savior

fifty two

[this day seems really fuckin' long my goodness]

DAY THIRTY; ONE DAY TO GO

Mom, Kaitlynn, and I sat around the table together, stuffing our faces with the frozen lasagna my mom shoved in the oven. Surprisingly, it hadn't made me barf. My mom wasn't a bad cook, not at all, actually, but premade meals weren't so friendly with my stomach for some reason, no matter who prepared it.

It was a late dinner. The clock read that it was just turning eight o'clock, which wasn't really an appropriate time to eat dinner. But it seemed like a perfect time to remember that Ashton still hadn't called me, telling me that he was back home. At first I just figured he was still riding the train back, but when the sun started to set, I doubted that was case.

Earlier in the day, he texted me, saying that he'd only be gone for a few hours and he'd probably be back before dark. But it was almost dark, and he still hadn't bothered to ring me up. I was getting worried about him.

I shoveled the last bite of my dinner into my mouth, staring at the clock. The table was silent. Kaitlynn sent daggers at my mom, who didn't seem to notice, for she was too busy telling me about her day. After our talk, she had gone out for a job interview. That's why she was getting so dressed up as we conversed. By the look on her face, it seemed like the interview went smoothly.

"—and, so we started talking about our families, and all. So far I've learned that he's a single dad with a son!" she said, telling me about the interviewer she was talking to. "And he's cute, too."

I wasn't paying that much attention to her, although I smiled and nodded my head to make her think that I was. My mind drifted back to Ashton, and my eyes wandered down to my cell phone, which still showed no sign of Ashton trying to get ahold of me.

Kaitlynn picked up her plate, and with a huff, threw away the contents and placed it in the sink. Then she walked away. My mom looked at me in confusion, like I'd have a clue why my sister got up without permission, without even finishing the rest of her food. I did know why—Kait was still upset about the divorce—but I wasn't going to say anything about it.

Before my mom could say anything else about the interview, I stood up on my own and grabbed my phone. "May I be excused?" I asked. Mom was about to speak but I interrupted her. "I'm just really worried about Ashton. I want to make sure he's okay."

Mom nodded and shooed me away, a smile on her face. I didn't want to burst my own bubble, but I had a slight feeling that she was happy that I had managed to find someone that I really cared about. She didn't really like Luke, because he could never really have a conversation with her without making a smart comment, even though she had assumed he was a quiet, shy little boy. Plus, out of the two times he had come over, he couldn't keep his hands off of me, and she caught us making out on the couch a few times. She hadn't found a reason to dislike Ashton, although she'd hardly met him once.

I thanked her and ran off down the hallway towards my room. I brought my phone up closer to my face, scanning through my contacts until I found Ashton's. Luckily it was the fourth to the top, so I didn't have to much scrolling. I clicked on his name and the phone started dialling.

He actually didn't answer when I called. That only worried me more, because he tended to leave his phone at home whenever he went out sometimes, and I might've had no way to contact him. I then decided that I'd wait for him at his place. I could just sit around on his couch or something and wait for him to come home. I didn't want to sound like a clingy girlfriend—or whatever I was to him now since we didn't officially get back together yet—but I needed to be if I was going to save him. Especially on a night like this. The deadline was tomorrow.