Little Miss Nosy

Chapter Twenty-Three: Red

- Edited -

"I'm surprised you showed," Ashton says. He's sitting high up in his oak tree, peering down at me with a soft, genuine smile.

I took Friday off, using my cold as an excused absence while I stayed home to not only recover but also piece together everything I know as of now. In that short time, Ashton sent multiple texts and even called once. I sent him to voicemail and simply messaged saying I need the day to myself, our Saturday plans being up in the air.

But, here I am. I glance back at the trail I just walked then back up to him, casually perched with one leg swinging off the branch. "I almost got cold feet, but there's something about you that keeps pulling me back."

He scoots away from the trunk and pats the now empty spot. "Come on up."

"On one condition." I cross my arms, preparing for a battle but it never comes. Ashton only raises a brow in anticipation. "You tell me everything."

"Since there's nothing left to withhold, it's a done deal. Now, hop up."

That was easy. I get on the first and second branches with ease, but I'm hesitant to reach the third where Ashton sits. It's slim compared to the others, and higher off the ground than I'd like. "Don't worry. I got you." I grab his outstretched hand and push off the branch as he helps lift me up. Luckily, he's relinquished his spot next to the trunk, so I have a steady base to keep balance with. "What do you want to know?"

"Before we start I just want you to know I could never hate you. I mean, yeah, I'm upset that you kept your connection with Jacob a secret, but you must've had your reasons."

My words relax him a bit. I couldn't go a minute longer with him thinking I might be holding some sort of grudge. I took time because I needed space; a moment of peace before jumping into chaos. "I thought by keeping you in the dark you'd be safe. The less you knew, the better. Nothing I did was with malicious intent."

Oh. He has no idea that Jacob has already contacted me. Well, this will be more interesting than I thought. "It looks like we're going to have to compare notes." He cocks his head to the side in curiosity, but before he can ask I take out the list of questions I prepared yesterday.

"Wait, wait, you have actual notes?"

"It's just a list of questions I came up with about everything. Shush! It's how I make sense of things," I say in defense of his chuckle. "First, how are you connected to NorthClaw? Jacob said something about you running, being on the outside...what was that about?"

His hand finds the back of his neck before beginning. "We're gonna have to go back a few years. You ready?" I nod. "After my brother died..." He takes a shuddering breath, and I grab his hand for support. I remember the day he walked in on his mom telling me about Aaron. He wasn't pleased so I didn't push. I didn't think I'd ever hear the story from his perspective, but we're really doing this.

"After my brother died I became this defiant little thirteen-year-old. I was a vessel for anger and hate. I did everything I could to defy my parents: skip school, steal from them, instigate arguments, turn them against each other. But it wasn't just my parents. It was the universe, God—whatever you believe in. This world took the most important person from me, so I was going to take what I could from the world without giving a damn."

Ashton lets out a low, humorless chuckle. "Mind you, I was a kid. I couldn't do much but one time I went into a gas station and stole all their banana Laffy Taffy."

I wrinkle my nose. "Ew."

"I know! Gross, right?" Ashton laughs, squeezing my hand tighter with the welcome distraction. "But Aaron loved them, so I thought, screw it. Anyway, I instantly felt bad because I wasn't taking my anger out on the world, I was taking it out on someone who made minimum wage and didn't need some brat making his day worse. So I'm in the alley behind the gas station with a box full of banana Laffy Taffy, trying to decide if I should sneak it back in or dump it when he shows up."