|The Tourist|

«Chapter 19«

Ashton waits a few minutes, sitting in the corner in shock. Did that just really happen? He heard footsteps on the stairs again and he couldn't help himself as he pushed away from the corner more. But when the door opened, it was only Calum standing there.

"Ash?" Calum wondered when he caught sight of him. "Are you okay? What did he do?"

Ashton sniffles as Calum kneeled in front of him. "N-nothing. That's the thing, he did nothing!" Ashton looked up at Calum with confusion. "He doesn't want to hurt me."

Calum smiled softly and gathered Ashton into his arms. "I made some breakfast and Luke said you're free to go whenever. Which is kinda weird, I gotta admit that."

"I'm free to go? As in outside my room?" Ashton clarified and Calum just shrugged. Ashton snuggled into Calum's shoulder a little longer before he pulled away. "What did you make?"

"Just some pancakes and some fruit, nothing special." Calum smiles though when Ashton rolls his eyes.

"Any cooking made by chef Calum is absolutely amazing. Let's try some of this." Ashton cracked a smile and followed Calum downstairs. It was weird to walk through that door for the first time without getting in trouble for it.

Ashton sat where Calum directed him and watched as he hummed, grabbing a plate and dishing up the food. He dropped it in front of Ashton and watched excitedly as he took the first bite. "Is it good?" He wondered and Ashton smiled.

"Better than good, I'd say amazing is more like it." Calum smiled happily and went to dish himself some. It was silent as they both finished eating.

When they had both washed their dishes, Calum finally turned to Ashton with a small smile. "They left all the doors unlocked you know. I think you've gained Luke's trust or something." He let that sink in but Ashton didn't even react. "I won't tell if you-if you leave."

Luke stopped midstep as he came up the basement stairs, watching Ashton carefully. The boys didn't seem to see him yet.

Ashton stared at Calum for a few seconds before he shook his head in alarm. "I'm not leaving Calum." But he couldn't help himself as he walked up to the back door, turning the knob experimentally. It opened. He quickly shut it and turned to run to the front door. It opened just as easily but Ashton closed it just as fast.

He kept his back to the door, breathing quickly as he painfully pushed himself away from it. He wished so bad that he could leave, but he just couldn't. He didn't even know why anymore.

"Maybe we should just watch some tv or something, what do you do for fun around here?" Ashton asked, shocking Calum and Luke.

That's when Luke decided to make himself known. He pushed the door even farther open, watching Ashton's face as he caught sight of him. He didn't even look scared anymore, just skeptical. "What are you doing?" Luke asked angrily.

Calum looked away quickly but Ashton just shrugged. "Hanging out with Calum. What are you doing?"

Luke ignored the whole statement. He could tell he was 'hanging out' with Calum but why? He stepped into the room, looking at Ashton with a mix of anger and confusion. He just could never figure this boy out. "I've left all the doors unlocked and even let you out of the room but you're too dumb and you won't leave! Why the hell aren't you leaving?"

Calum flinched at the loud voice but Ashton just looked at him sadly. "Because I..."

When he didn't continue, Luke took a step closer to him. "You what?" He prompted.

Luke could see the debate happening in Ashton's head. When Ashton just shrugged and muttered a small, "I don't know." Luke just shook his head and turned to leave. He was halfway up the stairs when he heard Ashton tell Calum he'd be right back. He had never followed Luke anywhere before. Luke was just as confused as Calum now.

"What is it Ashton?" He wondered. Ashton didn't say anything until they were in Luke's room. He still didn't say anything until Luke turned around to look at him.

"I think I love you." He said breathlessly, like he couldn't believe he even said it in the first place.

"No you don't. Don't say that." Luke said angrily, almost immediately as the words left Ashton's mouth. Ashton couldn't love Luke because Luke was a monster. Ashton had point blank told him that before! This just wasn't fair. Luke had fucked up and now Ashton was paying the price. He should have never kidnapped Ashton because Ashton deserved so much better than him. He deserved everything Luke couldn't give him. He deserved a real life with his family.

"But it's true." Ashton muttered. Luke watched as Ashton accepted his feelings, he could see it on his face. When he took a step towards Luke, Luke took a step back. "Don't tell me that this whole time love was your weakness, you big scary monster." Luke watched as Ashton moved towards him with a loving smile on his face. Now he was making monster sound like a pet name. "I know you love me too, you've proved it before and you're proving it now."

"I wish it wasn't true." Luke muttered brokenly as Ashton carefully put his hand on Luke's cheek. "I don't deserve you Ashton, you should really leave. Call the cops on me, do something! I deserve it." Ashton shook his head in alarm and then did something Luke never thought he would. Ashton gripped Luke's shirt and pulled him down into the most mind blowing kiss. All that ran through his mind was that this was amazing, everything he could ever want.

But he also couldn't help but scream out in his head that he had really fucked up and needed to find a way to save Ashton from this terrible path.