Ashley went to her room and gazed around. Her room was as bright and cheerful as ever, a funky combination of purples and oranges. Her surroundings weren't the problem; the hole inside her was. She had lost her purpose too suddenly for her to understand what was supposed to happen next.

Jonny's claim was fresh in her mind along with the pain that didn't come from his bite. The part of her that resented him had melted into sorrow, leaving her uncertain what else there was in the world if not revenge and vamps.

She nudged the project due the week before that sat untouched on her desk. Her grades were mediocre at best again so far this year. She had time to change that. Her obsession had been with training rather than studying, but her latest confrontation with Jonny left her … deflated.

Ashley sat down at her desk and drew a deep breath. She still had the urge to cry, and the sting of Jonny's bite hadn't faded. She touched the light scars at her neck and winced. He'd been trying to hurt her, to drive her off.

He didn't want her around. What he felt for her four years ago wasn't enough for him to risk being with her and now, nothing remained on his end at all.

Had anything ever hurt this much?

"No more vamps, Ash," she whispered. Exhausted and upset from her night, she flipped off her lights and climbed into bed to cry herself to sleep.

She slept deeply and awoke long past her normal wakeup time. After her night, she didn't feel like starting her day at the boxing gym and instead, wrapped a blanket around herself and shuffled into the kitchen.

Brandon's workstation and laptop were both off and the apartment quiet. He often slept in until noon on a Saturday. Ashley made her usual breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast and sat in front of the television. She scrolled through her phone to find messages from Jessi and Brandon both. Brandon's was nothing more than an alert from one of his apps. Whenever he left the apartment, his phone texted her, and vice versa.

She leaned over the arm of the couch to peer down the hallway leading to their bedrooms. His door was opened. She'd been too sleepy to notice when she went to the kitchen.

"He's up early for once and I slept in," she murmured. She finished breakfast before taking a quick shower and getting dressed.

And then sitting back down on the couch and realizing she didn't have any clue what to do if she didn't spend the day in the gym or plotting Jonny's downfall. She made a list of potential activities, starting with focusing more on her schoolwork and committing to the major she'd halfheartedly chosen. A new hobby, helping Jessi with her kids, fixing up the apartment.




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