25: Rockin' Around

Hellbent

Chapter 25

Rockin’ around

The sun began to set on Christmas Day. Makayla sped down the highway, approaching the sign that read ‘SWANTON CITY’. Her heart pounded in her chest at the sight of the city skyline.

Makayla: “I have to do this…”

She swallowed hard.

Makayla: “I have to make things right with him before it’s too late… I should have told him sooner…”

She pursed her lips.

Makayla: “And I HAVE to save him from that lying little snake!”

She floored her accelerator and zoomed past the sign, entering the city.

~

Ashley covered his face with his hands as Yvette comforted him.

Ashley: “I don’t know how to feel…”

He sighed.

Yvette: “ANGRY!”

She huffed, pacing around the room.

Ashley: “N-no… I’m not an angry person!”

He said with strain behind a forced smile.

Ashley: “I’m just… confused?! I thought love was a sacred ritual… but she’s doing it for fame… WITH Maxx’s bandmate?!”

He bowed his head and rubbed his temples, shaking his head.

Ashley: “And she didn’t even tell me! She lied about him and wouldn’t help me find him! Wouldn’t you want to know?!”

His voice rose and he knit his eyebrows at Yvette.

Yvette: “I already knew she was like this! I TOLD you she was bad!”

She huffed, swinging her feather sword. Ashley knit his eyebrows, thinking back to her drawings of Makayla with different people, and then his encounter with Krystal.

Ashley: “I’m sorry… I thought she loved me and I thought I knew her… I guess I didn’t want it to be true…”

He sighed and thought of the conversation he heard at the cafe.

Ashley: “You tried to warn me about her, even though it was hard… so I should do the same for you, too… I don’t want to be like Makayla and keep things from you.”

He turned to Yvette, taking her hand. Yvette glanced down at him.

Ashley: “There’s something you need to know about Jiro…”

He pursed his lips. Yvette froze and her eyes widened.

Yvette: “Jiro?! You know something about him, Ashley?”

She pressed him. Ashley drew a breath.

Ashley: “...When we were at the café and you were in the bathroom, I heard Maxx’s mum talking to Jiro’s mum…”

He began.

Yvette: “...Mayumi?!”

She gasped and her heart sank. Ashley nodded and pursed his lips.

Ashley: “Jiro didn’t just disappear… he…”

He drew a breath.

Ashley: “He didn’t want to marry you… he ran away from you… I’m so sorry!”

He began slowly. Yvette froze and blinked mutely.

Yvette: “...W-what?!”

She trembled all over. Ashley drew a breath and closed his eyes.

Ashley: “He… ran off with prostitutes…”

He confessed with strain. Yvette’s shoulders dropped and her breathing hitched.

Ashley: “I’m sorry… Makayla broke my heart too…”

He pulled her into a hug.

Yvette: “NO!”

Yvette wrenched away from him and whacked the hamburger lamp to the ground with her feather sword. It smashed on the floor upon impact. Ashley recoiled.

Yvette: “NO! HE DIDN’T RUN AWAY! HE DISAPPEARED AND GOT DRUGGED!”

She seethed. Ashley drew back and swallowed hard.

Ashley: “I’m sorry…”

He reached out to her, but she pulled away.

Yvette: “Don’t EVER say that to me again!”

She bawled, storming out of the room. Ashley gaped, taken aback by her reaction.

Ashley: “...Oh god… I made everything worse!”

He picked up his cat, Keke, and snuggled her on the bed, burying his head into her soft black fur.

Ashley: “Christmas isn’t supposed to be this way…”

He sighed, thinking back to his time in Sunshire with his family. He thought back to sitting around the Christmas tree, watching it burn as they sang together and exchanged beautiful handmade gifts of wreaths, baked goods, and woodcrafted objects.

Ashley: “I wish I were back home with Blake…”

He sighed, thinking of sitting in the living room with Blake and Andreas.

~

Blake and Andreas sat in the living room under their black Christmas tree, listening to the latest Possessed Pestilence record. Blaring Death metal filled the house.

Andreas: “Merry Our Christmas.”

He kissed him, handing him a delicately wrapped black gift. Blake smiled at him and opened his gift to reveal a silver ring with a square black onyx stone cut.

Blake: “Oh, wow, very nice! Thank you, Andreas!”

He smiled at Andreas and kissed him.

Andreas: “Onyx is associated with protection, strength, and grounding.”

