Post Dawn

23. Worrying

Chris sat on the couch with Ashley, biting his nails in the silent worry that hung in the air above the two.

"Why haven't they called back yet?" Chris asked.

Ashley sighed and took Chris's hand in hers as she looked at him.

"Chris, you need to stop worrying so much. I'm sure they're okay."

"But you-."

"Chris."

Chris sighed and stopped talking as he sunk deeper into the couch.

"Maybe we should call them." Chris said to her.

Ashley gave him a look and he quickly stopped talking again.

"It's only been an hour. We just need to give them some time to relax. We can call them a little bit later."

Chris nodded as he let out a deep breath and then stood up.

"What are you doing?" Ashley asked him.

"Distracting myself." Chris said to her.

He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and pressed the screen. Ashley couldn't see what he was doing until she heard the music.

"Oh no." Ashley said with a chuckle.

Chris winked at her as he started to dance up and down the floor of the small kitchen. Their apartment itself wasn't very big.

When you walk in the kitchen's on the left, with a small space between the counter and the stove. If it was any smaller then the stove would hit the counter when you open it.

Then on the right was the door into the bedroom. Straight ahead is the tv and the couch about three feet behind that.

Then there were two stools that were by the counter so Chris and Ashley could sit there and eat if they wanted to.

Then the space behind the stools was taken by a desk where Ashley would do school work on the computer.

It was an overall small apartment. They both knew it but they never said it to each other.

They both felt at home there. No matter how small it was. They liked having a place together.

Chris started to walk over to Ashley with his hand out as she started to shake her head, still smiling up at him.

"Come on Ash." He said to her, smiling. She hadn't seen him smile like that in a really long time.

Even before the mountain, he had been hiding his feelings from the world. From her. He didn't want to look vulnerable. When in reality the only person that he was ever vulnerable with, used it against him.

It was a miracle that he had given her a chance.

She rolled her eyes at him as he hoisted her up off the couch and then danced with her in the small area in the room that they had.

He started to sing along with the music, dancing in time with it as well, she started to follow along. In that moment, it felt like the world around them was in slow motion.

Chris only saw Ashley in that moment. It felt like the world around him had gone bland and Ashley was a fresh splash of color for everyone to see.

He saw her smile and her bright eyes looking back at him, as if it were the first time. He felt a warm feeling in his chest as she laughed at the song and at him.

She unknowingly stepped on Chris's foot once, but he had barely noticed and he just kept dancing in time with the music.

The song ended and he and Ashley were there with each other, still with their hands interlocked, almost like there was still music playing that no one else could hear.