Is She, Isn't She? Ch. 03

A nightmare that she now had to control.

"Tash, get a hold of yourself!" she rang out loudly now, to distract Tash. "Don't do anything stupid! Don't touch her! Why didn't you ring me? Why didn't you take my calls?"

"I was still in the hospital and cop-shop signing statements and shit when you rang! I tried ringing you back on your mobile and your home phone and you weren't picking up – figured you were asleep!" Tasha growled her reply, a thunderous expression on her face, eyes narrowed into furious slits.

"The ... the answering machine is still switched on from before I went out last night," Ashley realised, thinking about it – in all the activities and dramas since, she had, of course, forgotten to switch it off. "My mobile must have run out of battery after my mum called this morning, I didn't think to charge it ..."

"Ashley!" Tasha snarled. "What the hell is she doing here? I'm going to kick her ass!"

Awkward. "Tash, listen, we're together, her and I," Ashley groaningly said. "This is excruciating, I'm sorry ..."

"What do you mean, you're fucking together?" Tasha demanded.

"She's means just that; we're fucking together!" Jeanie suddenly rang out over Ashley's shoulder.

"Jeanie!" Ashley's eyes widened and she turned her head to glare at her pretty, disobliging young lover. "Shut up!"

"Little smart-ass whore!" Tasha made to grab Jeanie again but Ashley took several forceful steps backwards, driving Jeanie, who was still attached to the blonde's body, out of Tasha's reach.

"Cool it, Tash!" Ashley commanded sharply, trying to gain control of the situation. "I'm serious, think about what you're doing!"

"What the hell? You were with me last night! I thought we were going to start something back up again, and I find out you had a slut on the side the whole time? I should king-hit you too!" Tasha was boiling mad.

"No, it wasn't like that!" Ashley tried to placate the butcher woman, speaking very quickly. "Jeanie and I just got together recently, as in, today, really ... we've not been official. When I got with you, I thought she and I were over ... I wasn't cheating on anyone! I wasn't lying to you! I wouldn't do that to you, Tash. Jeanie and I have only worked it out since then. As in, we only made the decision to be in a relationship this morning, after I was with you!"

"You're part of my decision to come back in the area!" Tasha threw at her woundedly.

"I can't help that Tash, I've got a girlfriend now," Ashley responded painfully.

"Did you see what this bitch did to my face?" Tasha hissed, pointing. "I thought you cared about me, you ice-cold cow!"

"I do care about you Tash – but you grabbed her!" Ashley reminded her ex. "You were in the wrong. It was self-defence, Tash, a cut-and-dry case of it – surely the police told you that?"

"Fuck you Ashley, you're a whore," Tasha spat.

"Shut up you gorilla, that's my girlfriend you're talking to, go bang on your hairy chest someplace else!" Jeanie suddenly sneered from over Ashley's shoulder.

"JEANIE!" Ashley almost exploded.

Jeanie buried her face into Ashley's shoulder again, in disgrace, and Ashley turned back to Tash, who had balled her fist and was making for Ashley's (verbally wayward) brunette girlfriend.

"Tasha, cut it out, stop this now! Or I'll call the police – don't make me do this to you! I don't want to do this to you! I'm sorry for the way things turned out, believe me," Ashley desperately tried to talk Tasha down. "Don't get yourself into more trouble. I'm sorry things didn't work out between us."

"Why would you choose that little two-bit, half-assed, white-trash, straight-bitch whore over me?" Tasha put to Ashley. "After all you and I have been through together, Ash! She's not even pretty, she looks like a trashy ugly slut."

Jeanie's arm at Ashley's stomach began to rise, with her middle finger standing. Ashley hit it back down again.

"Jeanie!" she snapped behind her icily. "I mean it, Jeanie, control yourself! Tasha – leave. Now. With a bit of dignity! Before I turn this into a legal matter. I'm sorry, believe me, but you need to go!"

"Fuck you both! You're a fucking, heart-breaking bitch, Ashley! And if I ever see you in the street, cherry, you want to watch out! Ashley, I can't believe you're taking this home-wrecking piece of trash's side over mine when this is what she fucking did to me!" with one last point to her face, Tasha turned on her heel and strode out, slamming the front door behind her, loud enough to rattle the picture frames in the back room.

There was a brief, shell-shocked silence after the unpleasant confrontation.

"Jeanie, your mouth!" then Ashley turned to face her young lover with wide, alarmed, angry green eyes. "I couldn't believe it! You could have caused all that to blow up completely just then, you do realise? I was trying to calm her down and you were being utterly unhelpful!"

"Sorry Ashie," Jeanie fidgeted, contrite.

"I can't believe your mouth, Jeanie!" Ashley shook her head, scowling at her brunette girlfriend. "You're a complete smart-aleck! There is a time and a place for your wit, darling, and that was not it!"

"Yes Ashie," Jeanie traced a toe on the ground, pursing her lips together, hard.

"This is not funny, Jeanie, I know you think you were very clever with your "gorilla" comment but honestly ...!" Ashley lectured.

Jeanie bit her bottom lip hard, face working.

"Oh for god's sake!" Ashley rolled her eyes disgustedly and went to answer the buzz that sounded out in her flat. "Go ahead and laugh, but next time I mean it Jeanie, you need to have more self-control! That was immature!"

"Yes, Ashie," Jeanie was giggling.

"Oh, you total smart-ass!" Ashley sighed, buzzing the real delivery guy up. "You are so naughty, Jeanie!"

"Discipline me?" Jeanie bounced up to her hopefully, cuddling up to her back again as Ashley tried to get into her bedroom to grab her abandoned handbag.

"You know I can't do anything other than spoil you, Princess Jeanie," Ashley sighed, staggering into her bedroom with Jeanie attached, reaching her bag and counting notes out. "You're naughty but you're gorgeous and I love your cheeky side – you just need to learn to control it and only show it when it's appropriate to do so, okay baby?"

"Yes Ashie," Jeanie agreed in an obedient, cutesy voice. "I love you. Does that make everything okay?"

Ashley turned around, closed her eyes and kissed her.

THE END.