blue

XVI

Ashton's POV
17 minutes too late
***

I needed to find Melia. Time was running out and the sound of it was ticking in my brain and it was going to stay there until I found her.

I was falling in love with Melia Cronshaw, the girl with the messy blonde hair and the breathtaking blue eyes. The way her messy hair falls down her back and swirls around her ears is captivating, and the way her eyes stare upon you as if you're magnificent will always burn in my brain. and holy shit her smile. It's so contagious that even though I lost her, every time I think of her smile I can't help but smile too. and her two dimples and the way her forehead slightly crinkles; only when I make her laugh, though.

That's what I can't let go of: the fact that I was one of the only things that made her happy and although she never admitted to it, I knew it was true. The way she looked at me and smiled and acted as if her life was okay when it wasn't proved it. It proved that I was slowly making her life okay, piecing everything back together again - and then I ruined it. I smashed my creation; I smashed her happiness.

It was simply the calm before the storm and we both knew it. That's exactly why she left. She knew I would hurt her, and even though I hate her for it, I know it's true. I would have eventually hurt her, and she would be beyond repair. I would rather her be only slightly cracked; nothing a little glue and some duct tape couldn't fix.

But now I was scared that glue and duct tape couldn't fix her anymore, and that's why I needed to find her before it was too late. I needed to find her before she did something stupid. I needed to find her before the rest of my gang does.

And that's how I ended up here, on my bike, riding so fast that the wind pierced my ears. I knew where she was. Enough time has passed to make it possible for her to forgive her mother and come to her senses. She was at the lab, she had to be.

My legs were slowly growing more tired, until I couldn't feel a thing anymore. I finally made it and tossed my bike aside. I ran up to the doors and tried to turn the handle but there was no use; it was locked.

There were only two possible answers as to why it was locked. One, they were simply done for the day, or two, they were hiding something.

Based on common sense and the results that I got after I weighed my variables, I guessed that they were just hiding something.

So, I made my first mistake of the night. I kicked the door, as hard as I could. And no, I didn't have steel toed boots or special footwear to protect my already numb feet. The only thing on them was a pair of ragged, old, vans. The soles of the shoes were barely in tact anymore.

As you probably already guessed, it hurt like a bitch. I grabbed my throbbing foot in both hands and yelled out as many cuss words as I could think of. Then, I made my second mistake, and punched the door with both fists.

I was both angry and petrified. Angry at myself because Melia could be in danger and it was all my fault, and petrified because I don't have what my gang wants; Melia. The last time I showed up empty handed they found a way to put my innocent father in jail along with Melia's not-so-innocent-father, John. I wish it would have been my mother. She was the only one who deserved to be thrown in the slammer. Her and John would get along well. They both neglected their children to the point of self destruction.

I didn't want to think of my mother right now though, it would only make me angrier.

Instead of screaming or punching someone like I wanted to, I jumped back on my bike and continued searching. Within the first few seconds, I saw something that caught my eye.

On the side of the road, only minutes away from the hospital where I just was, was tons of police tape, along with at least four police cars. Everyone was panicking, sketching down every detail in their notepad.