The turmoil roiling around in her head calmed as she was pulled into Xander's embrace. Ashley let the familiar sense of safety she always felt in his presence wash over her and she heaved a sigh as her hands lifted to rest against his chest, her cheek following suit. In the silence that briefly descended upon them, Ashley could hear the steady beating of Xander's heart that brought a small smile to her face until he spoke.
Her expression faded to something more serious as Ashley thought back once again to very recent events. Her anger at her grandparents quickly boiled up to the surface again chased by the feeling of betrayal. Ashley didn't know which hurt worse: The actual lies themselves, the excuses she'd heard all her life... Or the mere fact that her grandparents had betrayed her by keeping a part of herself away from her on the flimsy reason of what she might do in the future. It lead to a flurry of questions, so in his statement, Xander was not wrong in the least.
"Ha!" She barked dryly as he stepped back, "Understatement of the century." Ashley paused to consider Xander's words and then shrugged, "I don't where to start, exactly. I just know that whatever you have to say... I just what it to be the truth." She then laced her fingers with his at his silent invitation and started down the hall with Xander, her cheek resting against his upper arm until laughter bubbled forth at his Cary Grant comment and she lightly wacked him in the shoulder.
At his questions, Ashley hung back a little with a small smile still on her lips, "On that front, I'm fine, really." She looked up at him, "There's just two things I need to say before we talk about... other stuff." She shook her head then, "I want you to know that I'm not mad at you. I can't be. My grandparents put you in the position and I can't fault you for what was asked of you. Second... Do you have a towel?" She glanced down to her furry companion and then back up at Xander with a hopeful expression on her face, "Rusty hasn't exactly been a guest here before and I don't know rules about pets."