Chapter Thirteen continued...
We drive up to an auto shop in Snobsdale. Or what I think is an auto shop. It's a massive white building sitting atop a blacktopped island surround by grey concrete. There's no artistic flourish to the building but is a rectangular squat block. The columns seamlessly blended into the facade. The storefront is a set gigantic black window with bold black lettering above the door.
Precision.
I open the door to Kris's car and stare at the sleek building in intimidation. "I thought you said she was a mechanic."
"She is." Kris gets out his car and shuts his door. "Her parents own the place."
"It's not like any mechanic I've ever been to," I say.
"They service motorsports cars and exotic vehicles. Unless you're secretly a race car driver or own a Rari you wouldn't have." Kris says.
"How do you know she's working her today?" The question came from Katie. She is looking at the "auto shop" as unsure as I was. And it was a valid question.
"My Dad bought a used Aston Martin Vanquish S, the subframe was experiencing corrosion and PAS pump was..." He stops.
He realizes who he is talking to. "It needed a high-end mechanic. And she works Saturday like every other working teen in America. "
I didn't know what a Vanquisher is, but I'd heard of an Aston Martin. It's a shockingly expensive car. A car I'd probably never be able to afford. Kris had never mentioned he came from money. He didn't dress like it either. He is wearing his usual style long shorts, flip flops, and a plaid button-up shirt. The only thing missing was his backward baseball cap which he'd left in the car. He appears more corn-fed son of a farmer than the son of a wealthy businessman.
"Right, the PAS pump," Katie repeats. Her tone is tinged with mockery.
"Come on are we going in or not?" He says. It's a rhetorical question because he continues towards the shop entrance without waiting for our answer.
An electronic bell dings when the door opens. The room is bright and spacious. Dark leather furniture decorates the space and there's an empty reception desk running along the back wall. Through a glass wall, a warehouse garage is visible. Exotic cars are lined up in an organized line. Some sat alone in their dangerous beauty while others were suspended while a mechanic worked underneath. I'd never seen a shop this spotless before there didn't appear to be a tool out place.
A girl in black jumpsuit appears from behind a yellow and black race car. Her blonde ponytail swings in rhythm as she makes her way towards us.
"That girl can make onesie look good. All she's missing is a pair of black stilettos." Kris says.
Katie huffs. "True, but I doubt heels are conducive to her work environment."
The girl walks in the well-lit room and rubs her hands on a grimy rag. Kris is closer to the desk and she greets him first.
"Hey, Kris. Is it the Vanquish S? Don't tell me it's the sub-frame again?" The concern is evident in her voice. "It was brand new we shipped it directly from our supplier in Europe."
"No, it's nothing like that," He adds sheepishly.
"No, is it something else then?" She looks at him in confusion. "I hope it's not the clutch and gearbox. I warned your father about that damned semi-automatic gearbox it's the weakest point of the car."
"The Aston is working perfectly. We came for another reason." He says.
At the word "We", her eyes finally move from Kris to take in our presence. It's as if she's just now noticing us behind him. Her eyes briefly skim Katie and then land on me. The happy demeanor she'd had for Kris drops and her cheery smile flips into a frown. Then she searches behind me.
"Where's Ari?" She asks.
Nice, was I that much of a tag alone? Don't answer that.
"Hello, to you to Ashley. She's not with me."
"Look I don't know why ya'll are here, but I'm workin'. I don't have time to..." Ashley starts towards the door to the garage.
"I know you posted those pictures of Ari," I say quickly.
She stops mid-stride; her hand is frozen above the door handle. Kris and Katie glare at me. Katie silently mouths, "Subtle". I ignore them both.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about." Ashley looks at me from over her shoulder but doesn't leave.
"You took pictures of Ari being sexually assaulted by four guys." I walk up closer to the desk so I can look her in the eye. "Instead of helping her or trying to stop it. You stood around and did nothing. For what? Some sick concept of revenge. So you could shame her on the Dirty? How can you live with yourself?"
"What?" Ashley releases the door handle and faces me. "I posted the pictures, but Ari is no victim. She was enjoying the attention. The only reason I went in, is because a girl from my squad had helped them take a group picture. You saw the picture of them on the bed. Believe me, they were having a good time."
"She'd been roofied, Ashley!" I shout. My anger has gotten the best of me. Her flippancy has me riled up. I'd never understood the term seeing red until now. It's as if the edge of my vision is tinted in fury.
