At Midnight

Chapter 8

Counting passing cars becomes interesting when you have to wait for someone who was running terribly late for an appointment that they had initiated in the first place.

It was seven in the evening and still no sign of my beloved mother. I was told by her assistant to wait for her outside of the restaurant at seven o'clock sharp, in the open, where the wind was blowing strongly. I shivered as another gush of wind smacked my face. I didn't need a mirror to know that my hair was in a mess and my dress had crinkles everywhere.

" Mia, let's go in." My mother called out as she approached me. The fact that she could walk that quickly in her four inched heels baffled me. We walked into the restaurants and the waiter showed us to our seats, which were at the window. He handed us our menus and left us alone for the time being.

" Window seats." I mumbled to myself. I was touched and shocked at the same time. She had remembered that I loved to sit near windows despite her busy schedule. I thought that she had probably forgotten more than half of the things that I liked or the memories we had shared by now, considering the little time we had for one another.

" Your favorite, am I right?" She glanced up from her menu. I gave her a slight nod. I caught the slightest hint of a smile on her face before she called for the waiter.

" So, how's school?" She asked me after setting down her glass of wine on the table.

" It's okay." I lied. It was anything but okay. My grades sucked and so did my social status.

It was beyond awkward so I looked at the other families around us who were all smiling and chattering. The food came and we ate in silence, not knowing how to start another conversation that would only result in short answers and more awkwardness.

" So, why did you come back home that late last night?" She asked curtly.

" I went out." I shot back. It frustrated me how cold she was. It wasn't like she was a bad person or anything but we just grew distant when she had no choice but to take on the role to provide for us. She nodded her head slightly and continued eating her meal.

After a very uneventful and uninteresting meal, we headed home and went to our separate rooms immediately, not bothering to say goodnight. It was kind of sad that our relationship turned out to be like that.

When I was younger, she was less busy and we spent a great amount of time playing at the beach or going to the library together. But, like all good things, it had come to an end. Slowly, she grew busier as she took on bigger positions in her company and soon enough, she was never around whenever I came home.

I adjusted quickly to that change but I was still a little upset that during the rare times she had time to come home, we treated each other like strangers and didn't take the time and effort to get to know one another better.

' Blood is thicker than water.' What bullshit.

+++

The sound of my phone ringing woke me up. It was two in the morning and I groaned inwardly as I picked it up.

" What?" I mumbled incoherently.

" Miss Roden, don't tell me you're asleep." Ashton said, his voice as lively as ever.

" I was. Long day." I muttered, still lying in bed.

" Well, its gonna be a longer day now. I'll give you five minutes and to make yourself look presentable. Meet me outside the gates." He said and hung up before I could protest.

I dragged my lethargic butt to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I threw on a hoodie over my pajamas and tied my hair up. I was too tired to put on any make-up so I left the house looking like a zombie. I sneaked downstairs quietly and locked the door.

" You look terrible." He said with his back leaning against the door of his car and hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans.

" Thanks. That's definitely what every girl likes to hear." I rolled my eyes.

" Hey, you were the one that agreed to come out." He grinned cheekily.

" Didn't give me much of a choice." I replied sarcastically.

He opened the door for me before we drove off in silence. I had given up on asking him where we were going whenever he took me on one of his crazy spontaneous road trips so I just stared at the passing trees and blurred streetlights. It was cold so I curled into a ball in my seat.

" Love this song." He turned up the volume and the stereos were blaring one of the songs by The Beatles. " Good music only plays at unholy hours."

He punched me in the shoulder playfully then turned his attention back to the road. The ride seemed like it lasted for a billion years – there was a never-ending sight of trees and the sky only grew darker as time went by.

" Is it just me or am I starting to decompose?" I joked as I glanced at the time on my cell phone.

" Ha-ha, hilarious." He said sarcastically and I could've imagined him rolling his eyes.

" When are we getting there?" I gave out an exasperated sigh.

" Patience is a virtue." He stated without giving me any chances to complain.

I folded my arms against my chest and slouched in my seat, refusing to participate in any conversations with him.

" Stop sulking, we're here." He announced excitedly and got out of the car in a swift.

" You dragged me out of bed at two in the morning just to go to a waffle house in the middle of nowhere?" I raised an eyebrow.

" Hey! Shush. It's not just any waffle house. Got the best waffles in town." He wiggled his eyebrows and led me inside.

The inside of the waffle house looked like it belonged to one of those sets for a 1960s sitcom. The only person in sight was a waitress that was mending the cash register. I could hear metals clanging against one another in the kitchen and the soft sound of music coming from an old jukebox in the corner.

We sat ourselves at one of the red and white striped seats near the window and ordered something to eat. The waitress was a middle-aged lady with horrible eyeliner and whose spit was constantly flying out of her mouth because she didn't know how to chew a piece of gum properly.

I raised an eyebrow as two plates of steaming hot pancakes were served before us. " They better be good."

" Trust me on this." Ashton rolled his eyes and dug in into his meal.

I cut a small piece and ate it. I glanced up from my food and found Ashton eyeing me with anticipation. He placed his head on his hands and cocked his head to the side a little.

" What?" I looked at him uneasily. I couldn't stand it when people stared at me and the way Ashton was doing it made me more uncomfortable and irritated by a thousand times.

" How is it? I'm right aren't I? Come on, admit it. Those are the best pancakes you've ever tasted! Totally worth getting up at two in the morning right? I'm like the bestest friend ever!" He exclaimed in ecstasy and pumped his fists up in the air in victory.

" Fine. You were right." I sighed in defeat. " I admit, great stuff. But 'bestest' isn't a word, chump." I laughed when his expression changed into a sour one.

We sat in silence and ate those delicious goodies while staring out into the darkness. The wind was howling and I hated how eerie it sounded so I got up and popped a nickel into the colorful and run down looking jukebox. Fortunately it worked and I selected one of the songs in it. It took time for the ancient artifact to work and finally the waffle house was filled with the sweet voices of Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

" Didn't know you were a Beatles fan." Ashton chuckled.

" There are a lot of things you don't know about me." I sat back in my seat and swayed my head lightly to the music.

" I would kill to go to one of their concerts." He sighed and sat back in his seat as well. I nodded my head in agreement and hummed softly to the song.

Till six in the morning, we took turns choosing songs from the jukebox, drinking unhealthy amounts of coffee and humming to the classics.