Relentless

Chapter 34

Juliet

As soon as I step inside of my house after a long rehearsal, I text Ashton. I can tell if he is alright through the way he texts me. What if Brooke said something about me to him? What if he hates me now?

Hey! How's Ant doing?

It takes five minutes for him to reply. Something is definitely wrong.

She's fine

Are you okay?

Yeah y

He usually texts me using full words. Oh crap.

Well, for one you always used to text me using full words. Like why instead of y. Now I know something is wrong. What is it? Is it Richard?

No I'm fine, just leave it alone, ok

Geez, I felt a bad vibe from that text.

Yeah, u should

Whoa what did I do?

Nothing, that's the problem. You didn't do anything, Juliet

Then why are you acting like a jerk?

I can't talk now I have company

Brooke

What?

Brooke is the company, right?

No response

I'll take that as a yes. Goodnight Ashton.

What the hell is his problem? I didn't do anything to him! Is it because I went to rehearsal and didn't call him first? Why would he be angry at me for that? I've waited until after rehearsal to call him before, why the sudden outrage?

To take my mind off of things, I sit at my desk and start writing another song. I've written three songs this month, all about Ashton.

After an hour of writing, I get a text from an unknown number.

Lover Boy won't be your Lover Boy for long. Enjoy him while you have him, sweetheart.

What the fuck? Who would send something like that? And who would be so cowardly as to block the numbe...

Oh my God.

Jackson.

I almost went an entire month without hearing from him!

He's threatening to take Ashton away from me? Enjoy him while I can?

Before I can stop myself, I run out the door and four houses down. When I knock on the door, I hear someone walking down the stairs. When Antonia opens the door, she looks pale and is holding her little blanket in her hand.

"Sweety, what are you doing out of bed?" I ask, pushing her inside and closing the door behind me. "Come on, I'll take you upstairs."

I lead her upstairs and make sure she is warm under her covers. I close her door and run to Ashton's. I knock on the door softly and hear his groggy voice reply.

"Come in." I open the door to see his room pitch black and a figure in his bed. Turning on his light, he takes a double take when he sees me. We are silent as we stare at each other, both confused.

I move closer to the bed and sit down as he sits up. I hear him sniffle and look at him. His eyes are a little puffy and I see a trail of wetness on his cheeks.

"Were you crying?" I whisper.

"No." He simply says. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a text." He automatically looks at me and gasps. "It's him."

"D-do you know for sure?"

"He's the only one who sends threat texts."

"When?"

"Like five minutes ago." He takes a moment and then addresses the elephant in the room. Well, at least one of them.

"I'm sorry about the way I texted you. I'm just having a bad week, that's all. It's nothing about you. It's college and family stuff."

"College? I thought you weren't planning on going to college."

"You had your secrets, I have my own."

That hurt a little bit.

"I had honors the first two years of High School, flunked everything my junior year and now I'm trying to get back on track. However, I can't remember anything when it comes to math, so that's not working out for me."

"What do you want to go to college for?"

"Law Enforcement." He blurts out. I feel my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach when I think of all of the dangers and risks that come with being a police officer.

"S-since when?"

"Since you told me what happened to you. I want to protect people and help when I can."

I bite my lower lip and look down, feeling my leg starting to bounce up and down rapidly. His hand contacts my back and starts rubbing circles on it.

"Do you know how,"

"How dangerous it is. I know, Juliet." He says, cutting me off. "Everything is going to be fine. You need to trust that. Everything is going to be fine."

"It's sounds like you're trying to convince yourself more than me." We stay quiet for a few minutes until I can't take it anymore. I can't take feeling alone and cold. I want to feel loved and warm again. I grab a hold of my necklace and close my eyes, breathing in and out slowly, trying to calm myself down.

"What are you doing?" Ashton asks.

"It calms me down. I just think of..." I stop halfway and clear my throat. I start to shake my head and impulsively throw my arms around him. I feel him wrapping his arms around me and kissing the side of my head.

"Do you want to stay here tonight? I know Lisa has the night shift." I nod in the crook of his neck and feel him lowering me down to the bed with him. "I'm really sorry about earlier."

"It's okay." I whisper, closing my eyes and allowing myself to drift asleep to the sound of Ashton's heartbeat.

Ashton

What am I going to do without her?