Here to Stay || Ashton Irwin (completed)

Chapter 33

The week after our fallout with Anne was awkward. Ashton woke up to his own alarms, so by the time Anne came to knock on the door to wake him, the shower water was already running. We passed through the kitchen making our own meals, not bothering to attend Anne's big dining room masterpiece 5 course meals she had prepared in an attempt to get Ashton back. The next Friday, Ashton not speaking a word to her made two pieces of toast and two coffees for our breakfasts. 

She tried to reach out to him a few times, tried to start a conversation with him, but he simply shyed away from her every attempt or turned his attention to something else. I could see the hurt on her face every time he rejected her, but I could also feel the piercing pain of her words in my heart over and over as I replayed the scene from last night. All pity I felt was instantly washed away by a bubbling and uncontrolable anger. 

When the toast was finished, Ashton buttered each to a perfect degree and screwed the tops onto the portable coffee mugs. He handed me a piece of toast and my coffee and started for the door. Anne made one last attempt at grabbing at Ashton as we walked to the door but he denied her, however this time was different. 

I was about to reach for the knob when I heard a lack of footsteps behind me. When I turned around I could see Ashton frozen in his place, Anne's hand gripping his wrist. 

"Let go of me," he breathed, his voice thick with anger.

"Ashton," she begged, "Please just listen to me."

"Anne," he began, causing her to cringe by the use of her real name instead of 'Mom.' "I would really suggest that you don't try to say anything to apologize or correct yourself. Your sorry means nothing to me."

His words sent me back to the beginning of the week when his mom stood and shouted those exact words at his drunk father the night of the welcome home gathering. Anne's face grew frigid with fear and seemed to pale at a record speed.

"We," He put emphasis on the pronoun, "Are going to Michael's. Word on the street is that he's got a new mancave though while that would normally imply is only for men, he doesn't have any rules on who can enter, which is much more welcoming than this place I call a home." 

With that, he turned around grabbed my hand, and within seconds the door was slamming behind us. 

As we walked down the street, I could see the heavy breaths Ashton was taking in the air before us. 

"Ashton," I said, causing him to stop walking, "I'm sorry this is like this. You and your mom shouldn't be fighting over me." 

"Emma, she shouldn't have said that," he insisted, "Please just let me handle this." He pulled me close and tried to rest his forehead against mine, but instead his head went straight through mine. He frowned and pulled away. "It's moving quickly. Faster than when we could begin to touch."

I frowned, it seemed as though nothing was working in our favor, thought our hands were still intertwined. On the bright side, this new discovery, ended our conversation about Anne. But on the dark side, it resulted in an awkward walk the rest of the way to Michael's house.

- - - - - - - - - - 

"She said what?" Calum yelled, disbelief seeping through his words.

"I know, all of this in front of Emma too!" He gestured to my general area, "She was sitting right there, I couldn't believe it."

Ashton had spent the last hour explaining the entire story of the night before, leaving out the parts about our lack of touch. That was more of a personal and private problem that we both needed to keep between the two of us. I listened on as the worst night of my life was retold in excruciating detail to the three boys before us.