Just Play Along

Ninety-Nine & One Hundred

PART NINETY NINE

*Aston’s POV*

Standing in our empty bedroom I stared at the pile of suitcases around me. I was actually livid with our management for the first time ever. We’d been planning a recording trip to America for some time, but the details had been up in the air while studios were booked and meetings were penciled in. So, to be informed that we were leaving in just a few days for a much longer trip than we had expected… I was beyond annoyed.

Hearing the door open and slam at half past two I was shocked. Why was Jess back so soon?

“Babe, is that you?” I called from our room.

“Yeah!” she shouted back. Her voice sounded weird, a bit strangled if I was honest.

I ran down the stairs to meet her, taking them two at a time. I found Jess stood still by the front door, a massive frown on her face, her eyes glazed over and her things all over the floor.

“What are you doing home?” I asked, all worried. Something was definitely off.

“My Dad sent me home early,” Jess replied quietly.

“Why?”

“I need to lay down,” she muttered, refusing to keep eye contact. “What are you doing here?”

“Packing,” I sighed. I’d spent the last hour at home, looking at my bags and dreading telling Jess how long I was going to be away. And how soon I was leaving.

“Oh,” she said, still refusing eye contact.

“Yeah, you feeling ok?”

Finally I managed to catch Jess’ eyes, to see them welling up with tears. With a quick shake of the head she turned and ran up the stairs, me hot on her heels.

“Woah babe!” I exclaimed as she threw herself on the bed, “What’s going on.”

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t…” she said quickly, shaking her head.

“Can’t what?”

“Work, I don’t know…” she replied cryptically.

“Jess, you need to tell what is going on. Are you ok?”

“I told you at Christmas to let me have the necessary meltdown yeah?” she replied, her head buried in the pillow.

“Yeah?”

“Right now,” she said.

“Oh god, babe,” I soothed, climbing on the bed and trying to pull her into my arms. For a moment she tried to resist, but clearly her body was already exhausted from whatever was going through her head and in no time I had her pulled into my chest as I lay next to her. “What is it?”

“Everything,” Jess cried, “I can’t do it all.”

“Do what?”

Instead of responding Jess just let out a frustrated cry, her head buried against my chest. I had no idea what was going on, and in that moment I knew it was best to just let her have the meltdown as she said. As long as I was with her, she wouldn’t do anything stupid.

We lay in bed for nearly two hours, Jess crying the entire time. I’d given up hopes of getting my packing done that afternoon, and I was planning on canceling on the launch party we were meant to go to that night.

“When do you leave?” Jess asked me after a while, her crying subsided just enough for the words to get out.

“Umm…”