Unbroken (#3 in the 'Outcast' series)

Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

Andy's Point of View:

"Alright, I guess I'll see you whenever then."

Juliet looked at me sadly, me just returning the look. It was Friday, which meant that she had to go home, or else her parents were gonna start getting very annoyed with her and probably enforce consequences, and I didn't want that.

"Sorry Andy, but we both knew this was gonna happen eventually," she said as I looked down and she linked her hands with mine.

"I know, but y'know..." I said. I looked up and met her gaze. "This probably means I'm not gonna get to see you for a while, 'cause you're not here."

"We'll figure something out, I promise," she said with a bit of a smile, making me smile back a bit as well. She let go of one of my hands and checked the time on her phone. "I've really gotta go Andy. Sorry."

I nodded and she looked at me sadly.

"You gonna be ok?" she asked, a hint of concern in her tone.

"I'm gonna have to be," was my response.

Juliet gave me a smile again and gave me a kiss before having to go.

"We'll figure it out Andy," she said. "See you whenever."

***

"C'mon man, cheer up yeah? She's not gone forever, at least, I don't think she is..." Ashley said, trailing off into his own thoughts as I leant my head on my hand.

I just shrugged, mindlessly drawing over the piece of paper I had in front of me like usual whenever I got bored or miserable and had nothing to do. Ashley snapped back into reality and looked at me.

"You'll be fine without her," he said, continuing on with what he'd been saying before. "I mean, you've still got me, even if you don't have her...?"

"Yeah, but you'll have to go soon too," I said sadly, Ashley frowning upon realisation.

"Yeah, I dunno when they wanted me back," he said with thought, that frown still there. "I can't really remember now what they said." He thought briefly before shrugging. "Oh well. Mustn't have been all that important then."

I just shook my head and watched as he continued thinking. He seemed rather lost in his own world over the past week or so, and it made me wonder if he was hiding something. He usually got lost in his thoughts when there was something he wasn't allowed to say.

"Somethin' on your mind Ash?" I asked, watching as Ashley switched his gaze to me and I straightened up a bit more.

"Why'd you think that?" he asked calmly, almost like he was challenging me to something.

I shrugged. "Just wondering. You seem real lost in your thoughts, which usually means you've got something on your mind."

"Since when?" he rushed.

"Since forever," I said, Ashley avoiding my gaze, which clearly meant there was something he couldn't tell me. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No," he said, before quickly trying to cover it up with what he meant to say. "I mean, there's nothing on my mind."

I frowned as he looked away, trying to focus on something else.

"Ashley, what's wrong?" I asked, feeling like whatever he was hiding was rather hard for him to keep a secret. "Y'know I won't say anything to whoever it involves, right?"

"Why'd you think it involves someone? Might involve me, might involve you, could even involve Vic," he rushed, clearly not wanting me to know something. "Who knows? Might be someone you don't even know."