ʙᴀᴅ ʜᴀʙɪᴛꜱ| ᴍ. ᴘᴇʀᴇᴢ

eight

Ash woke up what seemed like years later, groaning in pain as he struggled to push himself up. He was still in the back of the bar, the sky was now black and at some point it must've rained judging by the damp concrete and his soaked clothing. It was painful but eventually he managed to stand up again, the smell of trash re-entering his bruised nostrils. "Fuck me." He groaned in disgust, pushing himself further in order to get out of the mess he'd created.

As he walked down the street all bloody and bruised, cars drove by and people ignored him, concerned by all the gang occurrence in East Highland. Nowadays, society turned a blind eye to shit like this because if it wasn't their problem they didn't want to make it their problem. Ash pulled out his phone, groaning in annoyance as the screen was now completely smashed. He shoved it back in his pocket as he basically hopped his way back home and when he finally did arrive home, he ignored the calls of his mother and instantly headed for his room, locking the door behind him.

"Shit." He breathed, resting his head on the door, holding back the tears that threatened to escape his eyes. The room was dark and silent however he finally felt at ease. "What the fuck am I doing?" He asked himself out loud. He regained his breath, then flopped on the bed, sighing at the stinging feeling of his open wounds against the cool sheets.

"Ash!" A yell heard from across the hallway and the sound of his mother's voice brought him back to consciousness. He didn't reply however, only waited to see if it was important enough for his mother to come to her room herself. "Ash!" She banged loudly at the door and he winced in pain as the sound echoed in his ears. In one swift motion, the door opened, revealing an angry looking Linda. "Where the fuck have you been?" She closed the door behind her quietly, as though to stop Anastasia from listening to their conversation from across the hall. "Ugh, leave me alone." He groaned as he rolled onto his side, covering his face with his pillow.

Click.

The light turned on, revealing the mess of his room and a now agitated Ash. "Mum!" He sat up angrily. "Don't make me pluck your eyes out, Aslan!" She practically growled. "I came to your school." She folded her arms, her voice quieter now. "I-" she paused. "I took Anastasia out of school too." She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. "I was ready to pack our bags and leave. Again."

Ash's face went neutral as he realised what his mother was saying. "So, what? We were just gonna leave?" He asked. "No." She spoke. "We are going to leave." She turned to the door, ready to leave.

"It's a good thing you didn't unpack anything." She said as she looked around the almost empty room filled with stacks of boxes. "Mum- wait!" He stopped her. "So that's it? A few weeks and we're gone?" He shrugged, searching for any reaction from his mother. "Well maybe you shouldn't have fucked it up with Nate again!" She turned around, her face red with anger. "This happened last time and look where you ended up!" Tears pricked at her eyes but Ash only grew madder. "We'll look at me!" Ash pointed at the cuts and bruises that scattered his pale face. "He hurt me too! Why doesn't he get any shit for it!" He stood up, anger taking over the sleepiness he felt before.

Linda observed closer, her angry face returning to normal as she finally noticed the damage her son had received. "What- did this happen again?" She asked, concern written all over her face. Ash may have viewed himself as an intimidating person but Linda only saw her son in him. The innocent face he shared with his father and the sensitive little boy that wanted to be just like him when he grew up. That's all she saw. Watching her son suffer from endless injuries and being dragged away in hand cuffs only hurt Linda. "Oh, Aslan." Her face filled with sorrow as she held his cheek in her palm. "I'm sorry." She looked at the ground, releasing a sigh as she realised she was only ever hard on him. "Let's do something about this okay." She nodded at the fresh cuts before pulling her son in for a warm hug and Ash closed his eyes, a small smile on his face as he knew now that everything was going to be okay.