concealer // a.i.

6 // phone calls.

Warning - long chapter ahead (well, for a short story. there was a lot to squeeze in.)

6 // phone calls

ashton was tired as he headed home. he lived with his sister. as he opened the door to the house, his phone rang.

"hello?" ashton answered immediately. it was then that he realised how stupid he was. it couldn't have been farrah, she was avoiding him and didn't answer his calls. "hello?" he tried again, with less enthusiasm.

"ash?" it was his mother.

"mum?" ashton replied, surprised. she never called him, so he had ended up deleting her number.

"i need you to drop me off at the hospital." she told him bluntly. panic rose in his chest. "why? what happened? what...are you okay?"

"i'm fine," his mother snapped. "it's not me. i just need to visit someone."

relief flooded him. "okay."

~

hospitals smell weird, ashton thought to himself. he watched as his mother talked to the receptionist about the patient.

"a few floors up," ashton heard snippets of the conversation, before his mother was tugging at his sleeve. "come on."

they reached floor 2 via the lift. ashton's mother went in first, talking to someone. it was probably an old friend, who'd collapsed from being really old and tired or something.

ashton laughed to himself.

"ash," his mother called him. "coming," he replied, pushing the curtain away.

instead of an old woman, like he'd expected, there was a blonde boy, with a silver lip ring. he grinned at ashton, and ashton smiled back.

"ashton, meet my neighbour, luke." ashton nodded at luke, and luke copied him.

"you've got to watch yourself, luke," ashton's mother ruffled the boy's hair. "you can't go letting random strangers into your apartment. this was a lesson."

ashton raised an eyebrow at that, but remained quiet.

"can i talk to ashton alone?" luke spoke, which took ash by surprise.

"sure," anne marie nodded before walking out and closing the curtain with a shoosh.

"hi," ashton said steadily. luke's eyes remained stony.

"listen," luke said. "i'm in deep shit." ashton felt confused. why was this boy, who seemed no more than sixteen, telling him this?

"i need your help," luke continued. "someone i know is in trouble, and you can help me help them."

"why...would i do that?" ashton asked, eyebrows raised. "i don't know you."

luke's gaze went to the wall behind ashton. "there could be a lot of money in this. but you look like you know what you're doing."

"well...i-" ashton was cut off by the shrill tone of his phone. it was ringing again.

he answered it, not caring that luke was still watching him. "hello?"

"a-ashton?" even though the voice was a whisper, ashton knew it was farrah. "help me..."

ashton nearly dropped the phone. he shoved the curtain back. "your loss," luke called as ashton ran as fast as his legs could go. "i'm coming," he yelled. "i'm coming, farrah!"