Rescue // Ashton Irwin

eight.

Adley.

When I woke the next morning, Ashton was half asleep outside my door.

"Ads?" he asked when he noticed me walk out of the bedroom, his voice so vulnerable and small it almost hurt to hear.

"I'm going out for a while," I said, carefully stepping around him.

"Wait..." he said, grabbing my wrist lightly.

"No, Ashton," I declined, tugging my wrist out of his grip.

He looked so broken, his eyes red and puffy and his hair a mess.

I felt awful knowing I was the reason, but I was too scared that if we talked it out we would decide we were better off as friends, and I just couldn't do that.

I wanted to be much more than just friends, and I knew that anything said right then could potentially jeopardize my chances.

I shrugged a jacket on before heading outside, letting the crisp air clear my mind.

I didn't know where I was going, having had the intention of aimlessly wandering around until I felt good enough to return home, but I ended up at the coffee shop Ashton had taken me to on a particularly bad day after group.

After ordering, I found a quiet spot in the back to clear my head, away from all the background noise of the city.

I sat in silence for a long time, thinking of ways to fix whatever was happening with Ashton.

"Adley?" A voice called, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Calum?"

"What're you doing here? Where's Ash?"

I had the urge to burst into tears at the mention of his name, but I managed to keep my composure.

"At home," I answered, hoping he wouldn't push further.

But, it was apparently not my lucky day.

"Why didn't he come with you?"

"He had some stuff to do around the house," I lied.

Calum seemed like a good person, he was Ashton's best friend after all, but I'd only met him twice and I wasn't exactly comfortable with talking about Ashton and I's problems with him.

"Bullshit," he said, surprising me with his blunt response.

"Excuse me?"

"I know what happened," he said, clearing my confusion.

Of course he knew, I thought to myself, mentally cringing at how stupid I'd been.

Ashton and Calum were literally best friends, of course he'd told him.

"Uh," I stuttered, forcing a laugh, "I should've known."

"He's sad," he said bluntly, making my heart drop.

"I know," I mumbled.

"I mean it. He's really hurting, you should've heard him when he called me after you walked out this morning," he continued, making me feel worse and worse with every sentence.

I stayed silent, not knowing what to say to him that could make the situation better.

"Adley," he said, making me look up into his chocolate eyes.

"What?"

"Talk to him," he practically begged.

"I'm scared," I admitted, wondering why I was confiding in Calum after meeting him a total of two times, but I found it strangely comforting.