Being Ashlyn

Chapter 44

The only thing Ashlyn wanted right now was to crawl back to bed but she knew she couldn't keep up with her lie when her mum keeps checking up on her. So she decided she needed to be a big girl, withstand the stinging pain she still feels and go to school the next day. She put on her blue jeans and opted for a black oversize sweater. It seems like oversized tops are the only clothes she could wear at the moment seeing that tight clothes irritates her wounds.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Ashlyn." Alan smiled, handing her a plate of pancakes once she reached the kitchen.

"Thanks." She replied before taking a big bite of her breakfast.

"Here, eat this after you finish your pancakes." Her mum said, placing two pills for menses cramps.

"No thanks." Ashlyn pushed away the pills. "The cramps are gone, Mum. Don't worry. The pills you gave me yesterday had worked." She lied. She had thrown away the pills once her mum left her room last night.

"That's good to hear." Laura smiled in relief. "You looked like you were really hurting yesterday."

"Morning!" Jaime entered and sat opposite of Ashlyn. He eyed Ashlyn's outfit and raised his eyebrows. "You're going to school today?"

Ashlyn nodded.

Without saying a word, Jaime smirked to himself and started digging in his own pancakes.

"What's wrong with you?" She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you so happy that I'm going?"

"I'm not." He said matter-of-factly, not bothering to look up from his food. "But I'm pretty sure someone else would be."

"Really?" Laura smiled cheekily. "Who is that person, Jaime?"

"No one, Mum." Ashlyn gave Jaime a piercing glare. "Get your butt in the car now."

"Okay, okay." Jaime hissed, pushing a whole pancake into his mouth. "Bye Dad. Bye Laura." He said, with his mouth full.

Twenty minutes later, they found themselves in the school parking lot. "You got practice today?" Jaime asked, turning off the ignition and giving his attention to her.

"Yeah." Ashlyn sighed. "Not sure I could run much though."

"If you're not going for practice then you have to find a ride home." He said apologetically. "Because I got practice today."

Hearing that, a sudden thought came to her. "Hey, Jaime. How was your water polo practice these few days?"

Jaime shook his head. "Not good."

"Can you be more detailed?" She rolled her eyes.

"You're asking about Max and Levi, aren't you?" He gave her a knowing look.

"Well...not necessarily." Ashlyn replied vaguely. Truth was, she wanted to know if their conflict had caused any damage to the team. Max and Levi are after all the captain and vice-captain respectively. And if there is any damage, she would probably blame herself even more.

"It's been...tough." Jaime frowned. "Max and Levi are not talking to each other. So it's hard to actually work together when your two leaders don't even want to be near each other. Coach has been watching them closely too. And to say that he wasn't impressed would be an understatement."

The burden on her shoulder felt even heavier. "Why are those two idiots acting like children?" She closed her eyes and slammed her head on the headrest.