“Are you sure you want me to keep up appearances?” Rachel asked, biting her lip as she did.

Ashe sighed, pinching her nose. “I don’t need your pity, and there’s only three months of school left besides. Just try to keep on the edge of Gray’s circle and tip me off if they’re going to try shit, okay?”

“I suppose…” Rachel looked off to the side, taking in the school in the distance. “I just don’t want anything to do with them anymore, not after what happened to Jessica.”

At that, Ashe had to bite her tongue. She didn’t like Rachel, or Jessica for that matter, and that wouldn’t change overnight. They had made her life hell for years, and even after everything Jessica endured, she wasn’t going to grant them a clean slate. If they put the work in, proved that they had changed, she might be willing to move on, but that wasn’t in the near future.

“Think of it as being a spy then,” Ashe said, eyeing a group of jocks trying to pretend they weren’t watching. “People have noticed we’re talking, so you’re going to have to shove me or something to make it look good.”

Rachel blinked, then muttered a curse. “I really don’t want to…”

“Fine,” Ashe said, then shouldered past her. She kept her face tight, controlled, and obviously angry as she marched past the jocks. “The fuck are you looking at?”

“Just a freak,” one of them said.

Ashe wasn’t sure how much they knew about the fight, because if it were her that got her ass beat, she would have kept her mouth shut. Gray and his flunkies got their asses beat, and they really shouldn’t be as cocky as they were. Nobody had approached her, which meant they would try to get even on their own terms rather that appeal to the authorities.

That was perfectly fine by her.

Security went quickly enough, her clear backpack going through the x-ray, then getting patted down after the metal detector went off. At first she found it degrading, always being singled out, but it also helped cover her ass in the event someone ever tried to plant a weapon on her. That fear had dissipated over the years, but it still resided rent free in the back of her mind.

Shouldering her bag, she made her way to her locker only to stop when she found a vaguely familiar man waiting for her. He was tall and lanky, with dirty blonde hair and some fuzz on his face. He didn’t appear to be one of the jocks, but she was almost certain that he hung around Gray’s group.

“Can I help you?” Ashe demanded, already done with the day.

The man snorted, shaking his head. “Relax, Ashe. I’m not here to cause trouble unlike some of the idiots in this school.”

“Then talk fast,” she said, tapping her foot. “I’d rather not be late for classes.”

“You’re dating Crystal, are you not?”

Ashe blinked, surprised to not hear the ‘Ellington’ attached to that statement. “Not at present, no. We’re just good friends.”

“Close enough then,” he said, then held out his hand. “Name’s Todd Lambert, I’m a good friend of her brother, Jason.”

Eyes narrowing, Ashe hadn’t missed the implications behind the emphasized words. She knew little about Jason, but if Todd was dating him, that would explain part of why Crystal was sticking around to help shelter him. Jason was turning eighteen soon, which meant he too would be free of their father’s influence. Crystal was willing to move to another state with her, but only if Jason would be safe.

“I’m guessing there’s a reason you’ve waited until now to approach me?” Ashe asked, moving to her locker. If he wanted to talk, she could at least get her things sorted.

“It’s more of a worry,” he said, stepping aside to give her access to the locker. “I’ve noticed some people following Jason lately. Which isn’t unusual, but this is a different group.”

Ashe watched him from the corner of her eye. “A protection detail isn’t surprising, given how Crystal ran off and wants nothing to do with the Senator.”

“Yeah, he’s had one of those for most of his life. They shadow him pretty effectively, but I know most of them. This is a new group, and they aren’t locals.”

Ashe hummed, but held off on answering. She could think of several reasons a new group might be following someone like him, from paparazzi to assassins. The real question was, why come to her about it? He could go to anyone else and they would listen, hell, he could just ask the Senator. If he was being allowed to be around Jason, there were good odds that the man wasn’t aware they were a couple.

“I’m guessing I’m not your first choice,” Ashe asked.

