident manager, his place was the grandest amongst all the staff quarters, larger than the studio apartment he used to live in. Furnished tastefully in pristine white and shades of rust, the place had a contemporary yet warm look. Ashton immediately loved his new home, and Hayley’s words came to his mind.
Would she find this place romantic? He wanted to bring her here and see her reaction!
Busy arranging his stuff, he didn’t get any respite to ponder over Hayley. It was late when he lay down on his new bed. What was Hayley doing now? Was she thinking about him?
The next day, Ashton was in the brightest of spirits. He interacted with everyone and toured the entire resort. The general manager, George Scottsburg, was a middle-aged, efficient man and a hard taskmaster. So, it was surprising that he took a liking to Ashton despite his rough, tattooed, bad-boy looks! The whole day, Ashton worked relentlessly, coordinating with his immediate boss, the Administrative Manager, Derek Miller. Despite everything, he failed to impress Mr. Miller, who complained about everything he did. It was clear that Mr. Miller was the least popular man in the entire resort.
“Don’t bother with him. He is serving a notice period. Work hard and you might be in for a surprise,” said Mr. Scottsburg, encouraging him. Although Ashton concentrated on his work, he couldn’t control the urge to go over to Hayley’s hotel and see her. He peered around to look for her, but didn’t meet with any success. He saw her dad leaving the hotel after lunch, but not Hayley. Hadn’t she come to work today? Maybe she had gone out on a date with the man she loved!
The rest of the day too went by in a state of restlessness. In between his tours of the resort, he looked for the one he was dying to see. He even stood on the rooftop terrace to check if he could find her, but it seemed she hadn’t come to work. At last, his duty time was over and he went back to his cottage to freshen up.
A phone call from Eva had him excited. Could he get Hayley’s phone number from her? Eva lived alone ever since her parents separated and Ashton always took an update on the young girl. He considered her his sister, the one he never had. With Alexander having feelings for her, he entrusted Ashton most of the time with the responsibility of looking after her. Ashton happily complied. Eva was hardworking and sweet, unlike Madison.
“Hey, bro! Where are you? I went to your apartment, but it was locked.” Ashton smacked his forehead, having forgotten to inform her about his job.
“What were you doing there?”
“I want your signature on some college papers. They want a guardian’s signature, and Skylar’s grandparents aren’t at home.”
“Oh, when do you need it?” asked Ashton worriedly.
“Tomorrow. Can you please come over to my apartment?” Ashton mulled over her request. Could he go? What if Hayley came over to see him in his absence?
A squeal in the background got his attention. “Shut up, Hails. I can’t hear him,” chided Eva. It immediately had Ashton sit upright. Hayley was with Eva! So, he was right after all! She hadn’t come over to work.
“Who all are with you? Can’t they get a signature from somewhere?”
“All my friends are here. Hayley’s parents are out. So that leaves no one, actually. You signed at the time of admission, so it will help if you sign again,” said Eva.
“Fine. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Ashton jumped up, totally energized now. He rode his motorcycle as fast as he could towards Eva’s apartment, with his heart racing faster than his motorcycle.