"Thank you Khan." Andrew said as he took the keys. Shortly after,an Uber came and picked up Khan leaving the two alone with the car. He had anticipated such an outcome so he had to prepare it firsthand. For the car,with his mind manipulation,he could use Khan,the same accountant from which he used to access the financial records the hospitalized boy's family, Arnold.
Andrew opened the door for Ashley before he too got in the car.
*Vrrrr*
The car had the same purr similar to the one earlier. Andrew looked at Ashley who seemed to be in a daze. "Ashley,are you okay?" He asked with his hands on the wheel. "I still can't believe that happened." She said with a distant voice. Andrew knew for a regular person despite having perculior taste in hobbies that after what had happened,they would be shook up and she wasn't an exception.
"I know what happened is something you had anticipated but it's behind us and nobody knows who we are." He tried to comfort her. She seemed unaffected by what he had said stuck in her daze. Andrew reached into his pocket and fished out something he knew that she would like.
"Here." He said forking the object in his hand to her. "What is it?" She asked but he didn't reply. She took it from his hand and upon inspection,she realized what it was. "Is this a bracelet? When did you have the time to have this made?" She asked as she surveyed it. It was nothing flashy with a bland design with pink and white beads but she noted that his name was on it.
In his hand had a similar bracelet however it had her name on it with black and red beads intertwined. "I wanted to show you that I'm not joking about our relationship. I'm sorry if it isn't what you had expected." He apologized. "What? No need to apologize, it's perfect." She said as she put it on.
She inspected it on her hand as he too put it on. It was the same bracelet he had before the restart and he knew that he had a sentimental attachment to it. "Are you ready to go home?" He asked. "Humph! Haaah!" She sighed. The two knew exactly what they were in from Henford but they had to face it. "Yeah. Let's go but don't think that because of you got me this means that you have gotten out of my request." She said. 'Seriously,this girl will be the death of me.'He thought as the car made it's course back to the mansion.
...
"I'm going to require you to get out of the vehicle!" The two were ordered by a police officer. They were close to the estate however it would seem that the entire country was at an upheaval searching for the perpetrator. Any high end car driver had to answer a couple of questions along with some surveys all over the city.
The two were calm as Andrew quietly got out of the car. "Don't you seem a little young to be driving?" The officer asked. He produced his license and his ID. 'His actual question was howa person as young can drive such a car.' He thought as the officer frisked through the documents presented to him. "Okay. Let's just say it's not your day to be driving such a car." He said.
"Is there something wrong, officer?" He asked flatly. "I don't know if you know what happened earlier but there is a person of interest in search right now and he was driving a car similar to yours." He said as he looked at Andrew trying to gauge his reaction. "I am aware however there is a difference between that guy's plates and mine." He said as he brought up his phone bringing the video at the beach. He paused the video showing the plate of the car in the video.
"As you can see it's nothing similar." He said showing his own which was different. The officer smugged,"It seems that they are different." Andrew didn't have the time to entertain this individual. "Can I leave?" He asked. The officer walked round the car looking for anything off such as dents of traces of sand but there wasn't anything for him to find.
He walked to the other window as squinting his eyes peering inside saw another person inside.
*Tap-Tap*
He tapped onto the window."Who is in the car?" He asked looking at Andrew who stood with his hands pocketed. "My girlfriend. So what?" He said. Ashley reading the outside environment got out of the car. "May I assist you officer?" She asked looking at the officer. The officer looked at her before looking back to Andrew. 'Why do these two feel as if something is off with them? His hair color is the same to that of the guy on the beach.' But he couldn't charge him for such a little detail such as that.
"It would seem that you are permitted to continue." He said as he went back to his post. He couldn't focus on these two for long as he had more cars to inspect. Back in the car,the two resumed with their journey. "Andrew,can we go to your place for the night?" She asked. "What about your dad? Isn't he going to be worried where you are? After all I'm sure he's not going to be happy seeing me."
"I've already sent him a text that I'll be at your place for the night." He paused. "How did he respond?" He asked. "He didn't... because I didn't check his response." She said feeling nervous like a little child. "Give me your phone." He told her. "Uhm...please don't be mad at me." She said thinking that he would call her father telling him that he was bringing her to him. He brought the car to the side of the road.
He took her phone and dialed in Ashley's father.
*Ring*
There was a period of silence which was filled with the ringing which lasted for a mere second. "Ashley!! Are you okay?!!" Henford instantly asked. "Yes, she's fine however due to the current conditions,we can't come back to you right now, possibly in a couple of days." He spoke over. "Andrew! Even though I appreciate for keeping my daughter out of harm's way,I have to urge you to keep your distance away from her."
