Ashton can wipe the tears down her cheeks, he can stroll the back of her head as much as he wants but he still won't be able to understand what's going on in her mind right now. Hayden seems so far away, as if whatever happened today with her dad had torn what few remnants of herself she'd found, after her forced rehab. Ash lets himself settle against the truck parked in the silent street in Beswick, lifting his arms so she can be safe in them. He nudges her shoulder with his chin and kisses her on the cheek, leaving trails of kisses where dark mascara bleeds had established a couple hours ago. "So will you tell me what we're going to do with a stolen truck?"
She opens her eyes and weakly giggles as she covers her face with the overly large sweater she's wearing. "It's Ethan's. He doesn't know I took the keys." She says, giving the pastel yellow truck a look before turning her head towards the rest of the village. The truck, parked in the street near its stop sign, is packed with Hayden' suitcase and weirdly enough, what seems to be a picnic basket. "Where did that basket come from?" She asks, while hugging Ashton for the trillionth time today.
He looks down on her and removes the hair from her forehead before answering. "Yeah, I wanted to take you to Blackpool today."
"Blackpool." She repeats, her eyes no longer on Ash nor on the truck. She seems to be lost in thoughts once again as her body shivers, her eyes taking in the sight in front of her. None of these houses really own a garage, nor do they own an alley worth the name. All the cars seem to be piled up. Hayden turns briefly to the other end of the street and sees an other endless pile of cars, some of which look as if about to crumble. She doesn't know how to formulate the thoughts jammed in her mind at this exact moment. So she just keeps on staring around her, staring at the small houses, at the small cars, the small streetlights, and the small hopes this town have for her and Ash.
"We need to go." She finally says, still looking at some blank space in the distance. "We need to leave town Ash, leave Beswick, leave Deansgate for fuck' sake. Let's go!" There's an urge in her words, a sense of emergency. As if the final words she had just let out were the long-awaited answer to an unspoken question. She leaves her spot in Ashton's arms to look around the truck, a new energy flooding her thoughts.
Ashton remains near the front of the truck, slowly turning around to follow her movements. "Go?"
Hayden makes her way back around the truck and almost jumps on Ashton. "Yes, go! Let's leave. Now! You wanted us to go to Blackpool? Let's do it. We could even go further North. What's keeping us?" Her arms gesture all around her small body as she explains herself. "You'll be moving by the end of the month, while I'll still be stuck her. But what if we leave first? What if we would just go and leave everything behind?"
***
"I heard you got arrested a couple nights ago." The whisper escaping from Hayden's mouth seems like it's sticking to the thin walls around her small frame. She raises an eyebrow, taking in the silhouette that just appeared. Her feet almost give in as she gets down from the bathroom sink. It isn't just the fact that he's currently standing in front of her, after months of having seen him for the last time. It's the grin on his damn face, the cliché black leather jacket on which Hayden expects a gang patch to be sewn into. It's the expensive perfume, crawling underneath her skin already as if it was running through her, still.
"Why, yes but call me lucky. Cause here I am. Crawling back like a snake after you've called me at 3 in the morning. What do you want kid?"
Hayden snorted a laugh, pulled her hair back to tie it on the top of her head. The neon lights hanging above both their heads was flashing, not only in bright pink but with Hayden's dark memories also. "Do you have what I asked, Garrett?"
"Please, we're not back to a name-basis are we?" he says, his dark eyes shining in the pink-ish light. "Sugar isn't doing it for you anymore, sugar?" As Garrett takes a step forward, Hayden finds herself clutching the table sink in her back.
"I notice you're still arrogant as hell, good to know some things never change. Now, give me what I asked for, Garrett." As she says his name once more, her face serious with a frown, she makes sure to detail each letter for him to understand she's not playing his game anymore.
He slips his left hand in between his jacket and his chest, looking for what Hayden had ordered. The neon light flashes once again above his head, making his pale skin glow in the darkness of the bathroom. "Obviously, all things haven't changed." He ends up saying, retrieving the white bag from his inner-pocket. His other hand brushes Hayden's wrist before closing his fist around it and forcing her body onto his. His stare intensifies as he pushes the small plastic bag in Hayden's shorts back pocket. "You do remember what you can mix it with, and what you can't, right?"
"Too scared you'd have another overdose to cover up ?" She smiles, getting rid of his hands on her. She shifts on her feet and looks through her purse for the money. After having paid him, she pushes past his tall frame and gives him a final look before pushing the door open.
Now, she and Ash can leave town.
YOU ARE READING
Settle Down
Romance"She came and it was two in the morning. She'd been crying. She started screaming in my backyard. She was yelling for me to let her in while I had never met her before. Mate, she was nuts. She wore that fucking purple dress. You know, the dark one...
