I'll Run to You // Awsten Knight

Chapter 26-Break It To Your Mom

Awsten's POV

Today was probably the best day I've ever had, and that is saying a lot. All the shows we've done were incredible, but spending the day with Hope easily passes them. 

We went to Starbucks, I watched her get a new tattoo, I took her out for lunch, and we even got ice cream together.

I was surprised at the little amount of paparazzi that bothered us today, considering everyone thinks we're an item without us even confirming it. My relationship with Ciara was extremely different. Before we dated, we didn't hang out with out with friends together and we didn't even do anything together. But this, this was different; the second I even announce we're going on tour with Hope, fans start freaking out. Then that leads to the rumors, then people asking us. Then even more people all over social media and in magazines talk about it and then it's like they know everything about our personal lives.

It bothers the shit out of me but this is all that I ever wanted. Hope makes me forget about Ciara. She makes me forget about my sadness. She makes me feel happy, like she cares about me and like I matter. 

Before I met Hope, my life was a mess. I felt worthless and I was at my lowest point I've ever been at. I've been put through so much pressure and pain these past few months, but I've been making improvement and it's showing. After my breakup with Ciara, it seemed like nobody cared about my feelings and I've cried for days. Sometimes I didn't eat for a couple days in a row until it was unbearable. I had always lost my appetite every time I overthought about things. 

My parents were clearly scared for me and I don't blame them. I would have sudden bursts of anger and start punching my bed or pillows. My mom cried after she heard me cry after I had a small burst and I felt so incredibly awful. I knew I had to do something but I just didn't know what.

If I couldn't cry anymore I would start writing, by the end of one week my trash would be filled with discarded paper.

The only ways I could calm down is if I were to talk about the things that make me feel this way, but it wasn't always that easy for me. There are a lot of people that always talk about their problems and every time I tell them I don't like doing that, they just don't understand.

But I'm getting better at talking about things with my therapist. Since I got back from tour I've been looking for one and she's amazing. Of course, there's a lot of room for improvements, but I'm proud of myself for the progress that I've made.

Hope's laugh pulls me out of my daze and I focused back on the tv in front of me, not that I stopped looking at it.

We're laying Mario Kart and in the amount of time I was thinking I went from first place to second. "Hey! Now that's not fair," I start laughing.

"It's your fault for not paying attention Awsten...well, either that or I'm just better at Mario Kart than you."

I toss my remote next to me on the couch as I pass the finish line right behind Hope, "Nobody is better at me than anything, and nobody has a better anything than me," I tease her.

"I guess me beating you at this game shows otherwise."

I shook my head as I laugh some more, "Nobody has better opinions than me, and nobody can beat me at Mario Kart, I'm basically a fucking god now."

"What were you before?"

"A demigod." I say with a serious tone, "At first, only I was the best at everything. But since I'm richer now, my opinions are also the most important. I don't think anyone else's opinions exist anymore."

"You're so weird." I hear Hope tells me, and I can hear the smile in her voice. She lightly pushes me to the other side of the couch and I push her a little harder.

Soon, instead of doing it again after Hope did one more time, I reached my arms out and pulled her into a hug.

"You're also extremely soft."

"I am not soft" I disagree, "I'm big, tough, and rich."

"Say that when you look at another dog like the one you saw earlier, your voice when higher than mine is right now."

She had a point, but I couldn't help it. That dog was so fucking cute I had to go see it.

As I was about to speak again, there was a knock at the door, probably Nicole.

I watch as Hope gets up from the couch and she makes her way to the door, opening it...it's her mom. My blood starts running cold.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Hope's tone sounds scared and even nervous.

Hope's mom just walks into her apartment and then starts to speak, "The better question is, what are you doing to your hair? And what is he doing here?" Then she points to me and I just stare at the floor in front of myself.

"He's here because I invited him." I heard Hope lie, but I couldn't let her do that, me being here and her mom being upset from that is my fault. 

So, I got up from the couch and corrected what Hope had said, "It's not her fault, I came over here when she wasn't expecting because it's her birthday. I can leave if you want."

"Young man, you are going to stay here and I am going to talk to you." Cherie keeps pointing at me and her gaze gives me chills, how could such a sweet person like Hope be the child of someone as intimidating as her mom?

Cherie tells Hope to go to her own room, and she does as she's told. Cherie then sits down on the couch with me, her voice still stern but quieter so Hope can't hear her, "What did you do to my daughter while she was on tour with you players?"

"I didn't do anything to your daughter and my friends didn't either." I was so nervous that sweat on my forehead was visible because I was terrified from Cherie's presence, and that didn't help her believe me at all. I couldn't tell her just straight up that I fucked her daughter.

"You absolutely disgust me. You're a bad influence on my daughter and took away her innocence, she's just a little girl."

"Your daughter is twenty-five years old, she's not a little girl, she's an adult. You can't protect her forever and you really need to understand that. I expect you to hate me even more after this, but I'm not letting you underestimate her and continue to call me a player." I was practically shaking, but my brain was on autopilot and I couldn't take it anymore, I was just so mad.

"If you expect me to let you date my daughter then you are sadly mistaken."

"I'm sorry to break it to you and Hope should be the one to tell you this but we actually are dating and this is probably the last chance the rest of this year that I get to see her in person and I plan to make the most of it. Hope is a creative, inspiring, caring, sweet, loyal, and gorgeous person and I'll risk you not liking me to be with her."

She was speechless, that made me horrified. My thoughts spiraled and I thought this was the end of me.

I saw Hope walk out of her room, she looked concerned, shit, she probably heard what I had said.

Hope was the first to speak up, "Awsten, I heard what you said." My heart dropped.

"See, now you know how bad of a man he is, let's go get some dinner." Cherie spoke so fast I could barely understand her, but I knew she wanted to get Hope to leave because she grabbed her arm and tried to lead her out of the apartment.

Hope took her arm out of her mom's grasp and ran to me, her arms wrapping around my waist.

I embraced her back in the hug and kissed her on her head, Cherie was furious, I could tell. But, she stormed out of Hope's apartment and slammed the door, causing me to flinch slightly at the loud noise.