Ashly is outside, she decided that it would be better to not be around the sulking Lucas. As she is barely seven feet away from the entrance of the inn, Richard is walking by, and he is holding a small box. "Oh it's you, you didn't follow me did you?" She asked Richard.
"What kind of nonsense is that, this is a small town. You're going to see the same face 10 times before the afternoon everyday." Richard says in his defense. "There isn't a lot of people living here, we all are familiar with each other. It's more rare to not know everyone than anything else."
"Well I'm just not feeling so good today, Lucas is sulking so much. It feels so forced in my opinion and he must know that, is he trying to guilt trip me?" she said.
"By the way you're speaking so negatively about him, I presume you both are in bad terms." He asked and she nods. "Why is that so? I'm not trying to get into strangers business, but I am curious as to why."
"He is being annoying at the moment, that's all. He is a very important person to me even with the attitude of a child." Ashly says. "He is the only person who helped me a lot, no the only person who I trust."
"By the looks of him, I can have a guess you two have meet some bad people." Richard said as he looks at the inn. "His injuries look so recent, I'm honestly a bit worried about what you said about trust. Do you ever think about his feelings?"
"No, not really." Ashly says as she thinks about telling the man to leave her alone. "I never thought about his feeling before, I don't want to as he is a mess."
"Listen you have to be empathetic to those who are your friend. You can't just act like a jerk to them or else they will leave you behind."
"I don't think you can ever understand me." Ashly says in a harsh tone. "I feel very uncomfortable around people, specially new ones who are overly invested. I already dealt with it before, and it almost cost me everything, no it already did."
"I'm going to be direct with you so you will leave me alone. Whenever Lucas feels any form of sadness, it angers me. Not in the sense that he got hurt, but because he is so different from all the shitty people I know." Ashly said staring at Richard.
"That's such a negative way to view things, you do know that your view shapes how the world treats your right?" He said which confuses Ashly. "I mean if you only think about the negatives of this world, then that's all you will ever see. The same thing can be said to those who only see the world in a positive way."
"That's an absurd way of thinking, I would rather die then to believe in foolish things. Anyone who believes in that will definitely get hit by the world the hardest." She says.
Richard is taken a back by the ferocity of Ashly's words. For a second he just stares at Ashly unable to say a single word. He looks away, then back at her, then away once's more. "Oh…uh.." Is all he could say.
Ashly stares at him, and feels like she won at this moment. This will definitely make sure he wouldn't want to talk to her again. Before she could leave. "You smell nice, you really smell nice." Richard says which was something Ashly never expected. She is completely taken aback by what he told her, why would he say that to her.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ashly said with a hint of disbelief. "I'm trying to tell you to screw off, andyet you're talking about how I smell?"
"I'm sorry, it's just that what you said was shocking. I just couldn't think straight, and that was the first thing that came into my mind. I'm sorry if I'm coming off as a weirdo, I just wanted to say something." Richard said as he gave Ashly space.
At this moment Ashly got an idea. "Alright I think I went off a bit too hard. That's my fault and I would like to apologize. It's just that I didn't grow up with normal people so it's hard for me to act like one. May I ask you how does a normal person think, is there any trick to it?"
"I don't think there is a trick to it, you just know how to. I believe you just learn it by watching the people around you when you're a child and you copy it." Richard said. "I do think your parents you know, not telling you what is right plays a big part in it."
"I do believe the better question is to ask a person who ain't normal, how do they think." Richard says with pride as he in his mind seems smart for saying that. "Ask yourself what will you do, and why you thought of that in the first place."
"Yeah no, that's very stupid, it wouldn't work. Not in the way that you're thinking at least." Ashly said.
"What! But why wouldn't it? I think this is such a great way to look at the question." He said scratching his head.
"Well I always thought this way, for most of what I remember at least. The people I grew up with acted this way as well." She said. "So in my eyes, I'm thinking like a "normal" person."
"Oh I'm sorry, I just sounded so stupid right now." Richard said. "I didn't think that through, sorry for wasting your time."
Ashly takes the opportunity, and leaves Richard behind. She begins to think about the words Lucas told her weeks ago. Maybe she sould confront him, and have a long conversation with him. No that's dumb, with how she acts it will only make their friendship end immediately. Lucas won't stand with her shit anymore, and she should be wary.
