Don't let me drown

Thirteen

When Sienna woke up, she looked into a pair of hazel brown eyes.
"Hey.. How are you?" Ashton asked.
She smiled and looked around.
She laid on a black bed in a room - which seemed to be Ashton's room, because of the drum kit, cajondrum, posters and t-shirts which laid on the chair.
"I'm fine," she responded whilst sitting up. The headache was nearly gone.
"Sure?" He sounded worried.
"Yeah."
"That's good. Do you want some food or something to drink?" Ashton asked with a worried look in his face.
"Uhm.. Yes please." She was happy with the question.

Ashton was back pretty soon with a cup of tea, a glass of water, two sandwiches and a bowl with oatmeal.
"I.. I didn't know what you wanted. Not that much of a gentleman, you know."
Sienna started laughing and he giggled as well.
"Can I have a sandwich?" She asked - and at the same time, she felt a guilt for asking this. It was so impolite!
"Of course," he answered and gave her the plate with the sandwiches. They smelled delicious and she took a big bite.
But it didn't go as planned. As soon as she had eaten half of the sandwich, her stomach refused to take more and even started to turn and make sounds.
"Shit." Sienna whispered.
"What wrong?"
"Do you have a.. Something I can puke in? I gotta.." She hadn't finished her sentence before she started to vomit.
But Ashton was quicker, coincidentally he had an big, empty bowl at his room and he gave it to her.

"I feel so awkward right now," Sienna said quietly and she bowed her head.
"No it's alright. No problem."
Sienna closed her eyes and laid down again. She dropped her head in the pillow and a smell entered her nose. The pillow smelled like Ashton.
She moaned and opened her eyes.
"What's up?"
"It smells like you. And your bed is so good and soft."
She pulled the quilt tighter around her body.
"I know."
"What time is it?" She asked.
Ashton pointed his finger to the ACDC clock which hung on the wall.
It was three o'clock.
"Damn, I need to call my parents.." She whispered.
"You want to?"
"I need to." She said. "Can you hand my bag over to me?"
"Which bag?" Ashton looked confused.
"My b-.. Oh shit." She whispered. "My bag! I left it in the forest last night!"
"What? Last night? Tell me." Ashton's face didn't change.
Sienna looked down at first and then she looked at him.
"Well.. Yesterday afternoon I cycled home through the forest as usual. And I met Car and Catja, and I was so dumb.. I stopped." She took a deep breath.
"And what happened then?" Ashton asked.
Sienna looked down again.
"Uhm.. Catja and Car dragged me through the forest, to the pond. And they had some kind of liquor with them. And somehow they managed to let me drink everything.."
"So they basically máde you drunk?"
"Yeah, guess so. And then they left when it started raining. And I kinda blacked out. And woke up this night and this morning. And then.. You found me.." She felt the tears come again and she let them roll down her face.
"Why are you crying?" He asked whilst folding his arms on the bed and laying his head on it. He was so calm and so sweet.
"It's just.." She sobbed. "You're so kind and sweet and cycle with me to school and never say the truth about me being fat and obese and having a terrible clothes style and.." She gasped for air. "And you defend me at school and you help me and even come and look for me when I'm not there and even take me home to you which is far away and still you do all this.. And I never give something back.." She sobbed and coughed once.
She slowly looked at Ashton's face which was speechless .
"Where did you get thát from?" He asked.
"It's just.. The truth." She said with a sigh.
"Of course it isn't. Believe me." He answered.
"But..-"
"No Sienna. I mean it. You're one of the thinnest girls I know, and..-" he stopped and looked at her shoulders, breasts, stomach and hips for some time. Then he went up and looked at her eyes.
"You don't.. Vomit every day, right?"
Sienna looked down, not wanting to face him and telling him the truth about starving herself.
"Sienna?"
"Mhm."
"Look at me." She did what he said and looked hopelessly at him. "Do you?"
She nodded slowly.
"How often?" He asked.
"I don't know.. After every meal. And sometimes I need to help, sometimes my body gets me and does it itself already."
Ashton looked at her with a worried face and he grabbed her hands.
"Sienna, this is serious. You're starving. You're starving yourself, why?"
She lifted her shoulders, but because she was under the quilt, he couldn't see it, so he raised his eyebrows.
"Because.. Uhm.. They said it."
"You listen to them, don't you?"
"But it's the truth," she said.
"Sienna, believe me.. They're so wrong. They love it when they see you cry, but they don't know how it feels to hear this. To hear such bad things.. Can you.. Promise me to, just, not puke it out?"
"But-"
"Stop saying but all the time!" Ashton raised his voice which caused Sienna to make herself small. Ashton laid his head on his folded arms again and let her hands go. "Sorry."
"It's alright." She said.
"Hungry?" He asked with a wink whilst lifting the bowl with oat meal.
She smiled and shook her head.
"No, thank you." She said with a sleepy voice.
The bedroom door opened and a women with blonde hair looked inside.
"Hey honey, is she alright?" She asked.
Ashton nodded his head and smiled.
"She's awake."
"Heard that," the women smiled and she looked at Sienna for a sec. "Take care of her, right?"
Ashton nodded once again.
"Sure."
"Okay. Dinner at six."
Ashton put his thumb in the air and turned to Sienna again.
The women closed the door and her footsteps faded away.
"That's my mom. She picked us up from the forest this morning."
"Aha." Sienna whispered. "How did you find me this morning?"
"That wasn't that difficult. You weren't at our meeting point this morning, so I was afraid something had happened to to you. I biked through the forest until I saw your bike behind some bushes. It seemed like someone had tried to hide it."
"Car and Catja."
"Probably. However, I immediately stopped and ran to the pond. At first, I was very afraid that you tried.. Tried it again.. But I wanted to be sure about that. And then I saw something in the corner of my eye - a little black, cold blip in the forest - you."
Sienna smiled.
"Thank you."
Ashton smiled at her.
"I'm going down for dinner, alright? You want to join?"
"No, thank you." She whispered back.
"I'll be right back." He smiled and he kissed her forehead slowly, what caused Sienna to love him even more.
"See ya."
She smiled as response and closed her eyes. The bed was warm and the pillow smelled like Ashton. Damn, she loved this friend. She got this friend. And he was perfect.