Brave (Sequel to Beside You)

Chapter Twenty Three

Aria's POV
'I can't believe you did that!' I said angrily to Dougie.
'What? As I said you need to go out and live your life. You can't just wait around for Ashton to come back forever Aria. What if he never comes back? He hasn't bothered to get in contact. I'm sorry it sounds harsh and you know I love Ashton like a brother, but you do need to move on. Experience life with different people at least for a while, if it doesn't work out then it doesn't work out. But you've got to try Aria. It hurts to watch you lock yourself in your room all the time. The walls aren't that thick Aria I can hear you cry yourself to sleep most nights. You need to let someone make you happy. As I have been telling you since the beginning, you deserve happiness Aria.' Dougie says ranting.
'I want to be happy Dougie; I just don't want to move too fast. It's not Ashton I'm worried about this point. I have so much emotional baggage, I don't want to get attach to anyone only to end up scaring them away.' I say as I begin to cry.

'Aria, everyone has baggage. You need to let someone in. You don't have to tell him what happened straight away. Get to know each other a bit first. It's one date that is all, and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He seems to have taken a shine to you. I watched the way he looked at you and the way you blushed when he came over. You like him too. You've just got to give him a chance. It'll be alright Aria.' Dougie encourages.
'Thanks Doug' I smile wiping my tears and giving him a hug.
'It's what I'm here for. Now I better go because you have a shift to finish. I will see you later.' Dougie bid his goodbye and left.

I looked over at the bay Ryan had been staying in, he had just opened the curtain. I quickly opened my phone and started typing out a message. I typed the number in and then pressed send. I watched as Andy looked down at his phone then up at me. I saw the smile grow wide on his face, as he lifted up his hand and waved at me. I waved back before turning away. I headed towards the locker room to put my phone away when it buzzed.
*Thanks beautiful. Can't wait 😊 Xx Andy*
I blushed well reading his text and replied *Looking forward to it. See you at 6pm 😊 Xx*. I added his number into my phone and then turned it off and put it into my locker.