Ashley took the phone away from his arm,"Dad,if it wasn't for him, I'd be in big trouble and right now,he is the only person who can protect me." She said making Henford go silent. "Fine, I'm just fine with you being okay however ensure that you come back here in one piece." He said. "What about Andrew?" She asked.
"Him? We'll talk all about it when you two get back. Just tell me where you are and I'll come get you." Henford said. "Oh shit! Sorry dad, I'll talk to you later." She suddenly shouted ending the conversation. The two waited for a while. "I hope that you're not stressed out about what is happening." He stated.
"I'm fine and even though my dad can get complicated, he's understanding." She said. "I guess you can finally meet my mother. I'm sure she's worried of where I've been." He said as he started to drive towards his home. The beautiful scenery of luxurious landscapes and villas was slowly fading back to form an image of a middle-low class image of the suburbs.
...
After thirty minutes,the duo finally arrived at his home. Nothing grand compared to hers but it was simple and humble as if he didn't have over a hundred million dollars. "Hah! Can't believe I'm back." He said as the two got out of the car.
...
Lucy had tried to call her soon multiple times but he never responded to any of her calls or texts. She was startled when a car pulled up on the driveway. Peeking through the window binds,she saw a luxurious car pull up and she wondered whether the one driving mistook the house for their own. She got out of her house to correct them.
"Uhm! Excuse me but I think that you Amy have the wrong house." She said as she adjusted her nightgown. Getting closer she saw a face she couldn't even think of forgetting. "Andrew!!" She said as she charged at him giving him a huge hug. "I have so many questions.Where have you been?" She posed to which he simply laughed. She hugged him tighter before looking at him.
"At least you are okay." She said before she noticed the other person accompanying him. "Who is she?" She asked. Sure she found this lady attractive however there was something unsettling she found about her. "Right! Mom,this is Ashley, Ashley,this is my mother." Lucy stretched out her hand to which Ashley reciprocated though she quickly withdrew her hand leaving a stale impression.
"She wanted to stay here for a while to which I agreed." He said to which Lucy was shocked. "Uhm! Does her family know about this?" She nodded. "Yes they know and actually were perfectly fine with it." He said as he led her back to the house. 'Okay but what is this weird feeling about her. A mother's intuition is never wrong.'
She thought as she headed back along with the two into her house. She asked numerous questions to which he easily answered. "Why didn't you answer any of my calls?" She started off. "I'm sorry as I didn't have it as I mistakenly lost it during a hike in the retreat." He brushed it off. It wasn't a lie about not having it but the way he lost it was. He placed it in the car along with the mask as he knew that the phone would be tapped after making that phone call.
"How did the two of you meet?" Her greatest concern as the three was seated in the dining table having a chat. "We met during lunch actually-" She looked at Ashley,"I want her to tell me." Ashley weirded out by her move answered,"It is as your son had said it,we met during lunch after the hike when he lost his phone." She blatantly lied however nothing about her gave her away. "Very well. Is there a relationship between the two of you?"
Her greatest concern lay here. "Actually your son and I are in a relationship." Ashley answered.. 'When I meant by look for friends Andrew,I didn't mean it like looking for a girlfriend.' "Ashley,do you not think that the two of you rushed it, after all you've known each other for less than a week." She posed. "Even though we are both aware of this,we have decided to give it a chance." Andrew answered. "Haah! Very well, Ashley will sleep in your room while you sleep on the couch Andrew."
Lucy said as she stood up. "If any of you are hungry, there's leftover dinner in the fridge." She left the room heading to her bedroom. Andrew went to check out the said dinner to realize that it was pizza. 'How healthy,mom!' He sarcastically commented in his mind as he took it out and started to warm it with the microwave.
...
Lucy woke up and glancing at her phone,it was 11pm but she could still hear voices coming from the living room. She wore her indoor sandals and went to inspect the source to encounter an intriguing scene. All three halted in place however Lucy seemed the most disturbed with what she saw. "Hello Miss Lucy." Ashley said as she cuddled deeper with Andrew. The two were wrapped in a blanket as they seemed to douse themselves in late entertainment by watching the television.
Something about this picture didn't sit right with her. "It's almost midnight, that's it,the both of you are going to sleep!" She said however the two seemed reluctant to move. "Didn't you hear me! Provided that you are under my roof, you'll follow my orders!" She commanded making the two switch off the television and Ashley went to Andrew's room. Andrew fixated the blanket he had on him and prepared himself to sleep. "Goodnight mom." He said.
"Actually...before you sleep...there is something that I want to talk about with you..." Lucy said softly after Ashley was out of the room.