Solace | ASHTON IRWIN

Two

Harley's eyes snapped open just seconds before her alarm started going off. She sighed and pushed herself upright, swinging her legs off the side of her bed, hands in her hair, massaging her scalp. It was January 4th.

Maggie had let her know yesterday that the young men purchasing the house would be arriving today to check it out and meet the real estate agent to officially close the deal. Harley had been displeased with the short notice, but she knew she worked best under pressure anyway. The rest of her day had been spent cleaning, grocery shopping and planning an elaborate breakfast spread for her guests.

She groaned as her feet touched the cold floor, deciding a hot shower was necessary to survive the day. Hoping the water would wash away her anxieties about meeting new people, she pushed herself off her bed.

–

He jolted awake as the bus pulled to a stop, the sudden lack of movement startling his body into wakefulness. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pulling his hood up as he reached the back of his neck.

"Ash, come on."

He wanted to be irritated, but it was simply impossible to feel that way at Luke's excitement over their new venture. All four of them were simply ready to be off the grid for a while. Like, really far.

They had taken an overnight flight to get to the east coast, which none of them were pleased about, but they were excited to close on the house, to spend time in nature, alone and undisturbed by the near constant busyness of the last 5 years. The flight wasn't bad, they had all slept, and the three hour bus ride was comfortable enough, but they still had a car ride between them and the beginning of something great.

Something life altering, as Ashton would soon learn.

They piled into the back of the SUV, Luke sitting in the back row with Ashton, while Calum and Michael sat in the front rows, the driver moving before they had even settled into their seats.

He thought about trying to sleep as he put his headphones on, but quickly abandoned the idea as he watched an endless sea of trees fly by out his window. Every once in a while, the driver would slow because of traffic or a stop sign and Ashton took those moments to observe the freshly fallen snow that clung to the branches of the trees and bushes, he liked that it made everything look heavy. It reminded him of how he felt at the time.

Unfortunately, even the famous, (though he wouldn't really consider himself "famous"), are no strangers to heartbreak, the fresh sting of which is what drove him to agree to this idea in the first place. So he watched the trees, covered in thick snow, and listened to his favorite songs, until the lake came into view.

It was something else when it was frozen. He found himself wanting to walk out to the very center of it and scream, knowing it would echo back to him because of the valley of mountains it sat so neatly between.

All four boys had their noses practically pressed against their windows to take in their surroundings, Ashton was still focused on how heavy everything looked. His mind switched off for the final few minutes of their journey, he would have liked to commit their route to memory but his brain was elsewhere. Regardless, the car stopped.

Mike and Cal quickly jumped out, followed by Luke. Ashton lingered in the car, fiddling with his headphones for a few moments, he had a strange feeling that once he set foot on the ground, his life would never be the same. Again.

When he finally stepped out of the car and into the valley between the mountains where the snow clung to the trees like it was glued there, the world stopped.

An overpowering, but comforting silence fell onto his ears and he felt his muscles relax with each second that passed, completely oblivious to the cold air on his skin. The smell of woodsmoke was thick in the quiet air and as he turned his head towards the house, he could see smoke rising gently from the stone cobbled chimney. Dark brown faux logs wrapped around the outside of the house, giving it a rustic look, though it was just a perception. The dark browns were off-put by the shudders on the windows, which were painted sage green.

As the four of them moved towards the door, he could see that the porch wrapped around the back of the house, partly screened in near the opposite end. He'd only noticed that because he'd stepped around the corner while Luke knocked on the front door.

As he turned around again to rejoin the others, warm light spilling from a window next to him captured his attention, and then he saw her.

Well, mostly he saw her blonde hair, still damp, braided down her back, stopping about 6 inches or so below her shoulders. Instinctually, he stayed where he was as she opened the door to greet his brothers.

Her back was still to him but he could see her shoulders shake with laughter as she endured Luke, Michael and Calum's greetings, ushering them inside. He moved then, just in time to hear her say "isn't there supposed to be four of you?"

Yet, he didn't turn the corner and give her some witty remark, he simply kept walking back towards the car. As he got in the backseat, he looked back towards the door and saw her there, confusion on her face, and he could see the boys too, also confused.

"Know any good hotels nearby? I can't do this today." He asked the driver, who met his eyes in the rearview mirror and nodded, pulling away from the house slowly.

The boys were back on the porch then, watching the car pull away, he could see their mouths moving in complaint, but his eyes locked on to the pretty blonde beside them.

Yeah. He definitely couldn't do that today. 

from the author: 

hehehe hiiii! what do we think? sorry things have been short and sweet so far, i promise things will fill out a bit more soon! 

what's up with that ashton guy anyway?

love u lots and lots <333 

hayz