Ashly wants to leave Lucas behind, but her body is stopping her. It's too risky to not speak with Lucas. She isn't completely stupid, she will just check on him, and make him feel like she cares for him. Ashly re wnters the inn, and Lucas is still checking on the map. This time Lucas ignores Ashly completely, he saw her so he knows she is back.
Ashly sits next to Lucas, Lucas has almost never ignored her before so she knows this is more serious. Lucas looks at Ashly. "What is it that you need? I thought you were leaving for a while."
"Listen Lucas, I still need your help." She said. "I know how things have been going, and I have been…acting a bit bold."
"No Ashly, just stop right now." He says which makes Ashly shut her mouth. "I'm tired Ashly, I tried to help you out. I did, I tried for way too long, and every time you refused. You caused trouble when we finally had a healthy way for you to get help. How am I supposed to just believe you right now? You aren't who It thought you were."
He said before lowering his head onto the table. "When I agreed to help you, I thought you were a good person. A good person deep down who was forced to do heinous things to survive. But now that I got to know you more, I was dead wrong. You're so different than what I imagined, I can't trust you anymore."
"What do you mean you can't trust me? I never lied about who I was. The me you saw back then is the me you see now. You just had this weird obsession of a me who never existed nor I alluded to existing. This is all your fault Lucas, it's not my fault you tricked yourself. I technically never said I was going to change immediately Lucas. That's all I need Lucas, time and I can change."
"Shut up Ashly, you're so full of…" Lucas just can't insult her even after all of what she has done. "You're …full of rubbish, I'm sorry but I won't allow you to make promises you can't keep."
Ashly is taken offense by his statement. "Well if it wasn't for you being such a coward, I wouldn't have to think of you as lesser than. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I'm lost and I don't think I want to change."
"So you're completely sure with what you said, nothing but the truth?" He asks as he looks up at her. "You can't take back your words now Ashly, what you said is done."
Ashly then realizes she is doing the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. She let her temper take control, and she is in a worse position than before. "Fuck that's not what I-, fuck." She says as she face palms, this is all getting worse and worse. She brought herself into a corner, the same corner she wanted to avoid.
"Listen to me Ashly, I'm going to give you two options. Nothing more and nothing less, I won't change my mind anymore. If what I'm going to tell you doesn't align with what you wanted, then I'd be dammed." Lucas says with an assertive tone, "You either change and grow, leaving all of this behind. Or you don't and I leave you behind, I'm not taking this anymore. You have six days to make your decision, you can't answer me earlier or later than six days."
"What are you talking about Lucas? I know you wo-"
"No Ashly! I'm trying to find my parents, and I don't want to worry about dying in the process. If you don't change at all, you will only cause me trouble." He says, this makes Ashly stay silent for a long time.
"Like I said Ashly, the Quill Makers were making progress. You just never push yourself, that's another problem with you. If you want to change you will have to push your own weight." Lucas then rubs his eyes. "I hope this will make you change or motivate you to. If you don't want to change then you will tell me in six days and I'll be gone."
Lucas then stands up, and puts his stuff away. He grabs his bag and leaves the inn without speaking anymore. Lucas is feeling hurt, but he knows if he didn't say what he said then Ashly wouldn't make any decision. His heart feels like it got ripped off, he should of been smarter.
Ashly is still sitting down, she then scoffs at the entire situation. "Lucas will return back in a few hours, at the latest. He is only feeling this way because he is tired, he wouldn't abandon me at all." She says with full confidence
Lucas is now walking by a street, he can't focus at all. His mind is full of emotions that he can't let out. He sees an older man who notices how distressed Lucas seems. "Is there something that's bothering young man?" He asked.
Lucas looks up at the older man. "Yeah, something very terrible. I said something that will change my relationship with a friend." He says. "I made this decision that I know is right, but I don't know what to do now. I just thought this journey was going to be wonderful and…" Lucas wipes his tears. "I just need to clear up my mind, I don't want to be disturbed for the moment."
"Oh, I am sorry for you young man, go ahead. I won't bother you anymore." The old man says as he makes way for Lucas to leave.