Demons (hemmings au)

Thirty-Five

“Ted, do you see Ashton’s face?”

I wake up to the sounds of fervent whispering coming from the hallway. As I open my eyes a crack I see my mom and dad standing by the door, and I suddenly do something very unexpected. 

“Mom, dad. I’ve missed you so much,” I yell, jumping off the couch and running over to give them both a hug. I had no idea how much I’ve missed and just needed my parents around for the last week. I’ve needed them to talk about this issue, I need them to guide me, to tell me what I should do, even though in the end I know it has to be my decision. 

“Well we’ve missed you too, honey,” my dad replies in a much quieter tone than I am using. He kisses me on the forehead and my mom gives me a small smile before they let me go. 

“Why don’t you wake Ashton up and tell him he can go out to lunch with us if he wants,” my mom speaks with a nod of her head to the still sleeping boy on the couch. Looking behind me I see that Ashton’s legs are propped up on the coffee table and his head is leaned back against the head rest of the couch, his mouth slightly open as a small snore escapes through his nose. I can’t help but let out a small laugh at how adorable and peaceful he looks. 

“Ash, Ash wake up,” I whisper walking over to him and giving him a gentle shake on the shoulder. 

“What, what’s wrong?” he asks groggily, looking around and taking in his surroundings before his eyes land on my parents still stood by the door. “Oh my gosh, Mr. and Mrs. Howell, I did not mean to sleep over here. I….,” he starts stuttering as if he is scared my dad is going to kill him for sleeping on the couch with me. I start to laugh because I know both my parents love Ashton, and really don’t mind at all. 

“You’re fine sweetheart, would you like to go get something to eat with us?” my mom says sweetly, giving him a smile. 

“I’d love too, but I probably need to get home. Thank you so much for the offer though,” Ashton replies politely, getting up and folding the cover we had over our bodies minutes ago. “I’ll text you later, okay,” he says so only I can hear him. I give him a small nod in return as he says another goodbye to my parents and leaves out the door. 

“So, where shall we go for lunch?” my dad asks loudly, meaning that we will talk about this whole morning as soon as we are sitting at a restaurant table. I’m actually kind of glad that we’re going to talk about everything, I’m ready to get it off my chest and I want my parents to know what is going on. 

“How about that new Mexican place?” my mom answers, giving me a large, comforting smile knowing that Mexican is still my favorite. I nod my head in agreement and run upstairs to put my long hair in a ponytail and change into some jeans and a black sweater. The car ride to the restaurant is mostly silent, my parents speaking of their latest conference and how there are so many options opening up for me in the world of health care. I stay silent, not wanting to get into an argument about my future right now. 

“So, what happened to Ashton’s face?” my mom asks as soon as we order our food and get the chips and salsa. Well way to dive right into it. 

“Um, Luke punched him,” I murmur, grabbing a chip and swirling it in the bowl of red liquid. I’m scared to look my parents in the eye, I know they think I have something to do with this and I do. I don’t want to feel the shame that I know I will have when I look up and see the accusing look in their eyes. 

“And why did Luke punch him?” my mom continues, trying to tell me discreetly to keep speaking. 

“I was dancing with Ashton at a party and Luke came, saw, and punched him,” I said in one breath, finally looking up to see the look of confusion in their faces.