trouble || one shot

ashton ||

{ashton}

"Mom, are you sure?" I said through the phone, worried about my little brother Harry.

" Ashton, you can't quit college just for one check up. He'll be fine. I promise."

"I only an hour away. I could make it in time. I-"

"Ashton." Her voice cracked. "It's okay."

"Mom. Please don't cry."

"I'm fine. Harry wants to talk to you." 

"Harry?"

"HI ASH!"

"Hey. Are you okay? Do you want me to come do-"

"It's okay. It's just a PET scan. I've had hundreds. Plus Mom's gonna get ice cream with me after."

"For a twelve year old, your priorities are pretty good." I chuckled.

"I've gotta go. Love you!"

"I love you too. Call me when you get a chance."

"Ashton?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." And with that, the line went dead.

Don't cry. Don't cry Ashton. You never cry, especially in front of people. I looked over at Luke watching American Horror Story, which Amber got him into.

Finally, I couldn't keep it in. I couldn't keep years of emotions in. I didn't care if Luke was watching or not, I was going to cry.

Luke, looking alarmed, came over to comfort him.

"Are you okay?" he said patting me awkwardly on my back.

"No. Why him? Why couldn't it be me. He's so innocent." I sobbed.

"Who? What?" 

"My little brother."

"Oh..." I knew Amber had told him why I was always worried about my family back at home.

"Maybe you could go down tonight? You have no classes tomorrow. Might as well.'

"I think I will." I sniffled then laughed.

"Look at me, I'm such a mess."

"Yeah, you are."

---------------------

I checked my mirror before turning into my old driveway.

Before knocking, grabbed my jacket from the back of the truck.

"Ashton?"

"MOM!" I ran up and hugged her. "How's Harry doing."

"Good, he taking a nap. It's been a long day. I'm waiting for the results." She said leading me inside.

"Mom, what if Harry has a recurrence ?" I said softly.

'Now don't think like that Ashton."

"Okay." I hung my head low wishing everything would fade. I remembered a quote from my neighbor next door. 

"I hate everything. Why Harry. He's only four."  I said, kicking a rock. "The world used to be so great. Now it's like...like, like POOP!"I giggled, not understanding the full seriousness of Harry's diagnosis.

Iggy giggled. "Sometimes to see the beauty of the world you have to go through pain."

Being 11, I was amazed at how smart she was (also since she was a year younger), so we soon became best friends. Later on she would tell me that she actually used 17 percent of her brain, a scientific miracle, which was why she could recite Shakespeare at 6 and was quarantined in her house for 15 years, not to mention the weird doctors appointments causing her to be gone for days.

"Hey Mom, Can I go over to Iggy's?"

"Sure. She's been babysitting Harry lately."

"Call me when you get the email. Love you."

I walked over to Iggy's house, knowing she would be on the roof, getting ready to watch the sunset. It was quite simple to get to her roof, just climb a huge tree that connected our house together.

"Alright, you've got this."

I put my feet in the little niches in the wood and koala-ed my way to the top. 

"Ashton." Iggy said not looking up from her book, Sherlock Holmes. I never understood why she always reread that.

"How did you know I was here."

"Well, your not exactly ninja like with your panting. How out of shape have you gotten?" Iggy laughed, hugging me.

"So what's up?"

"Nothing much, still trying to be valedictorian."

"Trying, you're gonna be valedictorian, Indigo." I chuckled

"Don't call me by my first name." She whined. "Did you get the results yet?" 

I shook my head and sighed.

"Whatever life gives you, from death to delight, you should acknowledge it with a smile, like it's a childhood friend."

"Is it just me, or are smarter."

"Glad you noticed, I started using 20% of my brain capacity."

"YOU WHAT?"  I said nearly falling off the roof.

"I don't know why, one day I slept for 36 hours and my brain started producing this weird blue stuff that almost looked like Gatorade, and then BAM!."

My phone started to ring causing me to sigh again.

"I gotta go, we got the results, wanna come?" 

"Sure."

------------------

When we reached the house, my mom and Harry were already huddled around the fireplace with a computer in the center.

"Hi Mom. Did you open it yet?"

"No. We were waiting for you. Hello Iggy. Come here darling."

I noticed Iggy smiling at Harry and nodding her head. Harry's eyes widened and they started laughing.

"What?" Mom asked.

"He's clean!"

"Oh my god." she said crying.

"How do you know?" I asked trying not to get my hopes up.

"I can see it."

I opened up the email, which backed up Iggy. I was over joyed.

Every thought I every thought, every word I ever spoke, every action I ever did was binding together into one single point. My shattered family was being glued back together.

Ad astra per aspera.

----------------

Hello readers,

        I made this story for the Trouble One Shot Competition. I know it's short and some entries will be like, 14 pages, but I felt like it wasn't going to add to the chapter if I just kept rambling on and on and on. (Also I didn't want Paige to get bored while reading this. I hope you enjoyed it! Also, the last phrase is latin and the translation is "A rough road leads to the stars." Bye...

-Allison