𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫. [𝐥𝐫𝐡]

chapter eighteen: "more than that."

[third person pov]

ashton was on her the second she walked through the door. although she tried to avoid him by being as quiet as possible, her efforts were futile. he'd been watching through the window, so he saw the car pull up outside.

his face was fitted with a scowl and his arms were crossed on his chest. nova stood behind him with a sheepish smile.

"why didn't you tell me you were going out?"

"why should i have to?" carmen countered.

"you know why."

"do i?"

"look," ashton sighed, "i'm just looking out for you. i don't know this guy, he could be trying to hurt you."

"he's nice, ashton. you don't have to worry."

"matt was nice at first to. you met up with him after speaking to him once, you can't judge someone properly based off one conversation, cam."

"this isn't matt, though. it's luke. i've spent time with him, so i know he's not going to be like him." she practically spat the last word, disgust filled her at the thought of him.

ashton stepped to the side, allowing carmen to pass by him. he followed her as she walked. once she reached the kitchen, she pushed herself up so she was sitting on the edge of the breakfast bar. now she was at the same height as him, carmen found it easier to hold a conversation.

nova joined them in the other room but stood to the side. she didn't want to interrupt them.

"i wouldn't have had to worry if i knew where you were, and who you were with. i had to bribe nova into telling me, and now i owe her taco bell." ashton moved forwards until he was close enough to embrace her, "i love you, cam. i don't want you to get hurt."

"i'm not going to get hurt just because i didn't tell you i was going to the aquarium."

"it's more than that, and you know it."

he had a point. if she didn't tell him about this, what else was she not telling him?

with matt, she hid the dates from ashton because she knew he'd try to stop her from going. ashton had known something was off from the start. no matter how hard she may have tried, carmen wasn't very quiet when she cried.

ever since him, ashton had taken to giving carmen detailed lectures before she went out. he was being cautious, but she found them tedious. however, she did appreciate the reasoning behind them.

with a sigh, carmen pulled away from ashton. "if it makes you happy, i'll make sure to tell you next time i meet up with him. but you have to promise you'll stop with the safety talks."

a small smile appeared on his face. "i promise."

"alright, enough of the cheesy shit. this isn't a k-drama." nova, sensing the end of their serious conversation, butts in. "i don't know about ash, but i want to know what happened whilst you were with him."

a feeling of dread builds in carmen at the sight of the familiar smirk on nova's face. she had a feeling that she wouldn't get away with sparing any details.

when she wanted something, nova would go to any lengths to get it. including torture.

carmen shuddered at the memory from last time. the song was still circling around her nightmares, tormenting her even in her sleep.

"no, i want to know as well. we need to check for red flags..."

"you're not gonna go as far as last time again... right?"

nova grins with a dangerous glint in her eye. "that depends on whether i'm satisfied with the information we receive or not."

carmen gulped.

i don't think this is going to end well... for me, anyway.

-

[carmen leigh]

"so you expect us to believe you just walked around the aquarium?"

"mhm."

"and nothing else happened?"

"yup."

"so it was boring?"

"pretty much."

"i call bullshit. ashton, get the duct tape. i'll set up the speakers."

aw shit.

"t-there's no need for that..." i chuckled nervously, avoiding their combined gaze.

nova squinted at me suspiciously. "i think there is a need for it, actually. that is, unless you want to tell us what actually happened on that little date of yours."

"or we will be forced to resort to more brutal methods." ashton agreed.

nova reached into her back pocket and pulled her phone out. after a few seconds, she turned the screen around, showing me the video selected.

"oh, would you look at that. it's the ten hour loop of 'yummy'. how unfortunate would it be... if my finger... slipped onto the play button..." with each passing second, she brought her finger closer and closer to the button.

the risks were too high, i had to do something. even if it meant dealing with their relentless teasing for the rest of the night... i just couldn't subject myself to that kind of pain again.

i raised my hands up in defeat. "fine, i lied."

"i knew it!" nova exclaimed, "there's no way you'd admit it was boring even if it was coma-inducing, you're too nice."

the trait is both a blessing and a curse.

"care to tell us the real story?" ashton raised a brow.

"i don't really want to..." she shot me a warning look, moving her finger back to the screen, "buuut, judging by the face nova's making, i'm guessing i don't really have a choice."

"you're right, now start talking before i duct tape you to the couch again."

-

a/n

i am very sorry for the short update, i kinda just wanted to give you guys something as i haven't been updating a lot recently. none of the other chapters will be as short as this one, or as irrelevant as this one.

honestly, it doesn't even really matter if you didn't read this chapter. it really is just a filler. sorry for that ://

wattpad has decided to f*ck things up, and only show reads after the chapter has been up for 24 hours. it's wack because it shows votes, but not reads. so weird.

have a nice day, and stream calm. :))

- e.