Todd sighed. “I’ve talked to Preston, Mr. Ellington, and the police. None of them humored me. I know that Crystal ran away and ended up with less than legal ties, and with you being so close…”

“Out with it then,” Ashe said, her head falling against the locker door.

“Gray is pissed with you,” Todd said, changing the subject. “He’s planning something to get back at you.”

“And what,” Ashe asked, straightening up, “you’ll find out what if I look into who is following Jason?”

“Couldn’t hurt,” he said with a lopsided smile.

He was manipulating her, there was no disputing that, but he was at least attempting to make it mutually beneficial. Ashe would be calling Crystal first thing at lunch, if only to verify what was being said.

“Give me your number before school is done,” Ashe said. “I’ll give Crystal a call to check things out, then get back with you.”

“Thanks,” he said, the tension in his shoulders fleeing almost immediately. “You have no idea how much of a relief it is to be taken seriously.”

“Yeah,” Ashe said. “I’ve got an idea of it.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Crystal had been that voice as of late, more so than her parents, helping her in tangible ways that her parents couldn’t match due to the inherent bias of the law. She’d managed to bring her attackers to justice, all because she chose to act. If she could help someone else, maybe pay it forward, she would do so.

Until then, she had classes to get through.

----------------------------------------

“They’re dating?” Crystal asked, her voice amused. “I mean, I had some suspicions, but no shit?”

Chuckling, Ashe leaned against the staff restroom wall. Just two months prior she had been at the sink across from her, scrubbing glue from her hair. “Yeah, he certainly implied they were an item.”

“Good for them,” Crystal said, something shuffling in the background. “I’ll admit to being a bit worried, if that bastard learns about them…”

“Think that’s why people are following them?” Ashe mused, checking the time as Crystal hummed in affirmation. There was still a bit left in her free period before her next class. “I can ask Rachel to hang out with him, if you feel safe trusting him with what we do.”

“Jason already knows,” Crystal said. “At least when it comes to me. He probably has strong suspicions about you as well. He asked about our little ride, but I kept it vague.”

“Todd knows too,” Ashe said. “His comment was too on point.”

Crystal chuckled. “Ashe, I’m as obviously Viuda as it gets for a white girl. He knows that much, but I doubt Jason told him anything deeper.”

So, Jason knew she was Riptide, but was keeping that much from his boyfriend. That wouldn’t stop Todd from doing the math himself, but plausible deniability was a thing. She could live with that, assuming it didn’t get spread around to everyone.

“Works for me,” Ashe said. “Any luck on the housing situation?”

“I’ve got a Realtor looking into places in Sutton,” Crystal said. “I can’t afford much else not to mention that I’m going to have to pay with cash, which is a big red flag.”

“Sutton’s a shit hole,” Ashe said with a groan. “Mom gets called out there at least once a week for a murder.”

“Which is why it is so cheap,” Crystal said. “I’ve got three showings lined up for Saturday already, one of which is a foreclosed apartment complex.”

“This Saturday?” Ashe asked. “Shit, I completely forgot.”

“Something important?”

Ashe shook her head, quick to dispel the concern she could hear in Crystal’s voice. “Not something you probably want to attend, just a police fundraiser and picnic for their families. I’ve gone every year since they adopted me.”

“And you didn’t think to invite me?” Crystal asked.

Shit, she was in trouble. “I didn’t think, period. My parents haven’t even mentioned it since the whole mess last week. I only remembered because I got an email about it an hour ago.”

A loud huff came across the line. “I suppose you weren’t wrong, but I wouldn’t have minded attending with you, even if the place was crawling with cops.”

Ashe winced, knowing she had fucked up with her assumptions. Trying to figure out how best to explain it, Ashe ran some of the prior guests through her mind. “Um, the Mayor usually attends… So does the head of the Patriot Church.”

“Okay, you got me there,” Crystal said. “Wouldn’t be surprised if my father attended in the past either.”

