My Legacy

Andy's POV: Ashley had been having a hard time with everything in the studio today, and I think it has to do with Christina. It's alright though. We still have time to do the backing vocals, but when I tell him to go take a breather and get his head on straight.
He nods, then exits the booth and heads outside. I go to follow him, maybe talk to him for a bit, but CC stops me and says, "It's my sister who upset him. Let me take care of this."
I nod, then sit back down on the leather couch, while CC heads out after Ash.
Thing is though, I can't just sit still, so I get up and move to the window. Damn my ADHD sometimes...
"Hey, man, just try to relax. CC's going to talk to Ash and we'll move on from this bump in the road. It's not a big deal," John tells me, resting a hand on my shoulder.
I nod as I watch Ashley break the surface of the pool and then swim over to CC. They talk for a bit, and CC drags a poolside chair over to Ash.
I watch as they continue to talk for a bit, while CC smokes a cigarette, then Ashley surprises me. He says something to CC and he nods, then passes a cigarette to Ash and lights it for him.
I can tell he's not inhaling the smoke from the cigarette, but for Ash to even pick up one, is a rare thing.
A few minutes pass of them talking then CC looks over at the parking lot and says something. Ash appears to dismiss whatever CC had said, and then CC gets up and walks away. A few moments pass, then he's back in my line of sight, and this time he's with Christina and talks to her behind the bushes by the swimming pool.
She looks shocked for a moment, then says something, which clearly upset CC. He narrows his eyes at her slightly, then points at her and says something. I see him clearly say "bullshit" then think I catch him saying something about "lying", but I'm not sure, since I can't hear them through the glass window. At the same time though, lying wouldn't make sense, since Christina's always been one of the most honest and blunt people I know.
I look over at Ash, who's now out of the pool, and closer to the bushes. He looks like he's listening intently to their conversation, with a look of shock plastered across his face as well.
I look back to CC and Christina as she hangs her head, and says something I can't see. It looks like she's ashamed of herself somehow.
When CC reacts to whatever it is she said, he sighs, looking down, and shakes his head. He then replies, looking up at his sister, and holds his hands out to her. They continue to exchange a few words, then Christina takes his hands and pulls herself up.
CC hugs his sister close, then when they pull away, he just looks at her, then she sits back down.
"What's he looking at?" I hear Juliet ask, but she doesn't get a response from anyone in the studio. At least not a verbal one.
I look down and sigh, then say, "I was watching Ash and CC at first, but then Christina got involved."
When I look back up, I see Ash round the corner and he looks pissed. CC gets between him and Christina, while Ash yells over CC's shoulder at her. What the actual fuck happened?
"Shit!" I hiss, as I quickly jog past everyone, who chases after me, and once outside, I can hear what's going on.
"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME?! I'M YOUR FUCKING BOYFRIEND! OR DOES THAT MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO YOU, CHRISTINA!" Ashley shouts at her.
"Ash! Come on, man! Like she said, she wanted it to be a surprise for all of us! Just cool it!" CC says loudly, but isn't quite shouting.
"Ashley, please," Christina whimpers, looking on the verge of tears, "I-Let me explain."
"WHY?! SO YOU CAN LIE AGAIN?!" he shouts back, through gritted teeth.
I may not know what's going on, but something clearly happened, and CC needs some help. So, without even stopping to ask, I quickly bolt over and grab Ash by the waist, pushing him into the pool, and falling in after him.
When we surface, I look at him, and shout, "WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?!"
"I COULD ASK YOU THE SAME FUCKING THING!" he counters, "YOU REALIZE CHRISTINA'S BEEN LYING TO ALL OF US?! WELL, OTHER THAN EMILY AND JULIET?!"
What? Now, I'm a little shocked.
"What has she lied about?" I demand.
"BEING ABLE TO FUCKING WALK! SHE'S BEEN LYING ABOUT HER PHYSICAL THERAPY!" he shouts back.
I look over at the group, Juliet and Emily are on either side of Christina, who's crying. CC stands ready to fight off anyone who might try to get at his sister, and John, Jinxx, and Jake all stare at the scene with wide eyes.
I look back to Ash and say, "Cool it, before getting out of here, because I'll just throw your ass back in, and you know that."
I then get out of the pool and walk over to CC, with my hands raised in a gesture telling him I don't want to fight. Once I'm standing in front of him, I ask, "May I talk to Christina, please?"
He looks at me for a long moment, then nods and says, "Don't try anything."
"You know me better than that, man," I say, then he steps aside and I crouch in front of Christina, but look at Juliet and Emily. I ask, "You knew?"
They both look down and nod, and Emily says, "Yeah. We knew, but she asked us not to say anything. Not until she was stronger, so she could surprise you guys."
"I am still here, you know," Christina says, glaring up at me, tears still flowing freely.
"I know. I was just about to get to you, in fact," I tell her, then ask, "I get you wanted to surprise us with it, but why?"
"Well, because for this past tour, you guys took such good care of me, and continue to do so, even though you don't have to. I thought maybe if I got strong enough to walk on my own by then end of this up coming tour, it would be a pleasant surprise to come home to, even if it was mainly for my brother and Ash," she explains.
So there was a legit reason behind her lying to us. I nod, then walk back over to Ash and say, "You really are an idiot. She did it so when we got back from tour, she could walk over to us as basically a welcome home surprise for you and CC. Get over it, cool off, then you can come back in the studio and maybe talk to her, like a civil human being."
I walk away, over to my car, and pull out the bag I keep in there. Once it's in hand, I walk back into the studio and change in the bathroom.
Christina's POV: Well, that really was a fail of major proportions, I think as I follow Andy and Christian back into the studio, and everyone but Ashley pours in behind us. We go back into John's studio and all sit around, while Andy does whatever it is he has to do with that bag. I assume it's to dry off and maybe change, and when he enters the room, I find I was right.
He looks at me with understanding and compassion and says, "You know you don't have to stay if you're too uncomfortable. No one would blame you if you left now. Not after what happened anyway."
I think about his words for a moment, then say, "I know, but if it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay. At least for a bit. And if you want...I'll tell you guys the whole truth."
"Honestly, that's up to you," Andy replies, "It would still be nice to see you walk again, when we got home, but you can be honest with us about anything."
"Alright. I'll tell you...but the video's off limits," I tell them, as Ashley walks back into the room.
He look emotionless, and I'm not sure if I prefer that or when he's angry with me. I hate seeing him like this, knowing I was the cause of it, but at the same time, I'm afraid of him when he gets angry like what he was outside.
"Ash, you want to step outside for this or do you want to hear what Christina has to say about what just happened, without losing you're cool?" CC asked Ashley, who just nods.
After a moment, he says, "I'll stay. I want to hear this, and Christina, I want to apologize for what happened out there."
"Apology accepted. I'm also sorry for not telling you," I say, then he nods with a small smile and I launch into the story.

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