airports // 5sos au

xl.

| ashton |

My Aunt and Uncle's beach house is very quiet. That's the first thing I noticed as I walked inside.

"Aunt Mae?" I call from the small entryway as I shut the front door behind me.

"Ashton? Is that you?" I can hear my Aunt's excited voice get closer. She rushes around the corner and immediately pulls me in for a hug. I awkwardly hug her back and wait patiently for her to let go. I haven't seen my Aunt and Uncle since I was about seven, so I'm a little uncomfortable with her close embrace.

"Ashton, welcome!" My Uncle George smiles as he walks into the entryway. He holds out his hand and I shake it, politely returning a smile.

"It's been so long, hasn't it?" Aunt Mae sighs.

"Yeah, it has. Thank you both for letting me stay here," I say, truly appreciative of their help.

"It's no problem, honey," Aunt Mae dismisses me with a wave of her hand. I smile and she adds, "Your room is the only upstairs room, if you want to go get settled in."

"Thank you so much," I nod and move past them to go to my new room.

I walk up the dark, wooden stairs and quickly find a blue door to my right. Opening it quietly, I peak inside and find a bed and other furniture.

Walking inside, I set my suitcase down on the large bed and I turn around so that I'm facing the direct opposite side of the room from the bed, looking out of the two large glass doors that open to a balcony. I have a perfect view of the ocean and I watch the waves crash against the shore for a minute or two. I turn back around to the bed so I can unpack my suitcase. I play music on my phone whilst placing my clothes in the white dresser next to the bed, the sound of Halsey's voice filling the silence. Because I'm only staying here for a week or so, I finish unpacking fairly quickly.

I haven't thought this trip through. I was so focused these past few days about getting to Rhode Island, that I didn't think about what would happen after I got here. I take a deep breath and look out of the clear balcony doors. The greyish-blue waves roll onto the shore rhythmically, calming me down. I take my phone and my laptop off of the bed and walk out onto the balcony, a cool breeze making me shiver slightly. I sit down on a wicker chair and I sigh, breathing in the smell of the saltwater. I feel instantly calmed from the moment I stepped onto the balcony, a feeling that I haven't felt in a while.

I close my eyes and continue to take deep breaths until my music stops. I open my eyes in annoyance and glare at my laptop. I pick it up off of the table and sigh as I see that Luke is wanting to Skype. I debate for a few moments whether or not to answer before giving in.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Luke yells, "How could-," He pauses before growing quiet, "wait, let me get Em on the call."

I roll my eyes and wait for Emily to answer the call.

"Luke quit yelling at me to answer my damn laptop," Emily glares somewhere away from the camera, making me realize that they're in the same room together.

"Why don't you two just go on the same laptop?" I ask.

"Ask Luke," Emily rolls her eyes but can't fight her smile.

"So, why are y'all calling me?"

"Luke wanted to tell you off."

"Ash, seriously, why the hell would you just leave? And without telling anyone, none the less. I honestly thought you moved across the country again. You seriously scared me, man," Luke says, looking genuinely upset.

I do feel guilty for not telling anyone that I was leaving. I just couldn't say goodbye right before such a big event that we've all spent months getting ready for. I didn't want to annoy anyone, I didn't want anyone to worry about me, and I really didn't want to ruin anyone's weekend. I also knew that if I said goodbye to anyone, I wouldn't have been able to leave, and trust me, I really didn't want to stay home while everyone was gone.