drinking

chapter 4

My mind was flooded with anxious thoughts, and they washed over me like a river after rainfall.

What if I mess this up?

I'm worried that I'll embarrass myself.

Will Luke be okay?

Ashton was chattering beside me about his work, but his words turned into a wisp of flame after they reach my ears.

I couldn't get the look Luke gave me out of my head. It pained me to see him alone at home, drinking while staring at the empty ceiling. However, it didn't pain me because it was Luke, I was with Ashton after all.

It pained me to see someone go through the same thing that I went through before I met Luke. Forsaken and solitary, with only a bottle in my hand as a companion.

Ashton's car rumbles beneath my wedges as we stop at a dirt road. I squinted to try to see my way through the distant darkness, but I couldn't make anything out. Panic ensued, and the thoughts in my head turned wayward.

Is he trying to get me killed?

Is he a murderer?

Oh no, are we in the wrong place?

My heart started pulling deeper into my chest, as if I was curling in on myself. I felt a warm hand on top of mine, and my heart rate gradually relaxed. 

"Haven, are you okay? You look pretty pale," I hear Ashton say, with a worried tone in his voice.

I shook my head, taking a deep breath. Ashton's hand curls around mine in a comforting way, and my anxiety drifts further away.

"Are you scared of the dark?" 

I nod cautiously, although I wasn't. I felt evil to have the bad thoughts about him, and I couldn't have him know I doubted him for even a second.

"Ah, I'm so sorry that I brought you here then, I didn't kn-"

"No, no, Ashton, it's fine," I say, trying to knock the quivering out of my voice. 

I hear his side of the door click, and his shoes hitting the gravel floor. A shadow moves from his side to mine, and my door eventually clicks open. 

The fear in my veins disperses as I see Ashton's smiling face. He helps me out of the car, and I internally groan when I see all the gravel along the floor, as well as the path. Gravel and heels, no matter if they're wedges, don't work together.

Ashton sees the distressed look on my face, and before I can react he lifts me up bridal style. 

"Wha-"

"Do not worry, prince Ashton is here to save you," Ashton says in a voice two octaves lower than his regular voice, and I start laughing.

I could feel him travel further down the rocky road, and I hear him humming a miscellaneous tune. 

The forest is cold at night. The night time breeze whispers through the trees with delicate grace, and all that surrounds my ears are the symphonies of the wild, and Ashton's soft murmur.

In the distance, between a grove of giant trees, I see light. I narrow my eyes to try to clarify the picture, but it's a blur of dancing flashes.

"Almost there, kitten," I hear Ashton say, and my eyes widen as I see what was between the timber.

A perfectly set out picnic with blankets and strung up lights, which glowed from a portable plug in the corner of my eye. Ashton sets me down on the silky grass, and I immediately start wobbling from plush turf. I sigh and take off my wedges, leaving me barefoot as I feel the dewy meadow in between my toes.