A/N: OKAY IM SO SO SORRY I HAVENT UPDATED IN AWHILE & IM PROBABLY YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PERSON RIGHT NOW BUT HEY AT LEAST ITS ACTUALLYYYY A CHAPTER & NOT JUST A "I will update soon" CHAPTER :))
I know you guys have been waiting months for this so I wanted to make it extra extra special - I spent all my morning writing this and all my afternoon editing this. I hope you enjoy it, because you guys are seriously the best readers ever & I love you so much :)
Thanks for sticking with me!!
- A
I'm speechless.
I really am.
My heart pounds for Ashton, each single beat more painful than the last. Ashton shouldn't have to be going through this; he just shouldn't.
Of course. His good-for-nothing father.
Growing up without a father since I was five years old, Ashton's situation really hits home.
Is that really what fathers do, all the time? Leave their children to fend for themselves, with no support system whatsoever?
It sickens me. It sickens me that his father could be so corrupted and twisted to disown his own son just for not having the same interests, and it sickens me that this is happening to Ashton. Not just some random guy on the street, but Ashton.
Ashton might be a little rough around the edges, but he's still a good-hearted, gentle soul beneath all of that. Everyone has their flaws, and he and I are no different. And if he can accept my flaws, I can surely accept his.
But the reality kicks in that I don't know how to help him. I'm sure the answer is crystal-clear somewhere, but I just can't find it. There's so many factors that play into this, making my head spin, when really it should be simple.
If only the truth were exposed, then maybe, just maybe, all of this would cease to exist. But I know it's not that easy, but we can sure as hell try. I don't want Ashton to leave; he shouldn't be the one leaving.
His billionaire, corrupt father should be.
"And so you're leaving." Is the first thing I can manage to choke out. "After all this, after everything you've fought so hard to keep, you're just going to give up and leave?"
My mouth is dry, hoarse. I can't find the words to describe how much this pains me, but I know I have to say something.
"Hell yeah I am." Ashton scoffs, already done sulking. "What, did you just expect me to sit here and wait patiently while they put me in jail for something I didn't even do?"
"No." My voice is small, my body shaking. I still can't find the words to say what I really think, and it's killing me inside. "That's not what I'm saying at all."
"Then what are you saying, Elle?" He laughs bitterly, throwing his hands up. "Are you saying that I'm not a lost cause? That I could still stand a chance here, after all I've done? Because you're wrong. If I stay here, I'm going to die here, and my father is going to continue on with his life, satisfied that his disgrace of a son is not a burden anymore.
"But you know what? I'm sick of that. Being my own burden is fine with me, fuck! I just need to leave." Ashton continues, the dark tone in his voice echoing and echoing until the words are etched into my brain. "And if you won't let me leave, then I guess my life ends here, tonight."
