“Ro is right.” Ash’s eyes are out on stalks. “This place is incredible.” She tilts her head to one side. “I don’t mean to be nosy—”
“Yeah, you do,” Ronan quips, interrupting her. “Nosy is your middle name.”
She flips her middle finger up at him before refocusing on me. “I know you have money, because I’ve seen your clothes and you’re the only one who brings an iPad to class, but how wealthy are you?”
“Jesus, Ash.” Ronan strides toward us, shaking his head. “You can’t ask Grace that.”
“It’s okay. It’s not a secret. My parents are wealthy, and I’m fortunate to have grown up without wanting for anything. Mom organized all this for me,” I say, waving my hands around. “I was prepared to live in one of the dorms at Trinity, but they didn’t have any vacancies.”
“I’d take this place over a dorm room any day,” Ash says, arching her back and groaning.
We chat casually as we eat lunch, and I’m enjoying the good-natured banter between the siblings. Ronan fires questions at me about L.A., and I do my best to answer them without giving too much away. He talks animatedly about the band and his plans for stardom. They talk about their crazy family, making me promise I’ll visit the farm one weekend. Every so often, Ash straightens her back and stretches her arms up over her head, and curiosity gets the best of me. “What’s with all the back stretching?”
“Dillon’s lumpy couch doesn’t make for the best sleep,” she replies. “My back is fucking killing me.”
Ronan narrows his eyes to slits. “Try sleeping on the floor in a threadbare sleeping bag.”
“I thought you said you weren’t crashing there anymore after the last time?” A couple of weeks ago, Ash confided that she walked in on Dillon and Jamie tag-teaming Aoife. She had stayed over after a party at their place and stumbled upon them while taking a trip to the bathroom. She swore she was never staying there again. She clammed up after departing that nugget, but I could tell she was hurt. I want to ask her about her history with Jamie, but I stop myself because I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I can’t demand she tells me shit about her life when I’m guarding my secrets so close to my chest.
Audrey says I should tell her. That she’s proven herself in the month since I’ve known her, but I’m still wary. Which makes me feel like a bitch because Ash has done nothing to demonstrate she’s untrustworthy. I know I have trust issues after what Danny did to me, but Audrey pointed out I can’t keep living my life shutting people out. I know not everyone will be like him, but it’s hard to trust people when you’re the daughter of famous parents and the ex-girlfriend of one of the hottest Hollywood stars. I want to tell Ash, but it feels too soon.
“I didn’t see you yesterday to tell you,” Ash explains. “I had to move out of my flat. They found a shitload of asbestos in the building, and it’s not safe to stay there. I slept on Dillon’s couch last night.”
“Your brother didn’t even offer you his room?” Wow, that guy is an even bigger douche than I thought.
“He did, but there’s no fucking way I’m sleeping in his bed. I’d probably get an STD from the sheets.”
“Eww.” My nose scrunches in distaste.
Ronan chuckles. “I don’t think it works like that, sis, and I know Dil’s a lazy bastard, but he’s not a slob. He does wash his sheets.”
“It’s beside the point,” she says, rubbing her shoulders. “Whether I sleep on the couch or Dil’s bed isn’t the issue. They don’t have room for me, and I don’t want you sleeping on the floor every weekend. I need to find a new place.”
“Move in here,” I blurt without hesitation.
Ash’s eyes blink superfast. “What?”
“I have a spare bedroom that’s going to waste.”
“It’s sweet of you to offer, but I can’t afford the rent for a swanky place like this.” Ash works at a local store a few nights a week, and she mentioned her parents give her a contribution toward her flat, but I know money is tight.
“You don’t need to pay anything. The rent is already paid up, and the utilities are covered as part of the agreement. You’d only have to pay for groceries.”
“Wow. That is really generous,” Ronan says.
“I don’t want to sponge off you. It would feel wrong.”