Author's note:Play the song starting from where Ashton is grabbing her stuff from her house. i think it sounds good there. :] Enjoy!
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*Recap*
The off-white walls of the room and heavy smell of antiseptic was dizzying. I soon found myself drifting. I was in that little realm of silence where you’re not completely asleep but you’re not awake either. My head bobbed up and down before hitting the mattress of Benson’s hospital bed. Before completely zoning out, I recall feeling someone’s hand close around mine with a whispered, “I love you.”
*End Recap*
I woke up still in the chair I fell asleep in but Benson was gone. I rubbed my eyes and stood. Where is he? I started to panic.
“Benson?” I called out. Bathroom, I thought. I knocked on the door of the bathroom. “Benson?”
The door opened and Benson’s smiling face appeared. I stared up at him. “Morning,” he said. He wheeled his IV out of the bathroom and walked back over to the bed. “I didn’t think I’d be waking up next to you any time soon,” he joked. When I didn’t say anything he continued. “Have you seen your hair? I would laugh but it hurts to laugh.”
That finally got a reaction out of me. “My hair?” Hurrying to the bathroom, I squeaked, realizing not just my hair but my whole face was a disaster. My eyeliner was smeared terribly, I had dried blood on my forehead from the gash, and my eyes were red and puffy.
“It’s not that bad,” Benson called from the room.
“Not that bad,” I repeated. “I look like a monster.”
I gathered my things, preparing to go home and shower but then remembered my house was taped up and surrounded by cops. It was now a crime scene, not a home. I frowned. Why did this have to happen? Stubborn Benson. Setting what little things I had, I sat back in the chair and sighed.
“You’ve got a little something right here,” Benson said, reaching to touch my face. He winced in pain and quickly retracted his hand.
“Are you alright?”
“I was trying to be cute but it’s not that easy with a hole in my side.”
“How are you so nonchalant about this?”
“About what?”
“My dad almost killed you.”
“Let’s not talk about that.”
“But we have to,” I insisted.
“Ashton, leave it alone.”
He closed his eyes and held his right hand out to me. Defeated, I took it and he squeezed my hand lightly.
“Stop pouting.”
“I’m not pouting,” I lied.
“I can sense it,” he insisted. I sighed loudly. “What’s wrong?”
“I feel like this is all my fault.”
“Didn’t I say to leave it alone? I don’t want to talk about this.” Since he didn’t want to talk about it, I just shut my mouth. I could sulk internally for as long as I wanted to. “So, I think you should live with me,” Benson continued.
“Live with you?”
“I already brought it up to my mom. She’s cool with it, considering you don’t have anywhere else to go.”
YOU ARE READING
Jumping Trains (Short Story)
Teen FictionAshton is a nice girl. She has a nice house and a nice boyfriend (that her father doesn't know about). Ashton conceals her tears and hides her bruises. She's hurting but no one knows. If she tells then it gets worse. Her father drinks to drown his s...
