A Broken Spirit

Chapter Sixteen

She stared at me, her mouth open slightly in shock. Minutes passed and she continued to stare at me. It was unbearable.

"Please say something." I pleaded quietly.

"I don't know what to say Ash." she announced sadly.

Her words cut straight through me and I turned away from her. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back towards her. She placed her arms around my neck and kissed me. Once the shock had passed I kissed her back, my hands trailing down her stomach. The kiss deepened and I began to place a trail of kisses down her neck. She sighed and gently pulled my t-shirt over my head. I could see that she was trembling slightly.

"You alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I just haven't done this before." she announced self consciously.

I nodded and returned to kissing her. In one swift movement I removed her shirt. She covered her underwear with her arms, looking embarrassed. I pulled her arms away and held them.

"Don't, you look amazing." I told her, genuinely amazed by how perfect she looked. I picked her up and carried her upstairs to my room and gently placed her on the bed. She watched me, unsure of what to do next.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

She nodded and I closed the bedroom door.

Laura's POV

Ashton fell asleep within moments, as I lay awake deep in thought. I rose from the bed and made my way to the shower, wincing slightly as I stood up. I didn't expect it to hurt that much. I stepped gingerly into the shower. When I stepped back out of the shower, I looked around and realised that I had forgotten my towel. I had no clothes to put on, they were still laying downstairs. I opened the door a crack and peeped through the gap. He was still sound asleep. I sighed and tiptoed over to his drawer and grabbed a towel, quickly wrapping it around myself. He stirred and squinted at me as I turned to face him.

"Hey." I smiled.

"Hey." he replied groggily.

"Come back to bed." he pleaded.

"I need to find your shirt, I think I left it downstairs." I stated.

He climbed off the bed then and stood in front of me completely naked. I kept eye contact.

"You don't have to be self conscious in front of me, I think you are beautiful." he announced tenderly.

I looked at the floor.

"Do you regret what just happened?" he asked me, I could hear the panic in his voice.

"No, I just don't know what we are Ash." I answered quietly.

He looked at me for a while and then said:

"Be my girlfriend then?" he asked.

I hesitated.

"Promise I won't ever lose you, even if we break up. I can't lose you from my life."

"I swear." he whispered and handed me a t-shirt. I put on the shirt and followed him back to bed, curling up in his arms.

I jumped as the alarm clock woke me, I could hear the shower running. I quickly changed into my uniform and gingerly walked downstairs for breakfast. Ashton came downstairs a few moments later. I stood washing up, as he wrapped his arms around me resting his chin on my shoulder. I turned around and flicked water on his face. He smiled.

"We'd better get you to work." he said looking at his watch.

I nooded and followed him.

As we reached the hospital he leant over and kissed me goodbye. I hadn't seen him this happy in a long time.

"I'll pick you up at about four." he said happily.

I nodded and got out of the car, taking a sharp intake of breath as I stood.

"You okay?" he called.

I nodded and carried on walking.