Picture Perfect?

Ashley's POV:

This is one of the worst days of my entire life . I'm not sure which is harder to deal with , feeling as though my insides are being ripped out every time I think about the fact that one of the people I care about most is gone , or the numbness that seems to take over the rest of the time .
We walk back into my aunts house after the funeral , and everyone is just sitting around , without much to say . Then my cousin says , "Hey , Ash , did you ever hear from your girl ?"
When he says this , I remember that I turned off my phone before we went to the church . I turn it back on , and see that I have two missed calls and one text . I check my voicemail , and the calls are from Jake and CC , checking to see how I'm doing . I already talked to Andy and Jinxx last night , so I'll need to check back in with the other two later . Then I check the text , and I see ;
Ash ,
I just talked to Andy , and he told me what happened .
I am so , so sorry . If you want to talk , you know how
to reach me . If not , I'll see you when you come back
to LA . Photo shoot postponed until you're ready . Big
hugs , and friendly thoughts !
Dev
When I read this , it actually makes me smile for the first time in days .
"So , was that her ?" my cousin asks .
"No , the calls were from the guys , and the text was actually from Tanya's roommate . Apparently , Andy told her what happened , and she just wanted to touch base ."
"So your girlfriend can't be bothered to get in touch with you right now , but someone you're not even dating is willing to put out the effort to contact you ? That says something to me right there !" , my uncle says .
"I told you guys , Tanya couldn't get out of work , so I know she's busy . She'll call me when she can . And as for Dev , that's just the way she is . She'd do the same thing for any of us . Or pretty much anybody , for that matter ."
"Is she a model , too ?" , my aunt inquires .
"No , she's actually a photographer , and a pretty good one , too ." I say .,I then pull up the pictures on my phone , and find one of both of the girls . I pass it to my aunt , and say , "The blonde is Tanya , and Devlin is the brunette ."
They pass the phone around and look at the picture , then my aunt says ; "You do realize , don't you , that you've been dating this girl for nearly a year , and this is the first time any of us have even seen what she looks like ."
It startles me when I realize that she's absolutely right . I've been going out with her all this time , and I've never even thought about bringing her out here to meet everyone . Maybe because I'm not sure what sort of reaction I'd get , on either end .
"Dude !" My cousin says , "If you're not going out with the other girl , can I come visit you for spring break , and you can introduce me ?" She's hot !"
"She's twenty - five , and you're only seventeen . I'd say she's a bit too old for you ." I tell him .
"Maybe so , but still !" , he says , pointing at my phone , " This is what you'd get if you mixed up Megan Fox and Gal Godot ! Maybe if you weren't so interested in playing with Barbies you'd notice these things ."
I finally convince him that I'm not going to set him up with a grown woman , and the conversation sort of dies out from there . We all basically autopilot through the rest of the day , and by 11 o'clock that night , everyone else has gone to bed . I'm so tired that it actually hurts , but I can't shut my brain down enough to be able to sleep . I return Jake and CC's calls , then try to call Tanya , but it goes straight to her voicemail . By this time , it's almost midnight , so I hesitate a bit , but I finally pick my phone back up and dial a number .
Before the second ring even finishes , I hear "Hey , Ash . How are you doing ?"
"I've definitely been better . I hope I didn't wake you up , but everyone else is asleep , and I just really needed to hear a friendly voice ."
"You didn't wake me up , but it wouldn't have mattered if you had . I'm always available if my friends need me .I thought I made that clear in my text ." Dev tells me .
I let out a huge breath when I hear this , and I start talking to her , telling her everything I can't drop on my family , when they're hurting just as much as I am .
We talk for nearly two hours , and by the time we finish , tears are streaming down my face , but I feel like I'm about a hundred pounds lighter , and I just might be able to get some sleep after all .

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