Flaws || A.I

Chapter twenty

I woke up a three thirty in the morning to my phone ringing. I sat up groggily, my head pounding and my eyes stinging from the non stop flow of tears from earlier.

I answered the phone without even checking the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Claire," the voice sobbed. I'd know that voice anywhere.

"Ashton, what's wrong?" I asked, waking up immediately.

"Claire, oh my God I'm sorry," he cried. I heard him sobbing and hiccuping between sniffles and my heart shattered. My beautiful boy was so broken. He just keep screaming out that he was sorry.

"It's alright. It's okay," I told him repeatedly. He just kept crying.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"It hurts," he whimpered.

"I know baby. Where are you?" I asked again.

"The cliff. Oh God it hurts Claire," he cried out.

"Okay, don't move. I'll be right there. Don't move. I love you okay?" I said, grabbing a sweater and slipping on some uggs before stealing Brielle's car keys and running out the front door.

I arrived at the cliff in record time and raced out of the car and over to the boy howling in pain.

"Ash," I said softly, kneeling next to him. He gave me the most heartbreaking look I've ever seen. His eyes were red and swollen, his face sticky from the tears that slid down. His bottom lip was trembling and he had his arm cradled gently in his lap. His arms were covered in dry blood.

"Oh my God," I said, looking down at them.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he choked out, turning away in shame. I pulled his face back to look at me and kissed him softly. God how I missed the feeling of his lips.

"It's okay," I whispered, my forehead pressed against his. I forced him to get into the car with me, but took him home at his request, instead of to the nearest hospital.

When we got there, I forced him to stand in front of the sink so I could properly clean and bandage his arms up before taking him into his room and laying down with him. Ashton held me tightly, like I might disappear if he loosened his grip even for a second. I smiled at that and cuddled into him. God I missed this. So that's how I fell asleep that night, cuddled into Ashton's arms and finally happy again.

~Brielle~

When I woke up the next morning, something felt off. From my spot on the couch, I could see Claire's door wide open, which never happens this early in the morning. I wriggled out of Luke's grip and walked over to see that her blankets were hanging off of her bed and her closet door was wide open. I walked out of her room and saw that my Ariel keychain was gone, meaning my car was gone. I grabbed my phone and dialled "Basic💕💭👑 "

Claire answered on the fifth ring sounding like she'd just woken up. "Hello?"

"Where's my car?" I asked immediately. "If you hurt my baby-"

"I'm at Ashton's," she replied, closing a door. I suspected she'd just left Ashton's room to keep from disturbing him.

"Ooh, make up sex? I want all of the details," I said, sitting at the kitchen table with a freshly poured cup of coffee.

"No," she hissed. "He called me hysterical at like three thirty am and I found him at the cliff with his arms covered in dry blood."

"Shit. He finally went off the deep end," I said, taking a sip of my coffee.

"Keep it up and I'll wreck your car," Claire threatened and I almost spit out my coffee.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry," I said quickly. "So, are you going back to him?"