He smiled at him as he slid the ring on his index finger.

Andreas: “Which are also associated with you.”

He reddened and kissed him. Blake beamed widely and kissed him back.

Blake: “That’s so sweet. Thank you.”

He reddened.

Blake smiled at him, presenting him with something under a cloth.

Blake: “I’m sorry… I don’t know how to wrap…”

He stammered awkwardly. I usually get Ashley to do that, he thought. Andreas smiled at him.

Andreas: “That’s ok. We’re celebrating our own way without the rules.”

He assured him. Blake smiled. Andreas lifted the cloth and gasped at the handcrafted wooden box. It was painted in a black varnish with Celtic patterns engraved on it with a pentagram at the center of it, painted in gold.

Andreas: “Oh wow… you made me a spellbox?!”

He cupped his mouth, recalling that Blake mentioned he would always craft his gifts in Sunshire and for Ashley. Blake reddened and nodded.

Blake: “Do you like it?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, shifting his eyes.

Andreas: “I love it! It’s perfect! Thank you, Blake!”

He wrapped his arms around him and kissed him. They shared an embrace on the couch, kissing each other passionately.

Andreas paused when he sniffed something in the air.

Andreas: “Is something burning?”

Blake’s eyes widened and he shot up from the couch.

Blake: “Oh, shit! The roast!”

He exclaimed, rushing into the kitchen and pulling out the roast lamb with fresh pumpkin and potatoes from the garden. Blake sighed and shook his head at the charred remains.

Andreas: “Did you put olive oil on this?”

He asked. Blake paused.

Blake: “...No. Was I supposed to?”

Andreas cupped his mouth and laughed.

Andreas: “How did you grow up in a commune and not know how to cook?”

He gasped.

Blake: “Because that’s what the women did. The men would build, protect, and gather meat.”

He explained.

Andreas: “But Ashley isn’t a woman?”

He arched an eyebrow.

Blake: “No… but he didn’t want to do what the men did and wanted to do what the women did. Clean, cook, and make crafts. He wasn’t supposed to… but he did it anyway, even if he was punished. I guess we were both rebels in our own ways...”

He explained as his voice trailed off. Andreas nodded, taking it in. No wonder I wasn’t sure if Ashley was a man or woman when we met, he thought. It seems neither does Ashley.

Andreas: “Well, cooking is a life skill and shouldn’t be boxed into gender. You’ve been out in the real world all these years and never learned to cook?”

He challenged. Blake paused.

Blake: “...No… Ashley always cooked for us and he enjoyed it. It makes him happy.”

He sighed as his voice trailed off, wishing he were here.

Andreas: “That’s real sweet, and all, but you should learn to cook, too, Blake. You can’t rely on Ashley to cook for you forever. What will you do when they move out with their future partner? Or when we’re living together in our own house?”

He challenged. He then paused when he realized what he just blurted at the end. Blake paused.

Blake: “...Y-You want to live with me?”

He stammered and reddened. Andreas blushed and shifted his eyes.

Andreas: “...Would you want that?”

He shifted awkwardly. Blake paused and swallowed hard.

Blake: “...Yes!”

He blurted with a trace of hesitation. Andreas sensed his vibe and smiled at him.

Andreas: “Don’t worry, I don’t mean right now.”

He assured him, taking his hands.

Andreas: “I know you’re not ready yet.”

He added, observing Blake as he stared at the burnt roast, worrying about Ashley and wishing he were here.

Blake drew a breath.

Blake: “Now what are we going to eat?”

He sighed. Andreas took his hand.

Andreas: “Well, I could teach you to cook, but I think since it’s Christmas, let’s just get something at Voyage Burger or order a pizza?”

He laughed. Blake’s eyebrows rose surprisingly.

Blake: “Really? Pizza and burgers on Christmas?”

He laughed, disbelievingly.

Andreas: “Why not? We’re celebrating it our own way!”

He held his hands, gazing up at him.

Blake: “This is the best Christmas ever.”

He pulled him in for a kiss. Andreas kissed him back.

~

Ashley sauntered down the Malone mansion staircase dressed in his purple paisley poncho draped over his ivory shirt and jean shorts. Yvette stomped to him with a look on her face like a week of wet weather. She was dressed in her horned helmet with a red fur-trimmed cape and red dress.

Yvette: “WHERE is your Viking tunic, Ashley?!”

She prodded him. Ashley paused and shifted his eyes.