"Last I checked you can't give consent if you've been drugged!"
"Wha—What..." Ashley stumbles over her words. Her glossed lips are agape and set in a perfect oval. "You're lyin'." She looks between our serious faces.
"I swear it. I didn't know." She says.
Her face puckers in grief or guilt. I'm not sure which. Nor do I know if it's sincere. I used to think I was good a reading people. But after Cameron, I had no confidence in my ability as a lie detector.
"Oh, come off it. You told me yourself you hate Ari." I say.
"No." She protests. "I was drunk, I said some things I didn't mean. I sometimes resent her, but I don't hate her. She's my friend. I thought Ari was being...Ari."
Ari being Ari. She didn't know her at all. What world did Ashley live in? She'd thought it was okay to leave her highly inebriated friend alone in a room with four strange guys.
"She's your friend?" I say, I almost want to laugh at the absurdity. "All year you've been torturing her with your posts to the Dirty."
I'd gone over the party repeatedly in my head. I'd been drinking, and there were gaps in my memory, but some things stood out clearly. Ashley had bumped into me and waved her phone in my face. "Told ya". Those were her words after she'd cornered me in the garage. Once I realized she'd posted the photos, it didn't take much of a leap to figure out she'd been the culprit for many of the others.
She had the motive and the opportunity. She was at the college party, she'd been the one to get Ari a towel when she was pushed in. And the hot tub photo. I'd bet my new car she was in the hot tub with Ari and James. All she would've had to do is reach over and grab James's phone.
And the slut-shaming list had to be constructed by someone close enough to know who Ari was seeing. The only rumor I couldn't fit was the lesbian rumor she spread, but how easy would it be for her to get a picture of Ari and me standing in the hallway at lunch or arriving at a school in the Tesla. We had the same lunch period.
I want to slap her. The excuse of frenemies is a long overdone and cliché. You're either someone's friend or you're not.
"Your list nearly destroyed her." I continue.
A traumatic memory of Ari and I running drunkenly across eight lanes of traffic flashes in my head. She'd almost been hit by a car. And if Ari was telling the truth about her virginity. It was even more messed up.
"You're toxic! I don't care what high school drama planet you live on! But this last post was inexcusable!"
I'm full on screaming but I can't help it. I can't let go of the rage and quite frankly I don't want to.
"This is all your fault! You should've been there for her!" I shout.
Kris and Kate walk up beside me. Kris has his hand on my elbow and Katie as a hand on my shoulder. They aren't touching me to comfort me but to restrain me. I hadn't noticed before, but I'm pressed against the counter and leaning over it. I'm only seconds from climbing over it to kick her ass. I take a deep breath and let my feet settle back to the ground.
Ashley is sitting slumped on a stool and the color has drained from her face. "I had no idea those guys were...I thought..." She trails off.
"Save it, what you did was unforgivable. You were supposed to be her friend. You were supposed to have her back. We all were!"
I'd been stewing over her behavior since I'd discovered she was the anonymous poster. All I feel is rage. Everyone at the party was Ari's friend and we should've been there to look out for her. I should've been there to look out for her.
I'd seen her moments before John had led my drunken friend back to the bedrooms. And I'd done nothing but look away. Ari wouldn't have let that happen to me, she'd looked out for me from day one.
"I'm sorry."
Ashley's completely collapsed in on herself. Her elbows are resting on the desk, and the palms of her hands are pasted to her face in shame.
"Come on. Let's go." Kris says and they steer me towards the exit.
I go along without a fight. I'm so angry I can't remember why'd we come.
"Wait." She whispers.
It's so soft I almost miss it. Ashley steps around the desk and trudges towards us. Her eyes are glued to the floor, then she looks up and her tear-filled eyes meet mine.
"Before you said I'd been torturing her all year." She gulps. "It wasn't me. This was the first time I've ever posted on the Dirty." The disbelief in my face must have been evident because she follows it up quickly.
"No deadass! I wasn't the one who uploaded those posts of Ari to the Dirty." She says.
She'd emphasized "I" as if she knew who had.
"But you know who did," I ask.
She looks away. The room is warm, but she wraps her arms around herself as if she's trying to stay warm.
"Who is it?"
TBC...Thirteen cont.
I know I've read your comments I'm mean. Another part without Ari. But hang in there with me...It's the only chapter without her in it as this chapter is about the growth of our MC. She's come a far way from the prologue, no?