Falling Slowly

Pt.3|Ch.8

•••••Austyn's Perspective

Ben got moved back to his room about an hour after he woke up, and fell back asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Josh sent me to bed not too long after.

Having no desire to stay awake anyway, I went straight to my room.

I was sitting on the edge of my bed and re-braiding my hair when my phone rang.

Too tired to even check the caller, I clicked 'accept' and held the phone to my ear.

"Hi!" Aiden's cheerful voice came through the speaker.

"Hey,"

"Whoa. You sound exhausted."

I rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, I was up all night. Sleeping next to a couch is not something I'd recommend before a two-show day."

"Sorry," she apologized, "I'll let you get back to sleep—"

"No, no, it's fine." I managed a light laugh. "It's good to hear your voice again."

"Aww, yours too." she cooed. "I just called to say 'hi', but do you need to talk about anything in particular?"

The events of the previous evening came flooding back to my mind like a slap in the face. "Yeah, actually."

"That sounds bad."

"Yeah," I winced at the memory of Chase's grip on my arm. "It was."

"Hit me with it, sister. What happened?"

"You remember what happened with Chase before? Did I tell you the whole story?"

"No, but Josh texted me about it. Did he bother you again?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he, um,"

I could hear her take in a sharp breath. "Oh my gosh—"

"He tried to kiss me." I forced out.

She was silent for a moment, before letting out a shaky exhale.

"Aiden?"

"I hate him." She stated, her voice trembling with anger and tears. "I hate him so much."

"Aiden," I said with wide eyes. "You never cry,"

"I know I don't." She snapped, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. "Have you talked to Ben about it?"

"No." I shook my head. "He had a temperature of over a hundred last night,"

"Geez, yesterday was one wild roller coaster, huh?"

"Do you think I should talk to him?" I asked, biting my lip. "I've never had to deal with this before,"

"Austyn, he'd want to know. If someone did something like that to me, don't you think Sky would want to know?"

I nodded, looking down at my feet. "Yes."

"Then you need to talk to him."

"Um," I fidgeted with my braid, twisting a curl around my finger. "Do I have to do it now, or can it wait—"

"Get it over with." She said, firmly but soothingly. "He'll help you sort it out."

"I'm just," I shrugged, "nervous, and I still don't think my heart has stopped pounding,"

"Go find him." Aiden's instructions were quick and clear. "Trust me, talking will help."

I nodded. "Okay."