“I’ve only been attending since I was twelve,” Ashe said with a shrug. “I’m more worried about the Patriot Church at the moment and how they’re going to be bragging about their new mega scam.”

That whole mess was an entirely different animal. They were balls deep in constructing a gigantic eyesore of a building right on the outskirts of downtown, all on the taxpayer’s dime of course. It would be a mega church that rivaled many sports stadiums, costing half a billion dollars by completion. They expected to open by the fall.

“No surprise that my father helped get it funded,” Crystal said, her voice weary. “Alright, we can get everything worked out. I’ll talk to Jason and see what he has to say about Todd’s worries, maybe we can even meet up with them this evening.”

“Let me know if we can, I’ll talk to my parents about it,” Ashe said. “Alright, the bell is about to ring. I’ll talk to you at lunch.”

“Okie dokey,” Crystal said. “Try not to break more of the football team before the season is done.”

Ashe chuckled. “Funny, they had to drop out of the league because of that.”

“Darn,” Crystal said, voice slow and flat. “Such a shame.”

“Please, they would have crashed out first round of the playoffs if they even made it that far,” Ashe said with a chuckle. The school really did have a shit team, probably because they had such a limited recruiting pool. Racism was a bitch like that. The bell rang and Ashe muttered a curse “Alright, gotta go before the stampede. Talk to you soon.”

“Yeah,” Crystal said. “Take care.”

----------------------------------------

All she could do was count the days. Rachel was cozying up to the jocks again, just as had been asked of her, which was all fine and good. Then she poured milk on Ashe’s jeans at lunch. That was bad enough, needing to be rinsed and dried in the staff restroom. Thankfully she kept spare sweats in her locker to be safe. Then someone tripped her and she fell on her bad leg, biting down some very colorful language and a violent retribution.

She retreated from the lunch room, cursing her ruined meal as well as the throbbing in her leg. When she reached the staff restroom she was glad to see that the stitches hadn’t reopened, not that it helped the pain. For that, she downed her emergency oxy, knowing she would spend the next hour or two in a haze.

A texted apology had followed just minutes later, and Ashe had to wave it off. She’d specifically asked Rachel to do shit like that, so could she really complain? If Rachel suddenly turned super nice, it would only draw attention that Rachel didn’t need. Ashe had endured it for years, and could handle herself besides.

Maybe she should sign her girls up for lessons with Kyle and Erik, draft Rachel into it as an excuse to throw her around a bit. She couldn’t help but laugh, because aside from the petty vindication she would feel, it was almost as if she was planning to train her own personal forces. She wasn’t looking for that, she just wanted to help people and keep them safe.

At least, that’s what she told herself.

Too many of her preconceptions about what she would be doing were already thoroughly crushed, the cold light of reality weighing down on who she was and what she had done. The nightmares were already less frequent, barely a week after she killed multiple people. Would the next group she was forced to kill even bother her to begin with?

Would it be in defense of her girls, or over some other matter she couldn’t even comprehend yet? That it wasn’t even a question of it, but when, really should have bothered her more deeply than it did. She touched the wound on her leg, the stitches rough under her touch. How many other close calls might be in her future?

Yet another thing she really didn’t want to dwell too deeply on.

She checked her messages again, finding a message in the group chat with her parents offering no objections to meeting with Crystal’s brother after school to get to know the kid. She of course left out many of the details about what they were meeting about, of course.

A vibration from her phone had her raising an eyebrow as she fished it out. The number was unknown which would normally set off alarm bells, but the first line gave away who the sender was. Keiko. The message was sent as a group chat, which Ashe wanted to scold them for with how bad that was for operational security. Irritation aside, the content of the message was also a concern.

She wanted to meet, and Robbie would be there too.

With a groan, Ashe fell back against the wall and let herself slump down to the floor. The only upside to things was that the time they wanted to meet was after everything Ashe had planned for the evening. Silver linings and all.

So much for things being simple.