Anchor of Hope by Kiah Stephens Read Free Book Online

His meow sounded more like a creaky floorboard. He lifted a front left paw and began licking it, revealing missing teeth. Ashley felt her stomach churn, repulsed by his appearance.
    She slowly stood up, supporting herself on the bedside table, pressing one hand to her face.   
    There was a glass of water beside her bed and she downed the whole thing. She had slept in an old oversized tee shirt and socks so she ruffled through her suitcase until she found her tracksuit pants, and pulled them on. She was still lacking the motivation to unpack. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen, opening the medicine cabinet in search of the Alka Seltzer packet and found a note on the counter top.
     
    Ash,
    Hope you had a good night with Bryan and Jess.
    We've gone to church.
    Help yourself to breakfast.
    We'll be home around noon.
    Mom
    xx
     
    She shouldn't have drunk so much. Martin and Jane must have known she’d had a big night out, and now they were at church. She could only imagine the lecture she’d get when they came home. Her head hurt too much to even think about it right now. She swallowed a dose of Alka Seltzer, then went upstairs to shower.
    She stepped out of the shower and wiped the bathroom mirror to remove the condensation. Her skin looked pale and colorless.
    She ran her fingers up and over her cheekbones, pulling the skin taut and admiring the instant improvement. Sighing, she let go.
    There was a knock on the bathroom door.
    “You in there, Ash?” It was her mother.
    She quickly wrapped a towel around herself.
    “Yeah.”
    “I'm going to make some lunch—is there anything you want? I have some nice gluten-free bread from Bryan’s shop. Do you want a ham sandwich?”
    Ashley felt an involuntary lurch from the pit of her stomach and desperately lunged for the toilet bowl as the remainder of last night’s drinks and spaghetti bolognese violently departed in an unladylike manner.
    “Honey?” Her mom knocked at the door again. “You all right?”
    “I'll be down in a minute.” Ashley grabbed for some toilet paper to wipe her mouth.
     
    When Ashely made it downstairs, Martin was sitting on a bench stool eating a ham salad sandwich and reading the local newspaper, while Jane busied herself preparing a sandwich.
    “Here she is.” Jane smiled.
    “Whoa! If you're auditioning for a role on that zombie TV show, consider yourself hired!” Martin said. Jane playfully smacked him on the shoulder.
    “Big night?” Martin asked more seriously.
    “Yeah. Too big.” Ashley groaned, sitting down beside him. Jane handed her a cup of coffee.
    “How was your dinner with the Johnsons?”
    “It was lovely. You should see their new Winnebago, Ashley. It's incredible. Isn't it incredible, Martin?”
    Martin nodded and went back to reading the paper.
    “It is like a house on wheels! It has a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom—”
    “Lounge,” Martin added.
    “Lounge. They're taking it on vacation next week and travelling all the way to the East Coast. I'd like to do something like that. Wouldn't you like to do something like that one day, Martin?” Jane asked.
    “What? Oh, yeah, one day.” He wasn't paying attention.
    “Grandma and Grandpa are coming for dinner tonight, Ash, or did I tell you that already? I can't remember if I did or not—my head’s all over the place this week.” Jane smiled as she closed her eyes and shook her head.
    “Just this week?” Martin asked.
    “Would you stop it?” Jane glared at Martin, suppressing a smile at his comments.
    Martin chuckled.
    As far as potential step-dads went, Martin Kingsley was great.  Her mother and Martin had met six years ago, when she she’d rescued him after a surfing accident while she was on vacation in California. They kept in touch over the internet, which was ironic considering that both of them were technologically challenged. The relationship had flourished from there, and he had moved to Sweet Home three years ago to settle down and retire after