Page 72 of Ashes to Ash’s

Ash looked even more confused. “He’s… taking us? Marrying us? What? I don’t get it.”

He was pulling at his hair again, like he couldn’t stop making agitated motions while he worried about what was happening.

“Ash. Ash, take a breath. He’s not leaving, but I’m worried we’re doing him harm.”

Ash was up like a shot, pacing in the shower cubicle, which, by the way, was a really stupid fucking place for us to hang out. I got up too, and headed for the bedroom, because my back was killing me, and my ass was kind of numb. I wasn’t about to mention that to my lovely boyfriend though, because he’d take it as a come on. He took most things that way.

He followed me into the bedroom, standing by the wall with his hands tucked in his jeans pockets.

“You’re freaking me out, babe. How are we harming him? Is he okay?”

I sighed. “He wants us to kill his parents too.”

Ash’s dark eyes widened, and a laugh burst out of him.

“Oh. Is that all? I’m sure Etha-”

“No! That’s the point I’m making! This shouldn’t be so easy to just agree to! He shouldn’t be deciding his parents need to die, I shouldn’t have done that either, and you should be disagreeing with the possibility of us murdering people just because they don’t, or won’t, like us!”

Ash had grinned as I hopped up from the bed to argue with him, like it was some kind of foreplay, which for him, it probably was.

“Ash, I’m serious.”

He sighed, moving over to close the bedroom door, like this conversation is the one that shouldn’t be heard, out of everything that’s been said and done so far. Meanwhile downstairs two people were probably fucking in the blood of my dead kin, while the boy I was hoping we wouldn’t screw up, was hopefully still eating his lunch nowhere near any of this.

“Babe, they’re intolerant assholes who neglected their son.”

I threw my hands up with frustration.

“This is what I’m talking about! That’s not a reason to kill people, Ash! Where does it stop? Someone cuts us off in traffic, do we kill them? The barista makes your coffee too hot? Kill them? Where’s the fucking line?!”

Anger tightened his face, as he clenched his fists and approached me like a threat he literally was, but I was no longer afraid of him.

“Listen, Cal-”

“You know, nobody ever got away with calling me that until you, and now I’m just merrily accepting it like it’s my fucking name!”

Despite his anger, a small grin appeared and disappeared, like a mirage I could have blinked and missed.

“It’s a Cross family trait, babe. We’re good at naming people. But look, I get your point, and no, I’m not likely to kill a fucking prick from a kneejerk reaction like that. Did we rush in without planning either of these kills? No. We considered what needed to happen. We put plans in action, and we fucking executed them. Oooh, I punned.”

Jesus. I opened my mouth, but he wasn’t done, so who knew what’d come out of his mouth next. With him, literally anything was possible.

“Here’s the thing, Cal. There’s a huge difference between a dicksplash who can’t read a road sign, and a bigot who abuses their child. Or forces rape on guys to try and turn them straight. I’m not about to apologise for removing those fucking polyps from this asshole planet. Got it?”

Polyps? Nope, not going there.

“Ash, it seems at times that you guys will just merrily kill someone just to feel their fucking blood on your skin!”

That grin was back. That fucking grin!

“I mean, sure, that part’s fun, but I’m not really the killing kind, babe. You might have noticed that I let Em and Ethan have that honour. I’m all about justice for assholes like them, but I’m a bit of a pussy, like you. I want them gone, but I’m happy letting my family take the lives. I just want to spend mine wrapped around you. Is that so bad? Am I such an awful person?”

“Yes,” I murmured, as I pulled his pouty face closer and rested my forehead against it, “we both are. We have to do better with Ren, okay? Promise me we won’t just let him run wild, and become a psycho, without at least trying to prevent that?”

Ash chuckled, wrapping his hands around my cheeks and holding me close.

“I can try, babe. Do I get points for that?”