Rhythm || Ashton Irwin

Chapter Fifteen

Lauren’s POV

I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing beside me, causing me to jump from my sleeping position.  Cassie was no where to be seen, but there was a nice note left for me on the bedside table. 

Good Morning Sleeping Beauty!

I hope you have a good day at school.  I’m only a text away if you need me.  I know you have a class with Ashton today and I expect a full update after, okay?

I LOVE YOU,  Cass

It wasn’t unusual for her to be gone before I woke up.  She had a thing about not wanting anyone to see her when she was tired.  She thinks she’s a little too bitchy to be around others that early.  We had spent the night talking.  Her trying desperately to get me to agree to pursue things with Ashton and me refusing her requests every single time.

I wasn’t one to go after a guy, I never have been.  I always found it out of character for me to get hung up on someone if I was unsure of their feelings for me.  I guess you could say I was careful with who I got close to, and that wasn’t going to change any time soon.

Reaching for my phone, I shut off the alarm and checked the time.  7:15, just enough time to get my ass out of bed and ready for what I’m sure would be another exciting lecture about music and all it’s amazing theories… Who am I kidding, the class is so dry, I can barely keep my eyes open.  If it wasn’t for Ashton’s constant foot tapping, I’d be asleep within the first ten minutes. 

I groaned quietly, sitting up in bed, letting out a loud yawn before walking down the stairs and into our kitchen.

“Good morning.”

Letting out a yelp, I covered my mouth, clutching my chest trying to still my now pounding heart.  “Jesus dad.”  I turned towards the sound of the voice and saw my dad sitting at the counter with a large cup of coffee in his hand and a paper in his hands.

Chuckling quietly, he took another sip of his coffee before saying anything.  “Why are you awake this early?”

“I have class,” I mumbled, opening the cupboard and pulling out a coffee cup for myself. 

“This early?” he questioned, giving me a confused look.

I nodded, pouring myself a cup of coffee.  “Yeah, scheduling for this semester didn’t go as well as I had hoped.” 

“You never have been a morning person,” he grinned, setting down his paper and standing up, walking over to me.  “Give me a hug kiddo.”

Smiling at his nickname for me, I gave him a hug, resting my head on his chest.  “Why are you here?” 

“I’ve got a few meetings in town this week and I thought it was about time I got to see my daughter.”

“Is mom here?” I mumbled into his chest before pulling away.

He pulled away from me slowly, giving me a small nod.  “She’ll be home for a week or so.”

“A family reunion and it’s not even Christmas,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

 “Lauren, that’s not fair,” he sighed, sitting back down on the stool, giving me a sad expression.

There was a time when my house actually had more occupants than just me.  In fact, there was a time when I had to be home for dinner every night because it was a family tradition to eat together.  That changed when I was about fifteen after something happened with my sister.  We don’t talk about it.  We actually never talked about it.  Ever since that day, the house slowly started to lose its occupants.  First my sister, then my father started taking extended business trips, followed closely by my mother.  I was the only one left who actually called this place a home.