turned - muke - the distortion trilogy 2

2.2

CALUM'S P.O.V.

I broke up with Amber.

Last weekend--when Michael was an unstable patient or whatever--right after confessing my feelings to Ashton, I went and broke up with Amber. I felt bad, because some small part of me still loved her, but I'm over it now. I haven't stopped thinking about Ashton, worrying about him. The last time I saw him he made me leave because he was getting angry and he didn't want to hurt me. Is he okay?

I want to go visit him, because I need to see him, but Luke is always with Michael during the visitation hours. I bite my lip nervously. Is it worth it? Maybe they won't see me. I don't know. All I know is that I need to see Ashton.

-

I guess I decided it was worth it, because twenty minutes later I find myself standing in the hospital elevator, opening up onto the psych ward. Hesitantly, I step out onto the tile floor, and I hear the door ding shut behind me. No backing out now.

The nurse at the front desk notices my arrival, smiling at me. "Here for visitation?" she asks. I nod, my tongue too dry to speak. "First door on your right." I nod again, giving her a soft smile as I begin to make my way towards the doorless doorway.

I feel like I'm moving in slow motion as I drag myself towards the visitation room. By entering that room, I'm potentially ending my friendship with Luke. By feeling what I feel for Ashton, I'm betraying him. I can't help the way I feel, and I don't want to feel this way.

But I do.

I'm only a few feet from the doorway, and I can already see Michael curled up on Luke's lap. My heart begins to race raster as I realize that I don't even think Ashton is even in the visitation room. God, what if Luke catches me for nothing? I take a shaky breath, moving to step into the visitation room--

"Calum?"

I turn around to find myself face to face with Ashton.

I let out a sigh of relief, unaware that I was even holding my breath in the first place. I grab his wrist and drag him away from the visitation room, out of Luke and Michael's line of sight.

Ashton frowns at me, asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," I breathe out, feeling a blush coat my cheeks.

A grin forms its way onto Ashton's lips. "Yeah?"

I nod, smiling in response. "Yeah."

"Does this mean that...?" he trails off, but I know what he's asking.

"I broke up with Amber," I tell him.

His eyes shine. "Really?"

"Really."

He bites his lip, reaching a hand out to cup my face. "Can I ki--"

I cut him off, pressing my lips against his.

I feel him smile into the kiss, his other hand reaching up to hold my face. I wrap my arms around his waist, leaning my head up to reach him better. When we finally pull apart, he presses his forehead against mine.

"I don't want to hurt you," he tells me, his eyes locked on mine. My mind flickers back to the first time I found out about Luke's past, when Ashton himself told me. I shove the thought deep down, trying to forget about it.

"You won't," I assure him. "I trust you."

-

MICHAEL'S P.O.V.

Later that night, I lie in bed going over the day's events in my head. My nurses have me some pretty heavy sleeping pills, and even though my eyelids are drooping, I can't seem to fall asleep. Silent tears cascade down my cheeks. I can't sob no matter how much I want to, because the nurses will hear and I'll be sedated or something awful like that.

I'm so ready to get out of this place.

But at the same time, I know that I can't leave yet. I'm not better yet, and if I go home, it will probably get worse. I want to be better. I really, really want to be better

"Michael?" Ashton's soft whisper pierces the night's silence, startling me. "Are you awake?"

I briefly consider pretending to be asleep, but my voice betrays me, stuttering out a quiet, "Y-yeah."

"Are...are you okay?" Ashton's voice is timid, like he's unsure whether or not he should be asking.

I take a deep, shaky breath, and an image of Uncle Steven pops into my head. I wince. "Um, y-yeah."

After a slight hesitation, Ashton sighs. "You don't have to lie to me, you know that?"

I frown, but it doesn't take me long to realize that he's right. Sure, he hurt Luke in the past, but he no longer has ill intentions. I haven't forgiven him, but I think--to some extent--I can trust him.

"I know."

"So, are you okay?"

"No."

~

A/N: hi friends!!!! sorry it's been so long i've had a busy/rough week

tbh i wasnt even gonna update this today i was trying to write an article for my blog (link in bio!!!) about sex trafficking but writing an article requires doing research and all the statistics and images made me cry and i was really upset and i couldnt write the article so i wrote this to cheer me up yay

but on that topic guys sex trafficking is a super real and serious and dangerous thing and i might cry typing this c00l but it's happening in your country. doesn't matter where you live. it's happening all of the world to almost 30 million people. i can't stand fanfictions that romanticize sex slavery/prostitution/trafficking without the consent of the victims. it's different when it's like bdsm or whatever bc that has 100% consent bUT WHEN PEOPLE WRITE STORIES WHERE PERSON A BOUGHT PERSON B AGAINST PERSON B'S WILL AND ABUSES/RAPES PERSON B BUT EVENTUALLY PERSON B FALLS IN LOVE WITH PERSON A I LOSE MY SHIT BYE

ps sorry this is so short lol this book is almost over and then the last book will start im excited