Demons (hemmings au)

Thirty-Three

Ashton’s POV

Michael and I sit in the waiting room for an available nurse to come take x-rays of my nose before resetting it. Waiting; I feel as if that is all I have been doing lately. Waiting for something to change, waiting for someone to change, waiting for myself to do the right thing. I can no longer wait, I need to do something. I need to be the change that I keep waiting for. 

“Mr. Irwin, if you can follow me this way please,” a young dark haired nurse states, coming out of a room and beckoning for me to follow her. 

“I’ll be right here, dude,” Michael speaks for the first time since he lectured me back at the barn. I turn to give him a nod before following the nurse back into the room she came from. As I sit down on the small bed with wax paper covering I observe the girl who is roaming through folders and setting out gauze and q-tips. She looks to be only a few years older than I am. She is on the short side, and her jet black hair falls past her shoulders in soft curls. While she is cute, I can’t help but notice that she is wearing way too much makeup. 

“Mr. Irwin, it looks as if your nose just needs to be reset and then I can let you go,” she speaks up, making me refocus. 

“Okay, that’s fine,” I reply, gripping the edge of the bed as I wait for her to do what I am sure is a short but painful procedure. 

“Okay, just stay still and don’t worry if it bleeds a little afterwards because that is normal,” she answers, giving me a small smile as she steps in between my legs so as to get closer to my face. If we weren’t in such a professional setting I would almost think that she was trying to make a move on me. 

I close my eyes as I feel her wipe some alcohol and numbing cream onto my face, wanting to get my mind off of what is about to happen. I feel her hand lightly graze against my thigh as she brings it back to get something off of her stand and I immediately think of Ellie’s hand around my neck while dancing earlier. Her long, blonde hair flowing down her back, the ends ticking my hands as I kept my arms wrapped around her waist. Dammit, why did Ellie have this effect on me? 

I almost laugh at myself, but hold it in. I don’t want the nurse sending me back for a mental check up as well. Ellie has some kind of effect on everyone. She doesn’t even realize it though; it’s not only the fact that she’s pretty. Shit, I mean tons of girls have beauty but Ellie has so much more than that. She just exudes this air of confidence every where she goes, she never cares what anyone else thinks. Until the past few days, she was always one of the happiest people I had known. Just being around her brought a smile to a person’s face. 

Suddenly I inhale a sharp intake of breath, my nose throbbing in pain. It feels as if snot is just consistently running down my face but as I feel the nurse start to wipe my upper lip with gauze I know it is just bleeding as she said it would. 

“There, we are all done,” I hear her say quietly, wiping my face once more before placing the bloody gauze in the trash can. I give her a small smile and a word of thanks before getting up and walking out to see Michael still there waiting for me just as he said he would. 

I quickly check out with the lady at the desk and follow Michael out the door back to his car. “Where are we going?” I ask after a few minutes of silence. I know Mikey is still mad at me but I can’t stay quiet any longer. 

“I’m taking you home, and then going over to check on Ellie,” Michael replies back with a sigh of breath. 

“Can I go with you to Ellie’s?” I ask before I can stop myself. Ashton, get yourself together. I’ve never sounded so pathetic in all of my life. 

“I don’t think that is a good idea Ashton,” Michael replies, for once sounding a lot wiser than his age shows. I know he has a good point, and I know Ellie doesn’t need me around at a time like this but I want to be near her. I crave her.