Always a Friend

Chapter 43

I decided to treat myself after school with more coffee from Sweet Escape and maybe a pastry to go along with it. This new empowerment had made me hungry. I couldn't stop thinking about standing up to the girl in the lunch room. I happened to learn her name later on, after the fact, from a group of girls who were talking about it in Chemistry. They were a few tables over

 , and thought I couldn't hear them talking about it. I heard them say Layla, so I automatically assumed that was her name, seeing I didn't really talk to her friends. So, it wasn't hard to put two and two together. Not only did I have to worry about Hannah and Olivia, but now this girl, I had no idea who she was except for seeing her in the library. 

I walked into Sweet Escape, letting the nutty aroma tickle my nose. I perused the coffee shop, deciding whether to stay and do some work or take my coffee to go. I turned, returned to my car, and grabbed my book bag. I didn't feel like going home, where I would spend the evening alone in the big two-story house. Luckily, when I walked back into Sweet Escape, no one had bum-rushed the counter or filled up the few empty tables. I walked over and took the last empty booth toward the back by the counter. I set my bag against the wall, grabbed my wallet, and went to order my cup of deliciousness. 

"What are you going to order?" Ashton asked. I turned around, almost knocking him over, not realizing he was that close to me. "You okay?" He chuckled, grabbing ahold of my arms. "I didn't mean to scare you." His eyes met my gaze, and his fingers brushed my cheek as he moved a piece of hair. "Uh...You had a piece of hair stuck to your face." He pulled his hand away like he had just touched something hot. Without thinking, I raised my hand, patting my cheek with the back of my fingers to make sure my face wasn't hot. 

"What are you doing here?" I looked around for any sign of Claudia or Hannah, even though I knew they weren't there with him. "You...Uh...Here alone?" I kept scoping out the shop. 

"Yeah." He held out his hand, letting me walk up to the counter first. I approached the counter and ordered an iced Toffee Nut latte and a chocolate chip cookie. I got my card out to pay when Ashton pushed my hand away from the pin pad. He told the barista it would be all together, then ordered his drink and cookie. He pulled his card out of his wallet, inserted it into the pin pad, glanced back at me, and smiled. He grabbed the table stand with the number nine sticking out the top and followed me to the booth I managed to get. I pushed my bag over to the wall while I scooted across the seat. Ashton set the table stand on the table, then told me he'd be right back. 

About five minutes later, he set his backpack on the seat and slid it across as he sat down. "I wanted to ask..." He was quickly cut off by the barista setting our drinks on the table. She smiled at him and said she'd be back with our cookies. I couldn't help but giggle at her flirty smile and look back at him as she walked away. Smiling, she set both cookies down in front of him and asked if she could get him anything else. He glanced up at her and shook his head no. 

I waited until she was back at the counter before I leaned across the table and whispered, "I think you have an admirer." I giggled, shifting in my seat, trying to get comfortable. 

"Huh?" He handed me a plate with the biggest cookie. 

"You've got an admirer." I motioned my head behind us toward the counter. "Here you take the big cookie." I switched plates with Ashton. 

His eyes flicked in the direction of the counter. "Oh...Her." He sighed, taking a bite of the cookie. 

"You know her?" I asked, sticking the straw through the lid of my iced latte.

"Yeah, her name is Lena. She goes to Plaza across town. She went out with Jude a few times." He took a sip of his latte. "Ever since Jude broke it off with her, she's been trying to get me to take her out." He took another bite of his cookie. 

"I don't remember you telling me about her." I broke off a piece of cookie and popped it in my mouth. I sat there for a few seconds, staring at Ashton's eye while he typed away on his laptop. "Does your eye hurt?" I winced. 

"What?" He glanced up for a brief second, then went back to typing. 

"I asked if your eye hurts." Annoyance came flying out of my mouth. 

"No." He reached for his latte. I lowered my head, peeking at him through the tops of my lashes for the next fifteen minutes. Keeping my eyes on my screen. "Um...Were you going to ask me something earlier?" I peeked over the top of my laptop. His eyes locked on his screen as he typed away on whatever he was working on. I tried to read his expression, but it was deadpan. Ashton was good at hiding what he was thinking. 

"Uh...I was going to ask if you were doing okay after earlier today." 

"Earlier today?"

His eyes narrowed. "You know, with Layla and her friends." He popped the last bite of the cookie in his mouth. 

"Ohh...Yeah. I actually feel pretty great, to be honest. I felt exhilarated after everything was said and done. I actually stood up for myself. No more letting people walk all over me." I smiled, popping a piece of cookie in my mouth. Ashton smiled, then went back to concentrating on his homework again. 

I arrived home, and just as I suspected, Mom was gone, which meant the usual scenario. Sadly, I was used to being alone most of the time. I stared at the empty, two-story house, knowing she wouldn't be home until late. After a few minutes of staring at the house, I wondered what life would've been like if Dad had been still here. I blinked back the tears as my eyes wandered across our immaculate yard that Mom paid to have mowed each week over to Ashton's car, sitting in his parking spot next to his mom's SUV. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of his car in the driveway. His car meant he was home and not out chasing girls. My eyes narrowed the longer I stared at his car, feeling confused as to why I was relieved to see his car. I caught the front door to his house open and looked away before I could see who walked out. I grabbed my things and opened the car door. 

"Gemma!" Elizabeth called after me. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" I turned around to face Ashton's mom; her light brown hair was pulled into a bun. Perfect hairstyle to go with her jeans, a light pink, short-sleeved fitted top, and wedge sandals. 

"You got bangs." I pointed to her forehead. 

She brushed her fingers across them. "Yes, I needed a change." 

"They look great." I smiled. 

"You really think so?" She beamed. I shook my head yes. She looked at her reflection in the window of my car, messing with her bangs and strands of hair framing her face. She knew getting a compliment from a teenage girl on hair or clothes was not to be taken lightly and that you've nailed the look. "So, we'll see you in a little bit for dinner. I know you get lonely over there a lot. I've tried talking to your mom, but she insists you don't mind being alone." She pressed her lips together. "We're having spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread." She raised her eyebrows, smiling. "I'm heading to the store now, and dinner will be ready in a couple of hours. Ashton's in the house if you want to go on in. He's in the living room, playing a video game." 

"Thank you. I'd love to have dinner with you both. Thanks for trying to talk to Mom, too." I started walking across the small patch of grass that separated our driveways.