Gone || Ashton Irwin

Chapter 22

“You love me.” I whisper quietly.

“Huh?” He asks, yawning and lifting his head up to look at me.

“You love me.” I repeat.

“Mhmm.” He replies, pulling me closer to him.

“Ashton, I’ve been nothing but rude and standoffish since you got back. And even yesterday when you stopped by and I told you I didn’t have time and Winston ran off, you dropped everything and helped me look for him. You stayed all night to make sure I was okay and-”

“Val, it’s not a big deal.”

“Ashton, it’s a really big deal. You ignored four of Patty’s calls and haven’t answered your friends all night-”

“Because I love you. Nothing’s too much for someone I love.”

“Ashton-”

“Valerie, it’s okay. You don’t love me, but I love you. And that’s okay.”

“Ashton, I-”

“It’s okay. Promise.” He tells me with a lazy smile. “How’d you sleep?”

“Really good.” I admit. “You?”

“Fuckin’ amazing.”

“Half of you wasn’t even on the couch last night.”

“Yeah, but you were like a koala bear.” He says with a giggle. “You wouldn’t fucking let go of me.”

“Sorry.” I apologize sheepishly.

“I wasn’t complaining.” He says simply as he sits up.

“You hungry?”

“Pancakes?” He asks with a hopeful smile.

“Sure.” I tell him with a grin.

“Morning.” My mom calls out as she walks into the living room.

“Shit.” I groan.

“Hi Ashton.” She says with a smile as she waves at him.

“Hi Ms. Hart.” He answers with a wave.

“I was just leaving. Have a nice day, you two.” She says, shutting the door behind her.

“She didn’t even have plans today.” I groan, getting off of the couch. “You coming?”

“Yeah.” Ashton says, stretching and standing up. He follows me into the kitchen and we start getting all of the stuff for the pancakes out. “Are these new glasses?” Ashton asks, holding up a cup.

“Um, yeah.” I tell him awkwardly.

He shrugs and puts the cup back. “Pancakes?”

“Pancakes.” I confirm.

I start mixing the ingredients together and Ashton hums quietly as he puts things away and gets plates out. I put batter on the stove and Ashton flips the pancakes over. Fifteen minutes later, we have a fresh stack of pancakes and a very excited Ashton.

“I love your pancakes, Val.”

“Still out of a bag.”

“Just let me enjoy this.” He says as he stuffs a piece into his mouth. “Fucking hell.”

“You doing okay?” I ask with a smile.

“This is fucking heaven.” He moans, literally moans, as he eats another piece.

“They’re just pancakes.” I tell him as I take a tiny bite of mine.

“They’re not just pancakes. They’re your pancakes. And they’re the best thing that’s ever happened to this earth.”