Lita was shocked. For the first time in her life, she had no words to say in the moment. This was sudden for her; moreover, Ash was giving her a ring as if he were proposing. She didn't know whether to be angry at him for asking her at such a bad time or be happy her best friend finally maned up and asked to be with her.
Ash was nervous; if his face could sweat, it would from waiting for Lita to respond. He was thinking he may have made a mistake asking her to be his dark angel after her father died, and having her emotional outburst. And calling her a dark angel, what was he thinking in calling her something gothic like he was Edgar Allan Poe?
Lita's hand trembled as she reached for the ring. Ash didn't try to force her to take it. He wanted her to grab it of her choice, not one he made for her again, as he had done with her dad's death. Lita pulled back; Ash took it as a sign she wasn't ready to decide this big early on, but Lita wasn't going to back down. She grabbed it and placed it on her ring finger without doubt.
Ash couldn't believe it; she actually put it on herself with everything going on with her, and even more, she leaned in to kiss him. Ash quickly turned on his senses; he could feel the softness in her lips, the warmth behind them, the passion she projected to him.
Lita let go to caress his face, while the other hand held his tightly. Still with small tears in her eyes, she was doing her best to keep a calm face, hiding the feelings she was feeling.
"Yes, I will." She said back.
Ash smiled weakly. He was wrapping his head around the fact that he had asked her to be in a relationship with him. He didn't think he would go through with it, considering how long they had been friends and how it would have been weird at first when they were little. He found it, like, some ironic prank the universe was playing, telling him to stop being chicken and finally ask her before there was some huge regret.
"So this is it, we're really going through with it. You and me, being a couple." She asked him, hoping he wouldn't change his mind and say he made a mistake.
"Yeah, it's not a marriage proposal if you're worried about that. But I want to try and see if this is really meant to be. Don't lose that ring either, the price to get it was too high, and it's special in its own way." He wouldn't reveal that the cost for the ring was the soul of an HVA soldier he killed; he didn't want Lita to see him as a monster.
Lita lay her head on his chest, snuggling her face as she sobbed again from the stress of everything coming at her and gripping his shirt tight as her toes curled up in trying to keep it together on how she felt.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I did that to you. I didn't mean to. I feel this great pressure on me. It's all so much, I don't know what I'm gonna do without you when you leave, you're all I have left now."
Ash could feel the pain in her voice. Lita may wear black gothic clothing, listen to heavy metal, or act tough, but inside she is still a vulnerable girl who needs love just like everyone else. Ash held her tight, nestling his cheek on top of her head to soothe her.
"Let's go, we should claim your dad's body. At least you can say goodbye to him, give him one last moment to hear what you have to say before you regret it."
Lita didn't say it, but she nodded it; she agreed with him. She had to say bye if she wanted to move on; she couldn't live in regret anymore.
Ash called in a security rideshare to drive them to the hospital. With all the attacks before on normal rideshares, such as Uber or Lyft, companies now converted to private security couriers for protection, the security couriers were well-liked and reliable, unlike the HVA with their bad rep. Ash didn't take Daredevil for this moment because Lita wasn't ready to ride on the bike in her emotional state. Daredevil respected the wish, letting them go without putting up a fight.
Ash and Lita made it to the hospital, where they were directed to the morgue. The hospital director led them there and ordered the coroner to open the storage where the body was.
Lita watched as the sheet was removed, her father's body pale, stitching done on it from the examination, and his healthy organs that were donated per his request on his license. The director and coroner left Ash and Lita alone to say their final words. Lita had already asked to cremate the body before the staff left; she didn't have the money or intention to bury him. It was her way of getting back at him for the abuse she put him through by not letting his body be preserved with his family members at the cemetery.
Ash was quiet; he wouldn't say anything, least of all anything pleasant. He kept it in his head for the final words.
"Burn in hell, you old bastard. If you do get reincarnated, I hope you won't be a father again. Next time you hurt a child again, I will chop your head off!"
Lita stood silent for a moment, the realization of her father's corpse lying in front of her on the cold slab staring her down. Her hands shook, forcing themselves to touch the body, her fingers touching the cloth covering the body, curling up into a fist, pounding on the body for a few seconds before stopping.
"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" She forced herself to shout, her voice breaking with every word she said.
"If you hated me so much, why have me at all. If you hated your life, why did you do those things? Why? Why wait till so late to apologize to me, you stupid fool?"
Ash was confused; he didn't hear the father express any worries or offer any apologies as he begged to be spared. Ash asked Lita when this happened. Lita showed him her phone; there was a voicemail on it. The message was the father telling Lita he was helping the HVA track down a monster, not her knowing it was Ash. He told her that when he was done, he would make amends to Lita for everything, even give his blessing for her to live with Ash if she wanted to. In the end, he did try to make an effort, but it was a pity that it was just too late to make any difference.
Lita heard the message a few days after Ash told her what happened to her father. Hearing the message is what triggered her depression. It hurt more that it took him being chased to death to repent when he could have changed on his own. Now, he left her with a pain in her heart.
"I don't love you, not anymore; you don't deserve that." She bent her head down, kissing him on his forehead. "But I forgive you, thank you for being my dad when I was younger, I'll keep those good memories alive. Bye, Dad." She said, leaving the room to get some air.
Ash stayed inside, staring at the lifeless body of the father. His hatred for him still burning in his heart. Ash felt it in the air around him; he felt a presence, something was there watching him.
He used the scan skill, but nothing was there, not anything normal. Using his senses, concentrating on finding a supernatural type of element in the room, Ash found what was there. Inside the room, Lita's father was there, not his body but his soul, looking at Ash, surprised he could sense him.
"So you're still here. Thought you stick around to see how bad Lita is without you."
The ghost of the father shook his head, trying to convey that it wasn't his intention.
Ash's fist clenched tight; he couldn't stand to see the ghost in front of him.
"I hate you, you old bastard, I hate you deeply. You brought so much trauma to her. I didn't kill you cause of Amelia, but guess what?"
The father saw it, even if Ash didn't notice. Ash's left eye glowed, then a small flame covered it like an eyepatch. The aura from the flame wasn't the same as his usual hellfire or the pale flame from the dark mold. This one was emerald in color, with a ghastly feeling radiating from it.
"She's not here," Ash said with a sinister half-grin. Ash raised a hand, and the father's ghost tried to escape, but he was soon torn and sucked into Ash's mouth. Ash swallowed him; he swallowed his soul entirely.
Ash gave a small cackle as he smiled that he got the father in the end, his hands rubbing his face in utter joy like some switch flipped in his head to be this wicked.
Looking up, Ash saw the system message him, not a mission accomplishment notice or gift reward. It had a new message, like it had a personality of its own.
{User, what have you done?}