The Get-Go [Ashton Irwin]

Epilogue: Ashton

[-AFI-]

   “Okay, okay. We won’t go home. I’ll take you somewhere safe.” I dig the keys out of the pocket of Wynter’s  jeans and place them in her hand, closing her fingers around them. She won’t know where to find them, otherwise. She’s in one of those states again.  “Just go wait in the car. I’ll be right out.”

    Belle and I both watch her go. There’s a few times where she stumbles on the way out, and nearly trips over her own feet, but she manages to stay upright. Really, I shouldn’t let her go out by herself, but I need to talk to Belle alone.

    “I really am sorry about that,” Belle says, as soon as we can’t see Wynter anymore. “My mom told me Charlotte was planning on telling her when she turned eighteen. I thought she already knew.”

    I know she didn’t mean to throw Wyn for a loop like that, but I’m still kind of pissed off about it. She’d never admit it, but Wynter’s really fragile. Like, stuff like this can have her freaked out for ages. And I hate seeing her like this. It’s just not right. This isn’t who she is. She’d never fall for me telling her I had to settle the check - especially when we haven’t ordered anything. She’s too sharp for that.

    I can’t even lie and say it’s fine, because it’s not. My job is to protect Wyn from anything that can hurt her, and right now, that’s Belle. And Charlotte. And anyone who’s in on this, really. Even though I’m mad, though, I try to keep a level head, cos nothing really good’s going to come of it if I lash out at Belle.

    “What’s his name?”

    “I’m sorry?”

    “His name. What’s her dad’s name?”

    “Bill. Bill White.” She won’t even look at me. That makes me feel a little better. At least she feels guilty about it. “I think it might be William. But, you know, Bill.”

    “She has his last name.” Something about that seems so fucking wrong. Sure, Charlotte can keep her daughter from her dad, but she doesn’t see a problem with giving her his surname? I’ve always known Wyn’s last name is different from her mum’s, but she told me it was left over from a previous marriage.

    Belle nods. “Yeah. Apparently, Bill hung around for a bit when Wynter was really, really little. You know, before Char cut him loose. And when she was born, he told them to put his name down as the last name.”

    “So what’s Charlotte’s last name? Or, what was it before she got married to that other guy?”

    “Andrew?” I nod. “McLachlan, I think. Something like that.”

    “Do you know anything else about Bill?” Mentally, I start taking notes of all this stuff, in case Wynter ever does decide she wants to know. I kind of hope she does, because Bill doesn’t really sound like a bad guy. Just a guy that got pushed out of the picture, for some reason.

    Surprisingly, Belle actually meets my eyes when she answers this time. “He’s some kind of business guy. He’s like a CEO, or a CFO, or some weird acronym like that for some hotel chain. Not the one Charlotte works for.”

    “Which one?”

    “I don’t know. I just remembered seeing some TV show about it, and my mom came in and started flipping shit. That’s how I found out, by the way.” Belle chewed a wad of gum that I didn’t know was in her mouth, and focused on the wall behind me. She’s scared of me, or intimidated at least. Then again, if I were Belle, and a guy like me started grilling me for stuff on his girlfriend’s dad, I’d probably be intimidated, too.

    I try my best to smile at her, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “So that’s all you know?”

    “Yeah. Can I, uh, go now?” She’s already basically out of the booth, but there’s one more thing I need to ask her.

    “Just a sec. Do you know anywhere I can disappear for a few days? Somewhere I can take Wyn until she’s right?”

    Belle stares off into space, and chews on the inside of her cheek. I’m starting to feel really impatient - Wynny’s got the keys to her car, after all, and she’s totally alone, so who knows what the hell she’ll do? I doubt she’d do anything stupid, but if she does, it’ll be my fault. Finally, she takes out an order pad and a pen, and scribbles something down on it. “This should be fine. It’s a few hours north of here. Five stars, but really secluded. It’s right on the lake, pretty far away from any huge cities, or anything.”

    I look down at the name on the paper. “The Rock?”

    She nods. “Stupid name, huh? But trust me, it’s really nice. I went there for a wedding last summer.”

    I'm going to have to take her word for it - it's not like I know anything about Canada. The thing I actually care about isn't actually how nice it is, because I'd be fine with just about anywhere, as long as Wynter is safe and able to recover without anyone bothering us. That's all that matters.

     That's what I have to remind myself as I slide a few bills out of my wallet, and try to push them into Belle's hand. I feel like a bit of a dick, but I need to make sure she keeps it quiet. "Please don't tell anyone where we are?"

    Belle raises her eyebrow at me, and shit, she looks pissed. “I can’t be bought, asshole. Wynter’s like my little sister. I’m not going to tell anyone.”

    “Not even Charlotte.”

    “Not even Charlotte,” she agrees. “I think what she did to Wyn is kind of a bitch move.”

    She seems serious, and she looks like she’s being honest. So I pull the hand holding the money away, and it back into my wallet. “Sorry for being a dickhead. You’ve helped a lot. Thanks.”

    “Just take care of Wyn, okay?”

    “Always.”

[-AFI-]

A/N so that's a wrap, kids. As you might've guessed/been told, there's a sequel coming. It's going to be from Ashton's perspective, and it's going to be a little more mature, dealing with Ashwyn leaving the lovely honeymoon phase of their relationship into the srs adult stuff.

It's going to be called Bigger Than Love, and I'm planning on posting a chapter a week, starting in December, because I'm really busy right now.

Thanks for reading & ily all! xx Kx