I hung up and went to sleep. I woke up an hour later. I checked my phone and there was nothing from Ashley. I got out of bed and went downstairs. Kyla and Aiden were sitting on the couch watching a movie.

            “Hey Spencer,” Aiden said.

            “Hey Aiden,” I said. “What are you guys watching?”

            “The new Pirates movie,” he said. “Wanna watch it with us?”

            “Sure,” I said. I walked over and sat in the recliner.

            The movie got over and I still hadn’t heard from Ashley. It had been about four hours and I was getting really worried.

            “What’s up Spence?” Aiden asked.

            “Oh nothing,” I lied.

            “Have you heard from Ash yet?” Kyla asked.

            “No,” I said.

            “Here,” Aiden said tossing me his keys. “Take my car.”

            “Are you sure?” I asked.

            “Yeah,” he said. “Just be careful.”

            “Thanks,” I said. I went out to his car and drove off. I drove around for a few minutes when it finally hit me. I knew where she was. I headed to the beach. I saw her car in the lot. I parked next to it. It was dark and a bit chilly so I grabbed the blanket from the back of Aiden’s car. I wrapped the blanket around me and started walking toward the water. I looked all around then I finally saw a figure sitting near the dock. I walked over that way. The closer I got, I realized that it was Ashley for sure. I walked up behind her. “Got room for one more?”

            Ashley jumped and looked back at me. “Sure,” she said.

            I sat down next to her. “Didn’t mean to scare you,” I said.

            “It’s ok,” she said.

            “Are you ok?” I asked.

            “Yeah,” she said.

            “Baby,” I said. “Talk to me. Please.”

            “What do you want me to say, Spence?” she asked. “I’m a failure. I’m a loser. No college wants me. I have no future. I’m going to be stuck here while you go off and do amazing things at school. I hate myself.”

            “Oh Ash,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her tightly. She cried onto my shoulder. “It’s going to be ok. You still haven’t heard from USC yet. And if it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t going to go to UCLA or UC San Diego anyways.”