Protect

"Aubrey oh my god I've missed you" I smiled as I embraced her in a warm hug.

————————

Ashely's POV

I loosened my grasp around her, and we both took a seat. We sat on either side of the small table smiling widely at each other. There was a small moment of silence before I began to speak.

"So how much planning do we need to do?" I questioned excitedly as I placed my hands onto the table.

"To be honest not that much. We still need to find a cake and pick out flowers... Little things like that" she replied with a smile.

"Well, that's easy then" I spoke while looking away and grabbing the menu. I looked down and huffed. I barely knew any Japanese.

"Two more days" she squealed also picking up a menu. My eyes widened at her words, and I looked up from the menu.

"Two days?" I repeated in shock.

"Yes" she grinned.

"Why so soon?" I asked putting down the menu.

"I just love him so much... I don't want to wait" she smiled as her cheeks turned a shade of pink. I giggled lightly and shook my head.

"I need to meet him. I need to know if he's good enough for my little sister" I laughed as she kept a wide grin on her face.

"You will" she spoke softly. "Off topic but what happened to hair Ash? The red was beautiful, I can't believe you changed it" she added.

"Oh... I wanted something different" I said while grabbing my hair and playing with it.

"Oh well it still looks amazing. How's Melissa?" she questioned innocently.

I felt my heart skip a beat at the mention of her name. I missed her deeply, but she was never a true friend. I stayed quiet and gazed out the window.

"Ash?" she spoke softly as she leant over the table closer to me.

"Yes, yes sorry" I smiled looking back at her.

"How is she? I tried contacting her, but her phone kept going straight to voice mail" she said sounding a bit upset.

"Bree... she passed" I said softly while I looked away. She was quiet for a moment.

"What?" she replied stunned.

"Yeah" I said bluntly with a sigh.

"When? How?" she said reaching her hand out across the table. I put my hand in hers.

"Nearly 2 years ago now... I don't really know what happened... she was here one minute and then the next she was gone." I said softly hoping she wouldn't ask any more questions. I didn't want her to know the truth, because that would mean telling her about Tom and Bill.

"That's heartbreaking Ashley, why didn't you tell me?" she spoke softly. "Is that why you left Tokyo?" she added.

"Yeah" I replied, but that was a lie.

Aubrey was oblivious of the whole situation with Tom. She was my baby sister and I wanted to protect her from those situations. If she knew the truth she would be in danger. I didn't want her to see me as weak. I needed her to think I was her older sister that could protect her from any situation. Hiding my past became the only path to maintain that protective image. I always promised to protect her and that was exactly what I was doing.

"How did you end up here?" I questioned.

"Inspired by my older sister I guess" she smiled. "I'm going to go and get us a coffee, what would u like?" she continued as she began to stand up.

"Whatever you're having" I smiled while grabbing my wallet out my bag.

"It's okay Ash, I've got it" she giggled as she walked to the counter.

I put my purse away and watched as she walked up to the counter. Guilt began to build up inside me for not telling her everything, but I just couldn't tell her. I watched as she stood by the counter waiting for our drinks. She had changed so much. The last time I had seen her was before I left. She had only just graduated and was still figuring out her life. Her long hair was now just below her shoulders. She had grown so much and was slightly taller than me. I stared in a complete daze, a sense of nostalgia coming over me. I hadn't realized how much I had missed during my absence.

I watched as she turned around and held the tray of drinks in her hands. She slowly walked closer with a big smile on her face. She placed them down on the table and sat down.

"So tomorrow come to mine around 11" she said raising her coffee to her lips.

"I'll be there" I said with a moan.

"We have to be at the cake shop by 11:30 so we can taste test" she smiled placing her cup on the table.

"Sounds good" I said pulling the cardboard cup away from my lips.

We sipped on our coffees as we spoke. We talked about the wedding and what we had missed while not being in each other's lives. I kept out the business I had back in Rome. I didn't want my little sister knowing the things I did or the person I was. She told me about our mother and step farther. They were no longer together which made glad. I was so proud of my mother for having enough strength to walk away from his abuse.

It was so good hanging out with her. I hadn't felt this much joy for a long time. I remembered the night I tried to contact her when I was still with Tom. I remembered she gave me that little bit of strength to keep going. I raised the coffee to my lips taking in the last sip before my phone began to ring.

"I'm going to take this outside" I said standing from the chair. I quickly walked outside while answering the call.

"Hello?" I spoke into the phone.

"Afternoon Ashley we just got a huge shipment in tonight and wondering if you could come down tonight at 7" my loyal customer Mark spoke.

"Yes, yes... I won't be able to make it, but I'll send Maria over" I said into the phone confidently.

"Perfect I'll see her tonight then" he said before hanging up.

I hate to do this to Maria, but Mark was always a loyal customer and we needed this shipment. He was always the biggest spender and always had what I needed. I knew everything would be okay, but I just needed to convince Maria. I sighed lightly before calling Maria.

"Hi" I spoke into the phone.

"Hi Ashley" she said into the phone low.

"How's it going?" I said softly.

"Everything okay over here. We've kept on the down low" she smiled.

"That's good" I said before pausing. "Maria, you have to do something for me" I continued.

"What?" she said as her voice lightly croaked.

"You need to go do business with Mark tonight at 7" I said trying to be sympathetic.

"Ashley" she said softly into the phone. "Can it wait?" she added.

I sighed and bit my lip and looked around the street. I really needed to stop being so soft. She needed to do this. She knew exactly what she signed up for and there was no way we could miss this deal.

"No Maria, it can't wait. I'll send you the location" I said harshly into the phone.

"Fine" she snapped softly.

"This is your job... I'm done being soft on you. Do not blow this for me." I spoke looking back to the café.

"Okay, okay" Maria replied with attitude.

"Thank you" I said sending a smile to Aubrey through the window before hanging up.

I spun around and began to walk back inside with a big deep breath. I made my way back to the table, joining Aubrey once again. I began to sip on my coffee as we continued to talk.

"So, I'll have to be off soon" Aubrey spoke. I pulled my drink away from my lips.

"Whys that?" I said with a smile.

"My fiancé wants me back home so we can finalise the payments" she replied with happiness in her tone.

"Okay" I added softly.

"I'll send you the address to the house" she said while taking her last sip.

"Perfect" I smiled.

She stood up and I followed. Bree held her arms opened, and I fell into her arms with a smile. We both pulled away, sending each other a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow" I smiled.

"Can't wait" she replied.

I watched as she picked up her bag and spun around. I watched behind her as she walked out of the café. A gentle smile lingered on my lips as I settled back into my chair and finished my coffee.