name's ash. housewares.

Shortly after this mess.

"Emily Ann?" he calls from the hallway, wandering toward the foot of the stairs. The Jakemeister's still in his arms, but he doesn't mind the little guy the least bit. "Can you bring Elle downstairs with you? Please? Your mother's home."

(continued from here.)
Under normal circumstances, Ash wouldn't be as willing to go shopping. Working in retail has done that to him over the years. As much as he enjoys S-Mart, the bigger shopping malls are a no-go.

First, they are usually crowded. He deals with enough crowds during the holiday shopping season.

Second, there are too many stores. He's the kind of guy who knows exactly what he's looking for and will not make pit stops. The sooner he's out, the better.

Third, they remind him of Linda. She used to drag him to the mall if he wasn't busy with work. Or class. And she would take him from store to store; sometimes they'd stay there for hours if there was nothing else worth doing.

Used to. As in - not anymore.

But - these aren't "normal circumstances." For starters, he feels disgusting. His clothes are beyond salvageable; they're covered in sweat, dirt, and the blood of his sister, his best friend, his girlfriend, and everyone else who decided to show up at that goddamn cabin during the Spring Break From Hell. He probably looks just as bad, even worse - even though he's managed to get most of the blood off of his skin and out of his hair, there's the missing hand to take into consideration. He needs to get that looked at by a professional. Eventually.

So now - to clean himself up and spend time with someone other than a demon zombie or something equally as evil and traumatizing... he's at the mall. With a former sorority sister. A blonde one that enjoys wearing way too much pink.

She's kinda cute. Might not be a total loss.