Green Light ✓ || Ashton X Reader

Chapter 8

You realize that you left your new Android phone in your room when you get to employee services. But you're not going to need it right now anyway. Not for a regular landline call.

Emmaline is waiting for you when you arrive. "We do not receive phone calls like this at the Magnificat," she says. "And we do not solicit this phone number out to others. So I'm curious as to how someone got it. Is it your ex that abused you?"

"It's his mom," you explain. "I don't know why she would be calling."

Emmaline nods. "Would you like for me to talk to her?"

You breathe an inward sigh of relief. "Please?"

"I can do that. Go ahead and stay here with Ashton." Emmaline smiles at Ashton, as well, and then she goes behind the employee services front desk. There's a phone system there, one of those fancy things with tons of buttons. One of them is blinking, and she presses it.

"Yes, thank you for holding. This is Emmaline Wheaton, Employee Services Manager...yes, I'm quite aware you would like to speak to -- ma'am -- ma'am, I am the manager." There is a long pause. "No, I doubt we have the information you are looking for. What I am curious about, ma'am, is how you got this internal number -- Internet? Who did you call?" She looks up at you. "I'm gonna have an internal investigation done on this. Some other department gave her our number. Figures." She turns back to the call. "Yes, ma'am -- while I understand you are concern -- ma'am --"

Emmaline holds the corded phone away from her face. There is screaming coming from the receiver. You can barely recognize his mom's voice. It sounds so familiar, like if you just talked to her for a moment, all of this would be cleared up. So you stand up, with the teddy bear in one hand, and you let go of Ashton's hand.

"Love?" But you are already walking around the desk, and you take the phone from Emmaline, and you wait for your ex's mom to stop screaming. And then, you put the phone to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Darling. There you are. Oh my goodness, I thought that nasty lady would never get off the phone with me."

She's not a nasty lady, you almost say. But here you are, on the phone with your abusive ex's mother, and you have no clue what you're going to say.

"I've been trying to reach you for the past four days! Where have you been?"

"...here." Your voice is quiet, like it's been swallowed in a hurricane.

"Well, you're all the way over there not paying attention to reality. What is wrong with you?"

"I...I don't know." You've only really talked with her a couple of times, but she was never this pushy before. Perhaps she's mad that you left him. "Should I come home now?"

"No, God, I...you never check your phone, do you? I want to know where he is. You know where he is, don't you?"

"Where who is?" you make the mistake of asking.

"MY SON! Where is my son? I've called him every single day for the past week, and the local police is out looking for him! How dare you not know all the trouble you've caused?"

You steady yourself on the desk, and Emmaline moves so that you can sit down. What his mom is saying doesn't make sense. "So you're saying he's missing?"

"Yeah, he's missing! I'm surprised it hasn't made national news yet! You being all the way out in LA, did you take him with you? Did he follow you?"

You find a little bit of strength returning, even with you sitting down. But everything still feels fuzzy. It feels like you're stuck in an echo chamber, and nothing's sticking to the walls. "Follow me? I..." I didn't want him to follow me. That's why I left my life behind. But you're saying you can't find him? "He may have followed me," you finally answer, "but if he did, I don't know where he is. I'm sorry."

"Then you have to help me find him! It's all your fault he's gone! If he's gone and done something to himself, his death is on your hands! How dare you just move off across the country like that, chasing some dreams or whatever! Do you know how hard it was to find you? We had to retrace your steps all the way back to the car you left at the bus station! And if he's not with you -- you know he's sick, right? He's gonna kill himself because you abandoned him! Shame on you!"

Nothing is connecting. You've got a blank slate for a brain again. You finally latch onto one thought: It's my fault. He came looking for me, and he's missing now, and it's all my fault. And since it's all my fault, I have to fix it.

"I'm sorry, I will find him at once," you say, and you hang up the phone.

You remember the first fight that you had with him. You had gone out to see a friend, and stayed just a little too late. When you had gotten home, he was nowhere to be seen, but there was a note on the counter. I'm leaving now. Bye, was all it had said. You had called his cell phone and he finally picked up on the fifteenth ring. He had driven down to the river and was going to throw himself in it.

So you drove down, and you rescued him, and you promised that you would never leave him ever again. And here you are, breaking that promise. And he's probably dead because of you.

You have to get back to your phone. You have to call him back. You have to make sure he's okay, wherever he is. You've got his number memorized. And then, you need to pack up all of your stuff and return to where you came from, leave the Magnificat behind. Your healing means nothing if it means he's dead.

You move with a speed that you forgot you had. You run, dropping the bear, around Emmaline, past Ashton and the lead gopher, and out of employee services. You sprint back down the hall, toward the elevator that will take you back to your room. Once you have your phone, you can call. You can apologize. If he's still alive, and you haven't killed him for not being by his side --

You lurch back. Someone has your arm. You turn, and notice it's Ashton. "Love, where are you going?" His voice is panicked, his face much more so.

"Home." You try to wiggle out of his grasp, but it's too tight. "Let me go!"

"No! Why would I let you go? What happened on the phone call? Please just let me help you!"

You swing with your other hand, slapping Ashton in the face. He's stunned enough to let go, and you take off running for the elevator. It thankfully opens right up for you, and you close the doors so he can't get to you. You suddenly feel horrible for what you're doing. You not only need to leave the Magnificat, but you need to leave 5SOS...and Ashton.

But, in a way, you deserve it, don't you? Because if you can't find your ex, if he's dead, then you deserve to die for your crimes. You did this. It's all your fault.

You press number 7, and the elevator descends, then stops. But the doors don't open. The light doesn't go off. There's no ding. You push the button again. Nothing. You push the open doors button. Still nothing.

You're stuck.