Love Will Remember | Ashton Irwin [[ON HOLD]]

Chapter 10

--present--

I don’t know when I knew I had lost my friend, but the pain in my chest let me know when he was gone. It had been three months since One Direction’s Take Me Home tour had kicked off in London, with 5 Seconds of Summer supporting them. It’s not like he never called; he would sometimes send pictures of One Direction’s show or what happened backstage and whatnot. He knew I fancied the curly headed one named Harry, and would occasionally sneak a picture of the heartthrob for me. He was still there for me, just not physically and less there than normal.

At the beginning of 2013, I had started up a new job at a local diner to help pay for the rent for the apartment my recently divorced mum and I live in. We have been struggling since her separation with my dad had started, but I promised her that I’d stick by her side and help us get back on our feet since it was just her and me. I’ve been working at the diner for a few months now and I kind of hate it, but it’s a job and jobs you have to get by are never ones you’ll consider doing for the rest of your life.

“Babe, can you please cover table four for me? I’ve got a nasty bunch at table nine and I’m already covering three more.” Nina, a fellow waitress, asks me with desperation as she sets five glasses on a tray.

“Of course!” I smile at the kind girl I had become quite good friends with at work, seeing as we have the same shifts every day and we go to Uni together.

“Thank you, my love. I owe you.” She whispers to me, trudging off to her tables. I laugh and pour two mugs of tea. I set the two mugs in front of the elderly couple at table six, giving them a kind smile before making my way to table four, only to stop in my tracks when I see four familiar boys looking at the menus, screwing around at the table as they always did.

I take a deep breath, pull out my small notepad and pen from my apron and walk up to their table.

Without making eye contact, I say, “What can I get for you?”

When none of them say anything, I finally look up from my notepad, finding them all gaping at me and looking between me and Ashton, as if to gauge our reactions.

“Oh my God, Sabrina!” Ashton says, standing to his feet and hugging me tightly. I close my eyes and let myself be engulfed by him, the simple hug bringing me back to when I hugged him when he left for London six months ago. The tears well up in my eyes, and I force them away, only leaving me with a hard lump in my throat.

“Sabrina!” I hear my boss’ voice call me out of my hug. I pull away quickly and smooth down my apron with my hands whilst Ashton stands there, stunned. His hazel eyes are wide, looking up my body in a non-greedy way. It’s like he’s taking in all that has changed about me, after not seeing me for six months.

“You work here? You hate this place.” Ashton asks and I shush him loudly, pushing him back down into his seat.

“I really need this job, I had no choice.” I whisper back, looking over my shoulder to check if my boss was still there, only to find him talking with a customer.

I clear my throat and put on that fake smile I give to most of my customers, “What can I get for you?” The four look uneasy and quite awkward as they tell me their drink orders. I nod at them and go back behind the counter to fetch their drinks.

“Do you know them?” Nina whispers to me while she puts plates full of food on her tray.

“Yeah, the one in the gray jacket and glasses is my best friend.” I say with a certain solemnness to my tone that I would never usually have when talking about my best friend.

“That’s 5 Seconds of Summer! And your best friend is the drummer?” She squeals slightly as she death grips my forearm.

“Yup!” I sigh, filling a cup with ice water for Michael, extra ice. I know how much ice he likes in his drinks. It’s a weird thing but he’s a weird kid, so…