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...
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THE SCENT OF LAVENDER embraces Ria's frame as she is enveloped in one of Ashton's royal blue sweaters. She shuts her eyes and grasps onto every beautiful memory they've shared. Even if it's agonizing to remember, thinking about their good days brings a momentary distraction from the pain he's left behind.
His letter has ripped her sanity to shreds every time her thoughts drift to it. At times, her emotions shut off and she won't feel a thing for days. The time is always fleeting before she's missing him with her entirety.
Even after Chris has told her to move on, or when Jared and Sophia encourage her not to lose herself in grief, even when her therapist encourages her to take her stabilizers more frequently, it's like her mind refuses to release the anguish that is Ashton.
If she shuts her eyes, she's back at the night they first met.
"Disappointing, isn't it?"
Ria simpers, remembering how startled she was by his sudden presence. She turned around and her breath was stolen by his ethereal allure. A sadness rested beneath his gentle smile. A sadness she had to uncover.
"It looks like you can touch it...feel it. But you can't. Kind of like you're unable to reach the heavens."
Why can't that moment last for an eternity? The moment that Ria began to fall for a stranger who whispered the most beautiful words to her.
"Just another lonely soul in a starless city."
"Ria?"
Her eyes fly open to find Jared crossing the room, nearing the sofa she sulks on. A guitar case is strapped to his back on top of his coat. Grey eyes linger on Ashton's sweater swallowing her frame. His raven hair is tousled, but he's reaching into his coat pocket to tug a wool hat on top of it.
"Yeah?" The word is raspy as it scratches her throat. "Are you going to your performance?"
"I really think you should come with us, Ria." He crosses in front of her and grabs her shoulders. "It's been three months and you're still wearing his sweater. This is not healthy."
"I miss him," she mumbles and pulls her eyes from his disapproving gaze. "I keep trying to make myself hate him, but then all I can think about is how much I love him."
"That's why you should come with us." His smile is sad and painfully pitiful. "It'd be a perfect distraction."
Ria shakes her head and holds her knees to her chest. "The last thing I want is to be surrounded by couples on New Year's Eve getting drunk, dancing, and making out. I would die."
His delicate chuckle touches the air. "Fair point. I guess that wouldn't be the best environment for a broken heart."
