All We Thought // Ashton Irwin [AU]

Chapter 34: Just When We Thought...

When I was younger, me and my brother had been fooling around one night while my mother and father were out late at some sort of fancy party.  Patricia usually stuck to my mom's rules during the week but the weekends were the exception.  We could eat what we want, stay up late, and even watch a PG-13 movie if we wanted.  Rules didn't apply when Patricia was in charge and we took full advantage of it.

Me and my brother were running around the house, chasing each other and pretending that the whole house was a whole other world filled with monsters, hot lava, and animals galore.  It was the typical imagination of young children, leaving us with memories that to this day me and my brother still remember and probably will never forget.

But of course, all good things came to an end because as we were running around the house my socks slipped on the tile floor causing my brother to collide into me as I dead stopped to steady myself.  

He ended up giving himself a bloody nose with the impact, but we were kids who didn't care at all about a little bit of blood.  Patricia checked to make sure his nose wasn't broken and when she turned around to grab an ice pack, we had already ran away to the other side of the house.  My brother shoved tissues up his nose and we continued on with our recklessness until our parents came home.  Their jaws dropped when they saw how bruised his nose was and how many tissues we used.

The first words out of my father's mouth were, "Roxie...what the heck is going on here?"

As I sat in my hospital bed with my teary eyes, it brought back so many memories of my father scolding me that night, so many years ago.  He had the same emotionless look on his face as he did now, making it impossible to read how he was going to react.  I felt like a little kid awaiting her punishment once again.

I sat up in the bed despite how bad my body still ached, "Dad, I think it's time we talked."

He pulled the chair next to the bed and grabbed my quivering hand, "Sweetheart, I know you've been hiding a lot and I'm not going to force you to tell me everything so if you're not ready to tell me it's really okay.  I'm just shocked by how Evan was talking to you that's all.  I didn't mean to snap at you."

I shook my head, "No I need to tell someone.  I obviously can't talk to mom or Evan, clearly therapists don't work like they are suppose to and I thought I could talk to Ashton but I'm beginning to believe I was wrong."

My dad scrunched his eyebrows, "Ashton...?"

"Tattoos, tall, curly hair, he was my date to the ball."

He nodded, "Yes, yes the punk fellow that was at the house a few weeks ago that you work with."

I couldn't help but laugh, "Yes dad, that's Ashton."

I told my dad everything, from the very start to the very end.  I told him how I met Ashton at work and how Ashton took me to my very first concert.  I explained what happened the night of the ball and everything that happened in Miami, even about the kiss.  I filled him in about how Evan and Ashton met and how that brings us to the present day war between them.  I told him about Amber and Evan's cheating and how broken I was, but then I told him how Ashton was the only one to heal me with his laugh, his crazy plans, and his never ending compassion for other people.  I even had the guts to tell him about the party we threw and how I got suspended at work.  

Not once did he interrupt me or change his neutral facial expression.  He just nodded and stayed quiet listening to everything. It was an unexpected and refreshing change for once.

After I was done, I took a deep breath and laid my head back on the pillow.  It felt so amazing to finally tell someone the whole story without interruptions.

A couple of moments went by before my dad finally spoke.

"Roxie if I had to ask you right now who you love who would you say?"

Without hesitation I said, "Ashton".

He smiled, "I'm not saying anything more but please realize that if you choose Ashton I have already made the agreements with your mother to keep our promise.  I cannot back out of that promise even though I would do that in a heartbeat."

I nodded, "I understand.  I still need to get myself together before I make any clear cut choices because once I choose I cannot go back.  I need to get back to work first and see if I can move my position up so I can get a raise and then I will start looking...for a new home."

He gave me a kiss on the forehead, "I just want you to be happy.  It will hurt me more to see my little girl upset than to be with the man she loves even if that does mean she has to move out."

My dad walked out of the room, leaving me with nothing but me, myself, and I.

I slowly helped myself out of bed and dragged my IV with me into the bathroom.  I needed to start fixing myself considering I would be released within 24 hours.  I couldn't stay in this hospital any longer or I would start to go crazy.  

I climbed into the shower and awkwardly washed my hair and body as best as I could with one hand.  I knew if the nurses saw me they would freak but I didn't want any more bedside help.  All I wanted to do was help myself.

My head was still slightly bruised from where I fell and so was the rest of my body, but it was tolerable.  I dried off, put on a fresh pair of clothes (I couldn't handle the hospital gown anymore), and combed my hair.  I even managed to find a Chapstick to use even though it didn't come close to my favorite cherry lip gloss.

 I made my way back to the bed and sat on the edge.  I grabbed my phone as I flipped through the various feel better messages from Amber, my mom, Evan's parents, and even Kelly from work.  The boys had texted me to check up on how I was but Luke was the only one who hadn't spammed my phone as much as Calum and Michael had.

After checking my email and Facebook, I climbed back under the covers and grabbed the newspaper that Evan had thrown on the side.  It was an entertainment weekly newspaper.  Usually I didn't give into what all the paparazzi had to say, but when you had nothing else to do, gossip seemed really intriguing.

Flipping through the paper I came to a halt when I read one of the headlines, taking up both sides of the newspaper.

5SOS BAND MEMBER ASHTON IRWIN HAS WILD WEEKEND

I dragged my eyes away from the headline to see the multiple pictures of Ashton drinking, partying, and making out with a half naked girl.

One picture in particular caught my eye, I couldn't pin point who the girl was until I read the article.

"Ashton Irwin was seen getting pretty hot and heavy with none other than Luke Hemming's current girlfriend.  Hemmings and his said girlfriend have been together for months and were spotted a few weeks ago in LA at a nightclub.  Way to cause a rift in the band Mr. Irwin."

Images flashed before my eyes of when I went to Luke's house and his girlfriend almost killed me when she answered the door and saw me standing there.  I remembered how controlling she was the day me and Amber saw them at the mall together.  I couldn't get her nagging voice out of my mind or shake the images of her caked on makeup scowl out of my mind.

The article went on to describe all the places Ashton had been over the weekend, all of which he took Luke's girlfriend with him.

I placed the newspaper on the side table and immediately grabbed my phone to call Ashton one last time.

When I got his voice mail, I knew my fate was sealed.

I had no choice to make anymore, because Ashton had clearly already made his and I wasn't a part of it.