Ashley: “Oh… it’s dirty and in the wash.”

He stammered. He didn’t want to rile her up more and wanted to keep the peace on Christmas. Yvette huffed and stamped her feet, holding her feather sword to his neck.

Yvette: “Say you’re sorry for what you said!”

She cried. Ashley gaped at her.

Ashley: “...W-what?”

He swallowed hard and tingled at the feather pressed against his neck.

Yvette: “Say you’re sorry for saying those mean things to me about Jiro!”

She hissed, swiping her feather sword across his neck.

Ashley: “H-ahahahah! I-I’m sorry… I wish it wasn’t true, but it is…”

He sighed and bowed his head. Yvette gaped at him and flared.

Yvette: “NO! It’s NOT true!”

She screamed, slashing at his neck with her feather sword.

Ashley: “HA-hahah HAAH aha haha!”

He fell to his knees and grabbed his neck. Maxx barged in and interjected. He was dressed in a red sequin vest with bright neon red leather pants.

Maxx: “No time for dat; it’s PRESENT TIME!”

He jumped up and down, leading them to the lounge room.

Ashley: “Oh, pawesome.”

He forced a smile. Yvette harumphed.

Yvette: “This isn’t over!”

She narrowed her eyes onto Ashley, waving her feather sword at him.

They entered the lounge room on the other side of the hallway. George and Susan were seated together on the burgundy leather Chesterfield couch in front of the stone fireplace at the center of the room. An eight-foot-tall Christmas tree filled up a quarter of the room. It sat by a large Palladian window looking out to a beautiful clear sky view of the bayside and the Swanton Bay Harbor bridge in full view. Hundreds of wrapped presents sat under the Christmas tree and filled the room.

Susan: “MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY SWEET ANGEL, MAXWELL!”

She squealed, rushing over to him and showering him with pink kisses all over his cheeks.

Maxx: “NOOOOAW! MUMMY-KINS!”

He screeched.

George: “Yes, Merry Christmas, Maxwell.”

He nodded awkwardly, patting his back. He turned to Yvette and Ashley.

George: “Merry Christmas, Ashley and Yvette.”

He flashed them a smile.

Ashley: “Merry Christmas!”

He masked a smile.

Yvette: “Merry Christmas!”

She chirped, presenting Ashley with a gift wrapped in brown paper.

Maxx: “NAH-AH! DO ME FIRST! DO ME! DO ME!”

He jumped up and down like a child. Susan held her hand up at Yvette and Ashley.

Susan: “Ah-ah. Maxwell goes first!”

She smiled widely at Maxx, handing him a nearly wrapped present. Yvette pouted and Ashley awkwardly scratched his head. Maxx tore the gift open like a savage animal. Inside it was a pair of silver cowboy boots.

Maxx: “OWWWH! Rockin’ da sexy silver boots I wanted!”

He grinned widely. Yvette went to present her gift to Ashley again.

Maxx: “NAH-AH! I WANT DADDY-KIN’S GIFT!!”

He whined. Yvette huffed. George handed Maxx a large wrapped box.

George: “For you, Maxwell.”

He smiled. Maxx clawed the wrapping paper open and grinned widely at the latest NES game station.

Maxx: “OWWWH! DA VIDEO GAME MACHINE!”

He hollered ecstatically.

Ashley: “Oh wow… that’s really cool.”

He smiled a bit.

George: “And for your friends from us.”

He presented Ashley and Yvette with wrapped gifts each.

Ashley: “Oh wow, thank you!”

Maxx pouted.

Maxx: “I want another gift!”

He pouted. Susan smiled at Maxx, handing him another gift. Yvette opened her gift to reveal a make-up set and Ashley opened his gift to reveal a candle-making set.

Ashley: “Oh wow, that’s so nice, thank you!”

He smiled.

Yvette: “Ooh, make up!”

Maxx tore open his next gift which was a neon pink pimp hat.

Maxx: “OWWH! ROCKIN’!”

He grinned, putting it on his head. Susan continued to hand Maxx gifts like a conveyor belt. Ashley presented them with their gifts. He presented George and Susan with bottles of champagne.

Ashley: “Thanks for your hospitality.”

He said earnestly.

George: “Why, thank you.”

Maxx: “HEY! Where’s mine, A-Rad?!”

He pouted.

Ashley: “Oh, here you go!”

He handed him a gift wrapped in pink paper. Maxx clawed it open like an animal.

