–

Till death do we part

Spencer, are you leaving me?

We both know this is for the best.

No, no, no. It’s not. Spencer, baby, please. I can’t live without you.

No, Ash. You can’t live without the drugs. You’ve been living without me for a while now.

How could you say that to me? I don’t need the drugs. I swear I don’t.

Then choose. Me or the drugs.

I chose you. I’ll always choose you, Spence.

Give me the stash. And I’ll stay.

I don’t have anything on me. Or in me.

You’re lying again.

Fine then! Leave. Be like everyone else and leave! I hate you. I don’t need you!

Door shuts.

–

After years of avid drug and alcohol abuse, singer/songwriter Ashley Davies, daughter of late musician Rafe Davies, was found dead in her Santa Monica beach house…Davies, famous for such hits as “Spencer” and “Girl from Ohio”, was just released from rehab no less than two weeks ago…Authorities ruled it an accidental overdose…Heroin in her blood…survived by no one.

–

She said she was getting clean, that things were better. I told her that I was glad that she was getting help. That maybe when she was out of rehab, we could talk about the future, if we had one together. I really thought things were going to work. She had such high hopes, she was even talking about doing another album, a comeback album. She was writing again, trying out some new stuff. It was all so promising.

The relapse took us by surprise. No one knew where she got the heroin, who she got it from. We were all watching her so closely. I don’t know how she slipped from our grasp.

Aiden found her that day. He heard she was out of rehab, wanted to stop by and see her. There was no answer when he knocked on the door. I told him to just come in if no one answered, that I would be at work, that if she didn’t answer, she might be in the shower, or sleeping. He said that she was just laying on the floor, that she looked so peaceful.

I got the call in the middle of a photo shoot, nearly dropped the camera, I was so shocked. They were taking her to the hospital, were going to try to revive her. But I already knew. Once Ashley did something, she went all the way. By the time I got there, it was too late. They were already preparing her for the mortuary. Aiden was right; she did look peaceful. So beautiful, even in death.

We buried her the next week, right next to her dad. I knew Ash would like that, to finally be with him without any drama or worry. Her mom never showed up for the funeral, or the gathering afterwards. I don’t think she could have handled it.

It’s been thirteen years since that day. Thirteen years since my heart was ripped from my chest. It took me a long time to get over Ashley’s death. I sold her house a few weeks after the funeral, spending day and night trying to clean the place up. I never realized how much stuff she had accumulated over the years. Pictures, albums, clothes. I didn’t keep much, but I couldn’t give everything of her away.

I’ve grown up since then, moved on with my life. I married and had a daughter. But I still think about her often. And when Ashley grows up and asks who she was named after, I’ll sit her down and tell her the story of the beautiful rock star who changed me in ways I never could have imagined.

The end.