hrhbo
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He wakes to a boot against his ribs, and blistering cold, settling into his bones.
“Hey, hot stuff, time to get up!”
That’s Billy, Ash thinks, and his lids, for a moment, refuse to open, seeming sealed shut against his cheeks.
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A day in the life of Ash and Billy.
Bookmarked by hrhbo
26 May 2026
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Ash is glaring at him, expression flat, and for a moment Shorter is struck dumb by the look. He doesn't look a day over seventeen, and both of them hate it for different reasons. Shorter remembers the mansion. He remembers California, and burning the lab down. He thinks of his friend when they met, fourteen and sixteen in hell together. He reaches forward, absent-minded, to tuck a lock of hair behind Ash's ear.
Ash scowls. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?" Shorter asks, heavy and tired and worn.
"Like you feel sorry for me."
Bookmarked by hrhbo
12 May 2026
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It’s raining.
Hard, heavy drops that fall in sideways sheets, flooding the earth, whiting out the view beyond a few feet.
The air is fat with humidity, and one of the boys, Austin, keeps whinin’ about it. About the heat.
Ash grits his teeth and pushes down the urge to smack his ass upside the head.
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A snippet of a 12-year-old Ash and his life on the streets of New York.
Bookmarked by hrhbo
31 Mar 2026
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"Christ, Max, I hope your communication skills improve before Michael is my age. I don't think the latest parenting books really advocate for giving a teenager the silent treatment when there's a learning opportunity at hand. Or is it safe to assume that you wouldn't treat your own kid this way? I understand, you know. A lot of my clients are like that. The politicians? They'd never touch a real kid, especially not their own. It's just not worth the scandal, not when there's always a bought and paid-for whore available, no questions asked."
That was it. That was the tipping point. Max's head snaps up, and he glares at Ash with a vitriol Ash has never seen on him before. He takes a half step closer to Ash, leaning in, and Ash instinctively braces himself for the incoming hands on his body.
"This, Ash! This is my problem!" Max screams. His voice doesn't quite break, but it's got the desperate, unsteady pitch that comes on near a vocal passaggio. "Have I really not made that clear to you by now?"
Max wasn't ready to parent a teenager, not yet. Sometimes he makes mistakes, and sometimes he's even forgiven.
Bookmarked by hrhbo
26 Nov 2025
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"Sorry," Ash mumbled. He was starting to feel a little stupid again for his little outburst. "Sorry I told you all that..." He gestured vaguely. "All that shit."
"It's okay," Eiji replied, "I'm happy you told me. But... I didn't know you feel that way, Ash. I knew that you pretend it's okay sometimes. But..." He frowned. "I didn't know you blame yourself this much. For what happened."
Blame himself? Did Ash really do that? He didn't really think he did. But...
Ash had it coming.
Bookmarked by hrhbo
23 Sep 2025