Haven Harbour: Beyond the Sea • a.i. • (Sequel to Haven Harbour)

Chapter 165

Ashton's PoV:

Being the only parent around meant that I was in charge of handling everything.

The good, the bad, the temper tantrums, all fell on me.

So when paparazzi released shots of Carter and Harry holding hands as they walked down the beach in St. Barts, it fell on me to defend her against the cheating rumours.

Carter had called me upset about it and Becca had overheard the call and beat me to the punch, releasing a statement to the press before I could.

'Carter holds hands with everybody. She is a very shy and anxious person and being around and knowing she's being watched by the paparazzi stresses her out and that's why she always holds someone's hand while she's in public. It also explains why whenever she's with Ashton they remain at least one point of bodily contact at literally all times. Ashton calms her down and he knows the best ways to ease her anxiety, that's why he is always touching her. Harry is her best friend and held her hand to make sure she didn't panic. There is nothing romantic between the two.'

I thanked her for it, knowing she didn't have to do that but she did it anyways because she loved Carter like a sister.

After that stress ordeal of a morning I had to do my job which involved sound check. Ender was working on an essay on the bus so I took Gracie with me.

She drove her barbie jeep beside me until we reached the ramp that led up on stage where I made her stop.

"Up!" She pointed at the stage.

"No, you cant drive the barbie jeep on the stage."

She frowned but got out anyways, playing with a doll of hers that she got from Harry.

I walked onto the stage, sitting down and occasionally looking back at Gracie who was playing with her doll.

A fan had asked a question about the new album, this striking excitement in the boys and I as we gave them a bit of insight.

All of the sudden I heard the fans laughing and saw girls pointing behind me and I turned around to see Gracie driving her barbie jeep across the stage.

I dropped the mic before jumping up and running back to her, grabbing the jeep and pulling it back so I could turn it off while she frowned at my actions.

"What do you think you're doing?! You don't drive this on the stage!" I exclaimed.

"They see!" She pointed to the fans.

"No. I told you no the first time and you did it anyways so now you get time out."

"No!" She whined.

"Out." I stood up and she got out of the car before I made her walk to the front of the stage with me.

"Go sit over there and don't talk." I pointed to a corner where I could see her and she pouted as she walked over and sat down.

I shook my head as I sat down, picking up the mic.

I kept looking at her out of the corner of my eye as soundcheck continued.

"What is the worst part about living on the bus?" A fan asked.

"The space is hard to get accustomed to." I answered. "I mean with five adults, two kids, and two dogs it can be a lot of action but-"