Ashley POV

It really felt like she had punched a hole in my chest. I dropped the glass of water I was holding, which was thankfully only an inch above the surface of the kitchen overhang, leaving only a slight splash of water coming out, and felt my jaw slacken.

My eyes stared at her in utter disbelief. "You can't be serious," I managed to say. "This has to be a joke, right?"

She looked away. So did my dad when I tried to catch his attention.

"Why?" I asked, my voice only sounding like a whisper. "How?"

"It's a long story," Dad finally said quietly, slumping down onto a...