Relentless

Chapter 12

Ashton

I must be getting sick or something. I'm sitting in Lisa Summers's living room with her bitchy, gorgeous niece, watching Frozen. Me. The school "bad boy". I heard her hum along to a few song but haven't said anything because I think her humming is beautiful. She must have a beautiful voice...

What the hell am I thinking!

As the movie progresses, I glance over at Jay to see her asleep. The poor girl said she was exhausted to begin with, but still wanted to watch the movie. I slowly stand up and walk to the couch that she's sitting on. Delicately, I put one hand under her knees and the other under her back, lifting her up and bringing her to bed. Once I find her room I tuck her under the blanket to make sure she's warm, although she is wearing her black hoodie, and move to leave the room until I hear a noise.

"Ashton." She whispers. This version of Jay sounds different. In the short time I've known her, I've only heard her be rough and stern. But this version of her sounds weak, scared and vulnerable.

"Hmm?" I answer.

"A-are you... leaving?" She asks with her eyes closed, half asleep.

"Not until your Aunt gets back." I say, leaning against the door frame waiting for the conversation to end.

"Okay." She whispers. I see her curl into herself and something inside of me wants to go over to her and kiss her. I move to walk out of the room again, but I'm stopped when I hear my name.

"Ashton?" She whispers.

"Yes, Jay?" I sigh, leaning back against the door frame. I see her tense at the way I spoke to her and she starts to tremble. Feeling guilty and curious as to why I make her shake, I walk over to the side of the bed and crouch down in a squatting position. "What?" I ask, this time in a calmer voice.

"Can you stay with me?" She whispers in a gentle voice, one that sounds like she's on the verge of sobbing uncontrollably. I sit down on the floor and lean my back against the bed, looking straight ahead into the mirror. I see her snuggle in her sheets as she lets out a deep breath.

I find myself looking at her sleeping form through the mirror. She's so beautiful. I feel like a total asshole knowing that when school starts I'll have to act like a jerk again and completely ignore her.

Her long brown hair falls in her face and it takes all of me to stop myself from moving it out of the way. I hear her breathing level out and I can tell that she's asleep. I slowly stand up and walk out of the room.

I turn off the television in the living room and hear my phone vibrating in the kitchen. When I am about to accept the call, I see it's Jim.

"I'm sorry, but the phone number you have dial has been disconnected. Please try your call again later." I say, trying to mimic the automatic recording.

"Very funny, McAsshole." He replies. "You have a fight tonight at eight o'clock. You know the place." And with that he hangs up, not wanting to listen to what I have to say.

I sit in the kitchen for thirty minutes, watching the news. As the weather is about to come on, I hear someone scream bloody murder. I stand up immediately and run to where the screams are coming from. Jay's bedroom.

I run in and see her in the corner of her room, hugging her knees and crying. On the ground next to her, I see a knife.

What the hell?

I push all thoughts aside and move over to where she is. Her head pops up and she moves to grab the knife.

"Jay, stop! It's me!" I say before she grabs the knife. She looks at me with red eyes and I see a broken seventeen-year-old girl. She opens her mouth to speak but then shuts it and looks away from me.

"You weren't there." She whispers.

Fuck me. I left. I'm such a screw up. I walk over to where she is and sit beside her, moving the knife away from her. She looks at me and starts to cry again. I put my arms around her and pull her to my chest, rubbing soft circles on her back. She grabs onto my shirt and turns her head into my chest.

"Shh, it's okay." I say, trying to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left. It's okay now."

She's shaking against my body and looks like she is going to be sick from crying so much.

"I couldn't stop them. I tried. I tried so hard. I just... I couldn't." She sobs. I hold her tighter, having no clue what she's talking about.

"Jay, it was just a nightmare. You're alright. Nobody is here. You're safe." I whisper. I am not about to take her sudden vulnerability for granted. The longer she's like this, the longer I see the sweet and innocent version of Jay and not the bitch.

"He was right in-front of me. They both looked right at me... b-but he still shot him. He still died." She cries. She dreamed about someone dying? Damn.

"Jay, look at me." I whisper, lifting her chin with my finger. "Nobody is dying. Everything is alright. You had a nightmare, it's not real."

"My knife. I need my knife." She says, trying to get out of my hold.

"No, you don't need your knife, Jay. Where did you even get that from?"

"I keep it in my drawer. If they come here I need... I need to..."

"If anyone comes in here I will protect you, alright? Now just leave the knife alone and trust me."

Telling her that I would protect her seems to calm her down. She sinks back into my chest and lets the tears stream down her face. If it comes down to it, of course I would protect her, but... something feels weird in my gut. It's this overpowering urge to defend her.

I hold her against me and slowly stand, walking over to her bed. I lay down and keep her next to me, putting the blanket over us.

"Please don't hold this against me." She whispers.

"Jay, you have every right to be scared and upset after what happened last night. It's okay. Just go to sleep." She nods against my chest and closes her eyes.

As I hold her, I contemplate the feeling in my gut. It's almost like a happy yet sick feeling. Like I'm nervous, but I'm not. I look down at her and the feeling multiplies, causing me to look back up.

------

"Ashton..." I hear someone whisper in a joking seductive voice. I keep my eyes shut and lean into what feels like a pillow. "Mr. McAllister..." I groan a little bit and tighten my grip on whatever it is I'm holding onto. The person clears their throat and then speaks in a louder, more stern and pissed off tone. "Um, hello! Do you need a job description? I asked you to watch her, not sleep with her!" I jump up and see Lisa looking at me with evil eyes. I turn my head to find that the thing I was holding onto was Jay and her head was my pillow.

"Shit, Ms. Summers, I'm so sorry. She had a nightmare and..."

"Get out." She says. I hear Jay start to wake up and she gasps as she sees what's happening.

"Lisa, what's going on?" She asks.

"Mr. Bad-boy was just leaving. Goodbye Ashton."

And that's my cue!

I stand up without saying a word and run out of the house, driving four houses down to my own.