Life In Technicolor || Ashton Irwin

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 

Valerie’s P.O.V.

 

“You okay?” My dad asks from the kitchen.

“I’m great.” I tell him.

“You’ve been sitting on the couch staring at your phone since you got home from school an hour ago.”

“I’ve been doing homework.” I defend myself. In all honestly, school wasn’t as horrible as I imagined it would be, seeing as I didn’t have any classes with Ashton today. Although I did end up sitting with James at lunch again.

“Your backpack is still in the doorway.” He says with a soft smile. “Is there anything you wanna talk about?”

“No, dad. I’m great.”

He sighs. “Listen Valerie, I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but I’ve had a great week. Since tomorrow is Friday, that means you’re going back to your mom’s house. I’d really love it if you came and visited more often.”

“Yeah.” I tell him quietly. “Um, dad?”

“Yeah, Val?”

“I’m just gonna go upstairs to my room for a bit if that’s okay.”

He nods. “Yeah, go ahead.”

I stand up, grab my backpack and my phone and head upstairs into my room. I close my door behind me and stare at my phone.

I’m such an idiot. How did I not see it before? He was always just so happy I never imagined he could do such horrible things to himself. I want to tell Luke, tell him why we got in a fight and why Ashton is upset. But I can’t. Luke might already know, but I doubt it. Luke seems like the kind of friend who would drag Ashton to therapy. I put my hands up to my head and inhale deeply. Ashton hates me for knowing and he’ll hate me even more for telling Luke.

Fuck.

I really should call him.

But I feel like he needs space.

But I need to call him.

“I’m gonna regret this.” I tell myself before picking up my phone. I dial his number quickly and press send before I can stop myself. I lift the phone up to my ear and feel my heart rate increasing with every passing second. The phone rings three times before it sends me to voicemail. He hung up on me. I pull my phone away from my ear and set it on my nightstand.

I spend the rest of the night staring at my ceiling, dreading Ms. Jones class tomorrow.

 

~~~

 

“As many of you remember, I asked you what made you happy at the beginning of the school week. The answers varied from people to places to anything, really. Well, for the next week, you’ll all be writing essays on your answers. Consider this class work time until your projects are due next week. The project can be anything. A song, a painting, an essay. As long as you can present it in front of a class. Just make sure to okay it with me. The rubric is on the edge of my desk. Go ahead and start whenever you’re ready.” Ms. Jones tells us with a smile before heading back to her desk. Students immediately stand up and grab the rubric. I wait until the crowd dies down a little before I stand up and grab mine. I head back to my seat and sit down. I bite down on my lip and stare at my paper awkwardly. I can feel Ashton’s eyes on me, but I don’t dare look up.