Maxx: “OWWH! WILD STALLION!”

He grinned widely.

Maxx: “Maxxy got DA BEST GIFT EVER FOR YOU, A-RAD!”

He grinned at him, handing him a crudely wrapped gift with his pouty face all over it. Ashley stumbled over an awkward laugh.

Ashley: “Haha… Sex Beest wrapping paper.”

He tore it off to reveal a plastic hamburger phone.

Ashley: “Oh, wow, haha, more hamburgers…”

He laughed awkwardly.

Maxx: “Now you can call all da hamburger places on your hamburger phone!”

He grinned.

Yvette: “Like Voyage Burger!”

She added. Ashley forced a smile.

Ashley: “Hahah ahaha hahaha I get it. It’s because I’m fat. Like that fat guy in American Pizza who eats all da burgers.”

He laughed bitterly and awkwardly. Maxx grinned inanely. Susan handed Maxx another present.

Ashley turned to Yvette and handed his gift for Yvette to her.

Ashley: “Here’s your gift from me, Yvette!”

Yvette delicately tore off the paper and screamed in delight.

Yvette: “AHHHHH! VAAAARG!”

She squealed at the ‘Varg the Viking’ clock with huge feet on either side of it.

Yvette: “What a coincidence!”

She grinned, handing Ashley his gift. Ashley smiled as he unwrapped the gift. His smile dampened when he saw the ‘Varg The Viking’ costume with the enormous feet slippers, horned helmet, and that dreadful fake beard.

Yvette: “NOW YOU CAN BE VARG THE VIKING!”

She squealed with delight. Ashley froze, too stunned to speak. He felt like the room was spinning around him and he shut down.

Ashley: “I don’t want to be Varg the Viking.”

He blurted numbly in a daze. Yvette turned to him, stunned beyond disbelief.

Yvette: “W-WHAT?!”

She gasped.

Maxx: “Pfft, he doesn’t wanna be your stupid lame Viking!”

He cackled.

Yvette: “VARG ISN’T STUPID OR LAME!”

She fired back at Maxx.

Maxx: “He wants to be a cool rebel rocker like me!”

He grinned at Ashley.

Ashley: “I don’t want to be a ‘cool’ rebel rocker either.”

He said numbly in a daze, rising to his feet.

Maxx: “NAH-AH!”

He pouted.

Ashley: “I’m NOT a Viking man and I’m NOT a fat joke!”

He cried and stormed off. Maxx and Yvette were too stunned to speak.

~

Ashley marched out of the mansion with Keke and plonked down in the garden, hugging his legs and burying his head into his hands. He couldn’t fight back the tears any longer as teardrops fell into the soil at his feet.

Ashley: “...I want to go home…”

He sighed, missing his parents and missing Blake, wishing he was with him and Andreas. He heard a faint woman’s voice calling his name. He looked up and turned his head in the direction of the voice.

He heard a commotion coming from the gate. A security guard was chasing the woman and yelling at her.

Security Guard: “HEY! GET OUT OF HERE! Authorized personnel only!”

He yelled. Ashley froze when he saw Makayla running towards him, chased by the security guard.

Ashley: “Makayla?! What are you doing here?! What do you want?!”

He snapped at her. Makayla rushed up to him, panting.

Makayla: “ASHLEY! We need to talk! It’s important!”

She cried and pleaded, catching her breath. Suddenly, the security guard grabbed her arms.

Security Guard: “You’re trespassing on private property! You will need to leave now.”

He said firmly.

Makayla: “Ashley, please!”

She cried and pleaded with him. Ashley drew a long breath.

Ashley: “Let me talk to her. I wanna know what’s so important!”

He held his hand up, locking his glare onto her. The security guard nodded and let her go. He returned to the gate.

Ashley turned to Makayla.

Ashley: “What are you doing here, Makayla? How did you find me?!”

He paced around, throwing his arms up.

Makayla: “Well… the prime minister’s house is a well-known landmark…”

She explained. Ashley sighed.

Ashley: “You’re too late. I saw the tape, Makayla.”

He said numbly with a hollow, broken expression. Makayla froze.

Makayla: “...What tape?”

She swallowed hard. Ashley gaped at her.

Ashley: “Oh, it’s called Rockstar Fuckers! I totally loved the Hoggie Hottie bit!”

He laughed a hollow laugh.

