Burn ▹ Ashton Irwin

sixteen

I have absolutely no clue how we managed to make it out of that one alive. Everytime Ashton and I have gotten into these sort of situations, we've always managed to escape. How we escape and dodge every opportunity to get killed, you might ask? I don't have the answer to that, either. I liked it better when I could watch Ashton deal drugs and get paid for it, when getting chased down by angry men that wanted Ashton dead wasn't part of the plan. I like it very much when hunting Ashton down isn't part of the plan, but unfortunately my likes were definitely not satisfied tonight.

I haven't ran that hard in my entire life, it feels like. And even though I am a relatively slow runner, the consequences of my own faults only dragged me down further on the whole way back to safety. While Drew or whatever the hell his name is was gaining on Ashton and I with all his little killer-friends, my clumsiness had the nerve to actually make me trip, fall to the ground, and lose about half my consciousness in the process. That created a much- dreaded domino effect, in which I had to scream out to Ashton for help, somehow get back on my feet, and run even faster than before so niether of us could end up getting shot or run over. I had to hold onto Ashton's hand so tightly, because at the time I could only see out of one eye and feel only one of my legs. I ended up crying at the same time, and I became a stumbling, bleeding, and crying little coward who felt bad for slowing us down.

The only reason why Ashton and I were racing up the stairs of our motel without anyone behind us, was because I let Ashton pull me the whole way back. And as everyone knows, he is a very fast runner.

I was in so much pain, it was beyond the point of being unbearable. It was far more worse than just unbearable; it was quickly picking and eating away at me, somehow. My legs stung, my forearms and elbows stung, my face stung the worst, I think I twisted my ankle the wrong way, and I still couldn't see. Because now, one eye was completely shut and the other was blocked by my pathetic tears. Oh yes, how I was crying. I didn't mean to cry, I really didn't. I knew that Ashton (who was still holding my hand and leading me to the room) could hear me letting out little whimpers everytime I put pressure on my left leg, and I really hoped that he wouldn't laugh at me for it.

Ashton shoved the door open and we were greeted by cool, air-conditioned air, which was much better than the sweat pit that was the outside world of Nashville Tennessee. I was more than relieved to be here, where I could maybe sit down and not have anyone chasing me down with fire in their eyes and desires to shoot my friend. I noticed that Ashton was acting a little panicked at this moment, as he frantically snaked his arm around my waist and pushed me into the bathroom. He flicked the lights on and I screamed out in pain when he gripped me by the waist.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, lifting my throbbing body onto the sink counter. I felt my ankle relax when the weight was taken off of it and I let both my feet dangle beneath me. I was glad my back was to the mirror, because I can't even imagine what I look like right now. I could feel the blood crusting against my face, drying from the air outside. As Ashton quickly turned the sink on and ran his hands under it, I nervously glanced down at my body for the first time since I fell back there.

"Fuck!" I breathed, gazing down at the two large gashes on my thighs and legs, with dry red rivers of blood staining my skin down to my ankles. My arms were the same way: large wounds with blood surrounding each scrape. I could tell they needed to be disinfected soon, for tripping on a gross sidewalk could not possibly be a clean place to fall. I could see the dirt so clearly against my white skin. All the nerves in these areas were screaming, telling me that this physicall pain was the worst I've had in a very long time. The whole sight was horrific, and I could tell the cuts on my face were probably even worse. I probably look idiotic at the moment, covered in blood and my cheeks hot with embarassment.