"How much did you hear of that?" My voice came out higher than intended. My hands were sweating as I gripped onto my jumper tightly. My eyes dared to look at his, dreading to see his reaction.
He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth slightly agape. But he didn't speak.
"Ash, how much did you hear?" I repeated, trying to sound less worried than I did.
The confused look on his face softened and he finally murmured, "I only heard her name..." Although a part of me didn't fully believe him, I smiled weakly and tried to relax.
The other two boys returned soon after. They put down the bags they were carrying and slumped down on the sofa. Luke when to the other side of the room to get his stuff ready, whilst I remained in the middle of the room.
Ash stepped closer to me and placed his hand on my arm. "Can I talk to you?" He was making direct eye contact with me, and I could practically see his curiosity pooling out of them. I simply nodded and let him lead me into the kitchen, where we could have a bit more privacy.
Ashton's broad frame leant against one of the counters, whilst I stood awkwardly in front of him. At first he looked lost for words, like he was re-thinking what he had planned to say.
After a minute or so, he finally spoke up. "Is she okay?"
I looked down at the floor, trying to hide my shame at how I didn't know. I didn't know how my sister was. All I knew was that she had a child now. Mum had said she was 'fine', but I understood that Ash didn't want to know whether she was well. He wanted to know if she was coping the same way he was.
I took a deep breath. "I don't know." I said quietly.
He sighed. "Hasn't she been home yet?"
"No, she hasn't even called. The only person who's heard from her is our mum." I answered truthfully. The last time I had heard from Evie was when she sent me the letter.
Ashton raised an eyebrow, looking at me quizzically. "Our mum?"
I hadn't even realised that the word 'our' had slipped out of my mouth. The confused look Ashton was giving me made me panic and I said the first thing I thought of.
"Yeah, I call her my mum because she practically raised me." I felt bad for lying, but all these words kept spilling out of my mouth and I had no control over them.
"I thought you lived in London?" He questioned.
I shook my head in despair. "Not anymore."
The atmosphere between us was becoming increasingly awkward and I got the feeling Ashton no longer wanted to talk about the 'Evie situation', so we stood in silence. Again. Luckily Luke came into the room stating he was ready.
He froze when he saw me and Ashton alone, probably thinking he was interrupting a moment, but he wasn't. Truthfully, I was greateful he appeared when he did because the silence between me and Ash was getting very uncomfortable.
"Did I disturb you?" He asked, looking very guilty.
Ashton shook his head. "Nah, you're alright, we just finished talking."
I nodded, pleased for any excuse to escape this awkwardness.
"Cool, so uhm.. Are we going Lizzy?" Luke asked awkwardly. I nodded and kicked back off the counter I was leaning against.
Ash reached forward and bro hugged Luke. "Nice meeting you mate."
Once they were apart, Ash turned to me. He smiled brightly and opened his arms. I laughed and went in for a hug.
"Nice seeing you again." I said and I meant it. It was really nice seeing Ashton again. Even though it was awkward just a minute ago. But once we got passed that, it felt as if we had been friends for ages.
We pulled away and his smile got brighter. "You too Lizzy."
Once Luke and I had said goodbye to everyone, we made our way to my car.
"What are they like then?" I asked Luke.
He grinned, showing off his flawless teeth. "They're so cool and amazing at banding!"
I was really glad for him. Despite only spending the night with them, they seemed to have made a great impression, which was fantastic! He told me about how he showed them his skills and they showed him theirs. He also said I had to go and see them perform. In fact, they had a gig coming up which Luke demanded I go to.
"Michael said there will only be a few people there, but I'm still so excited!" He exclaimed.
I was laughing at how happy he was. This was his dream and I was so glad to see him pursue it. I was his biggest fan for sure.
"Good! When is it?" I asked, getting excited myself.
"Next week."