Makayla: “O-Oh… you saw that, huh?”

She asked softly.

Makayla: “Did you find it hot?”

She shifted her eyes. Ashley gaped at her.

Ashley: “WHAT?! Why would you say THAT?!”

He exclaimed.

Ashley: “I saw you with SOMEONE ELSE in a porno and that’s your response?! Is that what you wanted from me?! Another ‘hottie hoggie’ or whatever?!”

He cried. Makayla shifted her eyes.

Ashley: “I wish you told me about this… so much could have been avoided, and we wouldn’t be HERE right now!”

He cried, throwing his arms up.

Makayla: “I’m sorry… I didn’t want to hurt you.”

She knit her eyebrows.

Ashley: “...Well… you did. And you hurt me with Krystal, too!”

He pursed his lips and looked away from her.

Makayla: “I’m sorry, Ashley, Veronika convinced me you were involved with Yvette. That’s also what I need to talk to you about–”

Ashley interjected, holding his hand up as Blake did.

Ashley: “You believed her… but you didn’t believe me… you wouldn’t listen to me… and you did that to me with Krystal…”

He said with hurt in his tone. Makayla bowed her head.

Makayla: “I’m sorry… what can I do to fix this?!”

She pleaded with him. Ashley drew a breath.

Ashley: “Tell me where Jaxon is.”

He asked of her. Makayla paused to gape at him.

Makayla: “What? Why do you want to know that?!”

She gasped.

Ashley: “Because… I need to find Maxx’s bandmates and put this to rest.”

He said with a determined glint in his eyes.

Makayla: “Ashley. All that time I was on tour with them, Maxx was NEVER with there!”

She explained. Ashley froze.

Ashley: “...What?!”

He turned to her.

Makayla: “JAXON was the frontman!”

Suddenly, the door swung open as Yvette rushed out to them.

Yvette: “What is SHE doing here?!”

She glared at Makayla. Makayla glared back at her and grabbed Ashley’s arm.

Makayla: “DON’T trust her, Ashley! She’s just using you to see J-”

She pointed at Yvette. Ashley interjected.

Ashley: “Don’t trust HER?! How can I trust YOU after what you did to me?!”

He cried and pulled away from her. Makayla recoiled, taken aback.

Ashley: “Now you’re trying to turn me against Yvette?!”

He wiped his tears. Makayla sobbed and reached out to him.

Ashley: “I’m SO done! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

He cried and took off down the street.

~

Ashley ran until he could no longer. He clutched his chest, panting, and leaned on a building with his cat in his arms. He looked up to see the empty streets and empty stores, closed for Christmas Day. The sun was starting to set, and the sky turned hues of pink.

Ashley: “This is the worst Christmas ever…”

He held his cat close, catching his breath. He spotted a diner down the road that appeared open with its neon glow. He clutched his stomach, feeling the sharp pang of hunger. He looked down at Keke.

Ashley: “Let’s get you something to eat, Keke.”

He patted her head and walked towards the diner with her.

~

Ashley entered the diner, tucking his cat under his paisley poncho. It was a modest diner from a bygone era with wooden floorboards and a bar. A 50s jukebox was in the corner playing hits from the 60s and 70s. A couple of disgruntled old men sat by the bar and a young man sat behind the bar in the shadows. Ashley gripped his cat tightly and sat alone by the window in the corner booth on the other side of the diner. A waitress came to his table. She looked like a burnout caricature of Doris Day.

Waitress: “What do you want to order?”

She asked bluntly. Ashley glanced down at the menu and burst out laughing when he saw that it was full of hamburgers.

Ashley: “Wow. It’s a sign from the universe. I didn’t even need to bring my hamburger phone. They came calling to me.”

He laughed bitterly. The waitress quirked an eyebrow at him.

Waitress: “What will it be then?”

She pressed him.

Ashley: “The biggest hamburger you have, please!”

He laughed bitterly. The waitress gave him an odd look and took down his order. He felt someone’s eyes on him and looked in the direction of the young man sitting at the bar in the darkness, watching his cigarette light up and smoke billow around him. Ashley shifted his eyes and looked away, petting his cat.

Ashley: “Looks like we’re not the only ones having a bad Christmas, Keke.”

He muttered to her, observing the people in the diner, curious about their stories. He held her close, looking out the window, deep in thought.

He heard footsteps drawing from the darkness and to his table where he saw a pair of Chelsea boots.

