• Roxy •
When I first woke up, I was confused. Who's arm is this ... ?
Oh, right, it's Ashton's. I tried to move slowly so I won't wake him up, but he must've already been awake because the minute I shifted, his big hazel eyes were wide open and he was giving me a lazy grin.
"Good morning," he muttered. Before I could reply, there was a loud knocking at my bedroom door.
"Roxy?" Ryann's voice shouted from the hallway. "Have you seen Ashton? He's not in his bedroom and I'm worried."
I glanced over at Ashton, who giggled. "Yeah, I've seen him."
"Where is he?"
I started laughing along with Ashton. "Why are you laughing?" Ryann asked, sounding frustrated. She quickly opened the door and gaped at what she saw.
"Good morning, Ryann!" Ashton exclaimed, giggling.
"Good morning," she replied. She was smiling, but it was that kind of smile that people give you when they're imagining stabbing you in the back. And she was staring right at me. "Roxy, Mom's making breakfast. Come down when you're all ready."
She turned on her heel and walked back down the hallway, her body language portraying all the signs of anger. Ashton turned to me as soon as I heard her footsteps going down the stairs.
"Thanks for letting me stay," he said quietly.
"No problem," I replied.
He slid off the edge of my bed and turned to face me. "Breakfast?" He asked.
I slid off the edge as well and went over to my desk. "Hold on," I replied. I popped open my pill bottle and tapped it on my palm until one came out. I tossed it into my mouth and took a swig from the water bottle on the shelf. I put both bottle back and turned back around to face him.
"Now I'm ready," I said with a small smile.
He furrowed his brow. "What are those for?" he asked.
I stared at the floor. This is the question I had been worried about. I didn't want Ashton to know about my problem, because people always treat me differently when they know. But I couldn't just lie.
"My depression," I mumbled.
He looked surprised and embarrassed. "Roxy, I'm sorry, I didn't know — "
"It's fine," I replied. I couldn't look up at him — I couldn't handle the look of pity, not from him.
"Hey," he said. He placed his finger under my chin so I would look up at him. "It's not something you have to be ashamed of."
"I just don't like it when people treat me differently because of it," I replied quietly.
"I won't," he replied, shaking his head. "Pinky promise."
He held out his pinky, which was longer than my own pointer finger. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Pinky promise?" I asked sarcastically.
He gave me a serious look. "This is a big deal, Roxy," he replied. "I don't waste my pinky promises on unimportant things."
I shook my head and smiled at his stupidity, but I hooked my pinky around his own and he grinned. He put his arm around my shoulder as we went down into the kitchen.
"Smells amazing, Mrs. Edwards!" Ashton said, grabbing a plate off the counter and sitting down at the table. I grabbed my own plate and sat down across from him. Ryann was already seated, frowning and looking deep in thought. She always looks like she's in pain when she thinks too hard; I imagine it requires a lot of effort for her.
