Hadley: An Ansel Elgort Fan Fiction

Chapter 23

wOWza 7k+ reads? wtf that's so cool, thank you. This is kinda a filler sorry.

Mom came home eventually; at 5 in the evening to be exact. Ansel and I were lying on the couch watching The Office reruns as she came through the front door, unannounced. She flopped her purse and car keys onto the kitchen counter and stared at us. She didn’t give an explanation about where she was, didn’t even introduce herself to Ansel or say hello. I don’t know what I expected, for her to come home and hold me, apologize, and tell me everything is gonna be okay? She’s never been that kind of mom. Ansel made things better though, he made me forget for a while.

“I think it’s time for you to go,” she said finally.

“Do you really think it’s your place to tell him to leave? I haven’t seen you in two days,” I fired back at her, standing up.

“This is my house. I am the parent; I will tell him he needs to leave whenever I want, Hadley.”

“You haven’t been acting like much of a parent lately.”

Ansel gripped my hand. I looked at him as he stood up. “It’s alright.” He bent down so his lips where touching my ear. “I don’t want to get you in trouble,” he whispered. “Call me later.”

And with that he slipped out the front door and went home.

“Where’s your brother?” she asked me.

“I-I don’t know, a friends, I guess.”

“You don’t know? How do you not know?”

“How do you not know? He’s your son for Christ’s sake,” I said.

“I’m taking you shopping.”

“What?”

“Shopping, clothes, supplies; school starts Thursday.”

“Right.” I’d completely forgotten about school. I really didn’t want to go, but it was inevitable might as well get some new clothes out of it.

So we got into her car and drove to the mall downtown. I got some nice shit, too. When I got back home I went straight up to my room after mumbling a quick thanks to Mom. I stopped in Ashton’s room to see if he was home yet. It was only 8 so I wasn’t sure.

I rapped on his closed door then let myself inside. He was sprawled out on his floor reading Catcher in The Rye. I looked at him raising an eyebrow.

“I’m finishing it for school summer reading,” he told me. I had nothing against reading for fun, I did it all the time, but Ashton didn’t.

“Did you get some clothes and shit?” he asked not looking up from the book.

I sighed and nodded. “When did she come home?” he asked.

“Whenever you were out.”

“Dad still hasn’t come home?”

I shook my head. Tears burned my eyes. “What’s gonna happen?” I asked my voice shaky.

He tossed the book to the ground and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

“I’m not gonna bullshit you on this because even for a fifteen year old you’re one of the smartest, wisest people I know; he might not come home, you know that, but whether he does or not we’re going to be fine. That, I can promise you, you won’t feel like this forever.” 

I hugged him back.

“Thanks,” I muttered. “I needed that, goodnight Ash.” I slipped out of his bedroom and into my own and began cutting the tags off my new things. When I finished putting them away I settled into bed and called Ansel.

He picked up on the second ring. “Sup, buttercup?”

“I told you I hate pet names you potato with eyes,” I told him but I couldn’t help but smile.

He laughed and said, “That’s exactly why I called you buttercup.”

“Don’t laugh I didn’t make that saying up it’s from a TV show I don’t want you to think I’m a fraud.”

He laughed again which made my smile grow. “What did you and your mom do?”

“Shopped; it was torture; she just acted like everything was fine. Like she didn’t disappear for two days without an explanation. “

“I’m sorry. I never really know what to say with these things.”

“No, that’s me. You always know what to say. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me lately.”

“It’s nothing. I just want you to feel good.”

“I do, thanks to you.”

He doesn’t say anything for a moment, but I can hear his heavy breathing through the phone.

“Wow that sounded really sexual,” I laugh and he does too.

“I-I-uh, see you tomorrow? Last day of summer, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll come over whenever I get up.”

I heard what sounded like drawers being opened then closed in the background. It was like I could feel his warmth through the phone. Even when we were not really talking about anything he made me feel soft and warm inside.

“Yeah, okay. I lo- um, goodnight.”

And he ended the call. I lo-? What the fuck was he gonna say? It ate way at me all night, until around 12 when I finally drifted off to sleep.