Man: “Is that a cat?!”

He laughed. Ashley flicked his gaze from Keke and up to the man. Ashley froze, stunned beyond belief when he saw him. He lowered his aviator sunglasses to lock his almond-shaped brown eyes on Ashley. He had red-tinged black hair with a red streak in his bangs, resembling a redback spider, and wore a red animal print shirt, exposing the dragon tattoo across his bare chest with a chain around his neck. I can’t believe it. It’s him! The universe IS laughing at me.

Ashley: “...I know you. You’re Jaxon…”

He stammered. Jaxon looked surprised and grinned at him.

Jaxon: “Oh, you’re a fan of Axe Beest, huh?”

He leaned forward. Ashley’s eyes widened. Did he hear that right?

Ashley: “...Did you say Axe beest or Sex Beest?”

Jaxon quirked an eyebrow.

Jaxon: “Sex Beest?!”

He laughed.

Jaxon: “No, no, I said AXE Beest.”

He clarified. Ashley froze, thinking back to seeing the name ‘Axe Beest’ on the Metallogazmfest poster and Maxx claiming it must be another “copycat” band. He always found that suspicious.

Ashley thought of what Makayla said about Maxx not being on that tour with them. He didn’t know what to believe and didn’t trust her, but he also didn't want to believe her. He couldn’t stop thinking of the burning question on his lips.

Ashley: “Who IS Maxxy Malone?”

The question slipped out without a second thought. Jaxon’s eyes widened and his demeanor shifted.

Jaxon: “Maxxy Malone?! What do you know about him?”

He leaned in closer to him, over the table.

Jaxon: “Who are you?”

He asked Ashley, sitting across from him in the booth with intrigue and curiosity. Ashley’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard.

Ashley: “I’m Ashley Sabatini… and I don’t know anymore…”

He pursed his lips, staring down at his trembling hands and Sunshire tattoo, feeling broken. Who am I anymore? He wondered.

Jaxon: “How do you not know who you are, Ashley?”

He laid back in his seat and laughed, kicking his feet up and swinging his gaze to him. Ashley embraced himself.

Ashley: “I'm not the person I thought I was… and I don't know who that is anymore…”

He sighed.

The waitress came back with Ashley’s order. It was a double beef burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, mustard, and ketchup, with a serving of fries. Ashley pulled the tomato out of his burger, placing it on the napkin. Jaxon grinned at his fries, snatching them.

Jaxon: “What are you doing here all sad and alone anyway?”

He laughed, eating his fries. Ashley laughed and bit into his burger.

Ashley: “You're sad and alone here too! So why are you?”

Jaxon shrugged.

Jaxon: “I was hungry and this was the only place open.”

He said nonchalantly.

Ashley: “What about your family and bandmates?”

Jaxon scoffed and looked away.

Jaxon: “...I left my family… and they're off with their boring families.”

He huffed. Ashley paused, thinking of how he and Blake left their family, too, and felt sad for him.

Ashley: “I wouldn't say the Malones are boring.”

He frowned.

Jaxon: “The Malones?”

He cackled. Ashley quirked an eyebrow and took another bite of his burger.

Ashley: “So… you're the missing bandmate of Sex Beest and Maxx’s bestie, huh?”

He eyed him curiously, taking a bite out of his burger.

Jaxon: “...WHAT?!”

He froze and gaped at him.

Ashley: “That's what Maxx told me…”

He took another bite of his burger. Jaxon seethed.

Jaxon: “NO?! THAT CLOWN FUCKER STOLE OUR BAND NAME?!”

He rasped shooting up from his seat.

Ashley: “Now it all makes sense…”

He said numbly, dropping his burger on the table, staring off into space.

Jaxon: “What the FUCK is going on?!”

He exclaimed, leaning over and shaking Ashley’s shoulders.

Ashley: “Oh. My parents went missing and Maxx used that to make me feel bad for him, claiming his bandmates went missing and he claimed it was you. But he lied to me the whole time. That's what happened.”

He said numbly, staring off into space as it dawned on him, resuming his burger again with a huge bite.

Jaxon: “WHAT?!”

He fumed and clenched his fists.

Ashley: “I know, right.”

He said numbly, chowing down on his burger.

Jaxon: “TAKE ME TO HIM! THAT CLOWN IS GOING TO PAY!”

He rasped, grabbing Ashley’s arm and dragging him out of there as he held his cat and ate his burger.