Rose | Ashton Irwin

chapter nineteen

Rose's POV

We all sat around the table, picking quietly at the food on our dish. Since my parents sat down there had been no attempt from either to start a conversation. Nana asked how the food was, earning mumbles and short responses from the rest of the table.

Ashton kept his eyes glued on his plate, but I couldn't help but glance over at him every few seconds. I was still furious with him, more than ever actually, but he was still making my heart pound. Even the subtle brush of our knees under the table made me think of the few moments we shared over the past couple of weeks. Then of course, the echo of his harsh words and the image of him and Olivia clouded over the positive memories.

"Ashton," Nana started, drawing everyone's attention to her. His head snapped up as if he had been lost in thought. "Tell me a little about what you've been up to. I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen you."

"Just a case of bad timing I guess." Ashton tries to joke, forcing out a laugh that no one returns. I never noticed that anytime Nana came around Ashton did his best to keep a distance. Maybe there's no reason, or maybe he's talked to Russell about it. "I've been good. Not much has changed really."

"Things must have changed. How long has it been exactly? You were probably around... what fourteen? Wow, about four years." She chuckles and shakes her head, "So aside from puberty what else have you been up to?"

Ashton's false laughing at her cheesy jokes is embarrassingly obvious. "I guess school, mostly."

"And how is that going?"

"It's going..." He trails off and glances over at me. When we lock eyes I immediately return my attention to my plate. "I decided I'm going to try to work on my attendance if I'm honest. It's been pretty shit the last couple of years." His sudden language causes my dad to sputter, almost choking on his bite of chicken. When Ashton realizes what he said his eyes widen slightly and turn towards Nana, but she throws her head back in a loud cackle.

"You sound just like Rusty did when he was young." She smiles over at father's but he turns away to take a sip of his drink, a scowl still on his face. "Have I told you that before? I actually told Rose about how Russell reminds me so much of him when he was your age. He was always trying to rebel. He would always sneak out and get in fights. Oh! One time he-"

"That's enough mother." My father announces sternly. It's the first thing he's said since sitting down at the table. Mom is surprisingly holding back a small smile as she tries not to laugh. Even though they've been married for so long, it must still be difficult for her to picture him acting that was as well.

"Sorry you know I tend to ramble." She pretends to zip her mouth shut and tosses the invisible key over her shoulder. I still find myself interested in hearing what she has to say about Dad when he was younger. This time she was willing to say something about it, possibly because he was around.

"Wait what? Dad actually had a personality when he was younger?" Russell finally pipes up as well, a mischievous smirk on his face. Nana raises her hand as if to hit him in the back of the head as she usually does, but he raises his hands in defeat and quickly mumbles an apology.

"Back on topic then." When Nana turns to Ashton he lets out a small sigh, thinking he had escaped the centre of attention. I can tell by the way he keeps shifting his weight in his seat that he's ready to leave. "How's your mother?"

Ashton immediately tenses beside me, almost dropping his fork onto the table. He stiffly sets it down, placing his hands in his lap where he curls them into sight balls to control the emotions flowing through his veins. "What do you mean? She's good." His tone is clipped as he speaks, but I hear the slight waver as he talks about her.