When the fear of isolation pulls Ashton and Ria together, nothing can prepare them for the collision. An anomaly shatters the repetitive fabric of their lives, sending them on a journey of discovering themselves and one another.
Beneath Ashton's gen...
❝It would be a shame for you to be blindsided by love again.❞
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FOR A MOMENT, CHRIS IS BACK IN TIME.
Prying his tired eyes open reveals to him a coffee table littered with sketchpads, pencils and a camera. His sides ache from lying on the same burgundy couch he's fallen asleep on a thousand times. The only thing missing is Ria lying in his arms. He jerks up, eyes darting in every direction.
The room is vacant. Curtains are drawn.
He frowns and rubs sleep from his eyes. "Ria?"
No answer. No sigh. No sound of the shower running or the smell of her burning breakfast.
Where is-
The night before comes crashing in and he's thrust back into reality.
Pain rips through his skull and he cradles it desperately. "Fuck," he drags. How much did I drink last night and how the hell did I get here?
Chris looks around and finds his shoes on the ground with a note lying on top of them. He grunts and snatches it up while shoving his feet into his shoes.
please go home as soon as you read this. i don't want you and ashton to fight. if you're hungry, i have those granola bars you love. we'll talk later. -ria
"Fuck Ashton." Chris shoves the letter in his pocket and trudges into the kitchen. Throwing cabinets open, he finds the box of granola bars and grabs a handful. We're going to get into a fight if he doesn't leave.
And we'll talk later? About what? How she needs to come back to me?
Cradling his head and grumbling nonsense, Chris wanders to her bedroom and peeks inside.
The scene before him tears his heart to shreds. Ria is snuggled up in Ashton looking as innocent as she did when they were still together.
His girl is in another man's arms.
His blood boils scorching and unrelenting. If his head weren't pounding enough already, he'd be clenching his teeth. He'd yell at Ashton to let her go.
He grips the threshold and steps closer. She seems so at peace with him. Another step. So comfortable.
Ria groans and shifts in Ashton's arms.
Chris halts.
Maybe Ashton is what she needs right now. She needs a distraction to get over what I put her through.
Chris remembers every voicemail she left him after he broke up with her. Every desperate text message. Listened to all her tearful words as she asked him why. Why?
Why did I leave her?
Right after, her disorder got out of hand and he knew it. He knew she needed him, someone to help her through that dark time. He knows all about the void that messes with her emotions and thoughts. How it's hard to control herself when anxiety and depression attack at the same time.
