The Therapist's Son // Ashton Irwin [AU] ✔

11.

The crunching of leaves and twigs beneath my feet was pretty much all I could hear as I continued walking through the mess of trees, leaves and hanging branches, hoping I was going in the right direction.

I sighed in relief when I came to a familiar clearing, looking up to see the treehouse. I brushed my fingers through my hair to get rid of clingy leafs, listening carefully. I heard nothing, but hesitantly made my way to the rope ladder anyways.

"Ashton? Its Natalie. Can I come up?" I called out.

"Yeah." Was the simple, barely audible response I received.

Ashton sat in the corner, knees pulled to his chest as he stared out the window, cheeks shiny with tears. It was odd for me. I didn't know what to do because I had never seen him like this, but I wish I didn't have to.

"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting next to him. He began to nod before changing his mind, shaking his head and letting out a quiet "no".

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked him. He seemed hesitant, unwilling to open up to me before he wiped at his cheeks, clearing his throat.

"My mum," He laughed, biting down on his lip before continuing. "She treats me more like a god damn client than her son."

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly confused. She was a therapist, so clearly she had only been meaning to help him.

Ashton sighed, reaching behind him before handing me a familiar frame with caution. I looked at the picture.

"You brought this out with you?" I asked, studying the faces in the picture. I remember seeing it in his room a week or so before when he caught me where I wasn't supposed to be.

"Yeah," He sighed. "You know how there are some things in life that you just can't forget, can't get over? 'Move on,' my mother says. 'Its in the past.' It's not that easy."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and a question ran through my head again and again. I was worried he would shut down on me again if I pushed too far, but I couldn't help but ask.

"Where are they?"

He didn't answer for a moment, but he didn't seem to be angry or uncomfortable at all. He kept staring out the window, observing the sky. He finally turned to look at me, his eyes red and tired.

"They died, Natalie...I-It was late and we were driving and..." He ended up trailing off, but his words caused my heart to drop, hitting me unexpectedly. I knew what it was like to lose someone close to you, I had lost Ashley right in front of my eyes. But an entire family? A brother, and a sister, and a father? That would be nearly impossible to cope with.

"Wow," I whispered. "I...I'm so sorry."

"She just...She expects me to forget about it. Like they never meant a damn thing to me, and I can't do that!" He said, voice cracking. "She's more of a therapist than a mother. She's never there, and when she is, she's still in work mode. I hate it."

We sat in silence for awhile, I didn't know what to say. I considered telling him about my sister so that he would know he wasn't alone in the situation, but I decided against it. Eventually, I handed the frame back to him, and he sighed.

"I'm not going back tonight," He told me. "We got into a fight before I left, I don't want to go back."

"You don't have to." I said, taking off my sweater. Luckily I hadn't taken off any of my bracelets before I left home, so I wasn't worried about him seeing anything that he wasn't supposed to.

"What are you doing?" Ashton asked nervously.

"If I'm going to sleep out here tonight, I'm not sleeping on a hard floor, and I don't see pillows anywhere," I laughed, folding the sweater up and laying it on the floor. "I'll just use this."

"You're staying?" I nodded, shivering slightly when the cool air trailed goosebumps across my skin. "You're cold." Ashton frowned. I merely shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. I've dealt with worse."

"No, put it back on," He said. "Rest your head on my shoulder or lap or something, you'll freeze without a sweater."

I nodded, quickly pulling the sweater back on before resting my head on Ashton's lap, his back still pressed against the wall of the treehouse.

"Were you really angry about me and Luke hanging out today?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Not angry, just kind of jealous, I guess. I wanted to spend time with you, and then you turned out having so much fun with him...How was the movie?"

"The Damages In Our Galaxy?" I mocked, and he rolled his eyes. "Just messing around. It was alright. Luke cried."

"And you didn't?"

"Exactly what he said," I laughed. "But, no, I don't really cry at movies."

"Oh." Was all he said. He took his phone out of his pocket, turning it on so that the screen lit up in the darkness. He didn't seem to have much to hide as he scrolled through some recent messages from his mother, asking quite patiently that he comes home.

"How did you get my number?" I asked. I didn't recall giving it to him at any point in time. He didn't meet my eyes as he gave me a quick response.

"Your mom."

"My mom?" I asked. He nodded.

"When we all went out looking for you, she gave you my number thinking you might respond faster to me, maybe? I'm not sure. But I'm kind of glad she gave it to me."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Because there's not really anyone I'd rather have with me right now than you." I blushed at his words, glancing at the screen. I groaned when I saw that it was already 11:30, and I never completed my English homework. I'd have to do it before class tomorrow, apparently.

"Go to sleep. I'll wake you up so you can get home by sunrise." He said, turning his phone off and placing it next to him. I nodded, before closing my eyes and drifting into a calm sleep.

******

A/N: First, I cannot explain how sorry I am for going so long without updating, I've had writer's block forever, and I've been coming up with new ideas like crazy, and I just...Wow, either way. Here's the update, I know it's not my best.

I'd really appreciate it if you guys would check out one of my new stories called 'Letting Go Of Jamie'. It's a Luke Hemmings fanfiction. And my friend Tori and I decided to do a collaboration 5SOS fanfiction, but that's still under 'coming soon'. Feel free to look anyways.

I want to thank you guys for over 2,000 reads, you guys are the absolute best! I love you so much!

I think that's it. Vote and comment please?

I'll try to update again in a few days!

Callie x