youngblood | a.i.

fifty seven || checkmate

Friday, November 6th- 10:07 p.m.

| Checkmate | An attack on the king where there is no way for the opponent to escape

For the first time since Ashton and I fell apart, I slept soundly.

Whenever I was close to him, I always slept easier knowing he was there. Once we fell apart, it was harder not having him and even harder stopping my mind from racing as I tried to fall asleep.

With him on the phone, it felt like he was there with me. The sound of his breathing kept me sane, letting me sleep soundly for the first time since Friday.

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing beside my ear, making me frantically shoot up in bed to get away from it. I swore under my breath, reaching to pick it up.

Luke's name was across the top, confusing me as to where Ashton's had gone. But I remembered him saying he would stay till he was sober, so maybe he was finally having fun.

I clicked accept, bringing it to my ear as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "Hello?" I spoke, my voice scratchy from just waking up.

"Annie?" Michael quickly asked back.

"Yeah, that's who you called," I commented, honestly just mad he woke me up from my sleep. "Why do you have Luke's phone?"

"He's blacked out and said something about calling you for a Hem's lifeline?" Michael explained.

The noises behind him were loud so I could barely even hear him. It only reminded me of how much I don't want to go there right now. I sighed, rubbing my face in annoyance. "Why can't one of you bring him home?"

"Do I sound sober to you?" Michael sassed back. He didn't.

"Well, who's the DD? You guys always have one," I asked, praying I wouldn't have to get up right now.

"He already took everyone that wanted to go home and left. Luke didn't black out til now and I'm not dealing with him when he starts vomiting," Michael told me.

I huffed again, slowly realizing I had no choice if I wanted to consider myself a good person. "Oh, of course. Make the woman deal with the throw-up. Real progressive of you, MIkey."

"Isn't that something that comes with the 'Hem's lifeline' he was talking about?" Mikey asked back, not liking that I'd insulted him.

"No, It isn't," I informed him, getting up off my bed to get clothes on. "I'll be there soon."

"Okay, good. Hopefully he doesn't throw up til then," Mikey told me as I listened to a door unlock and open. "Ahh, what the hell man?" he yelled across the room he was in, just barely audible through the phone. He brought the phone back up to his ear. "Scratch that, he already did. See you soon."

I laughed to myself, hanging up knowing he would have to deal with the vomit instead of me. Against my better judgment, I decided to put Luke and I's fighting to the side and just go help him like he needed. I hoped he would have done the same had it been me calling a lifeline.

I threw on a t-shirt and my sandals, grabbing my car keys and phone before I started down the stairs. I locked the house behind me, getting into my car.

I drove listening to the playlist I'd created for Ashton to later put on a cassette. Just listening to the songs back made me realize how frustrated and broken I was about him. The music helped put my emotions into words, but it made me realize I still wasn't ready to give us up.

I got to his house quickly, having flashbacks as I got out of my car. The last time I'd been called here on a 'Hem's lifeline' I ended up being assaulted, acting as a starting line for how downhill my life would go from there.