leave him // a.i {au}

21

present day

Ashton woke up with Kaylee in his arms. He had spent the night at her apartment, not sober enough to drive back home. He admired the peaceful look on his girlfriend's face and how her blonde hair fell in her face. He gently pushed a strand away, but not gentle enough because she ended up waking.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said, his voice deep and laced with sleep.

"Good morning," she responded with a smile. "I like waking up next to you," she blushed.

"Me too," he kissed her temple before getting up. "Mind if I use your shower?"

"Go ahead. I'll go make us something to eat." Kaylee smiled up at him, which made him smile back.

"Mmm, girl of dreams," he said, leaning in to give her a peck on the lips.

Once in the bathroom, Ashton stripped off his boxers and turned on the shower. As the hot water fell onto his skin, he couldn't help but wonder if he was making the right choice by agreeing to tell Stevie what Aaron was doing.

Ashton followed the scent of pancakes and maple syrup into the kitchen. "Smells good babe," he said, taking a seat at the small wooden table in Kaylee's kitchen.

Kaylee laughed, setting two plates down for them. "So, have you decided when we're talking with Stevie?"

Ashton sighed, wanting this whole mess to be over with. "I was thinking about it and maybe I should tell her by myself. I don't want it to affect your friendship with her."

"Are you sure? It seems like it's been eating you alive."

"Yeah," he nodded. "If she should hate anyone, it's Aaron but I don't want her to take her anger out on you." Ashton hoped that Stevie wouldn't get mad at him, but he was trying to prepare himself just in case.

"Ok, if you're sure," Kaylee said, seeming a bit upset.

Ashton reached across the table and took her hand in his. "Hey, if it helps I'll come over after and tell you all about it. I'm thinking about calling her today, I've kept this secret for long enough."

"Do you know who it is?"

Ashton shook his head. He only saw a glimpse of the woman at the engagement party and frankly, he didn't care. Aaron was a pig either way, but now he was curious.

"Probably his secretary or something," Kaylee reasoned.

***

Ashton was sitting on the edge of bed, holding his phone with Stevie's number pulled up. He'd been sitting like this for about fifteen minutes, trying to get the nerve to call her. He finally hit the call button and pressed the phone to his right ear. His leg bounced up and down from his nerves as it rang.

"Ash?" she answered on the fourth ring.

"Hey," he breathed out.

"What did you need? Are you calling to apologize?"

"Apologize?" he asked confused. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about running out at dinner last night, but I'm actually calling for a different reason. Do you think we could meet for coffee or something? I want to explain something to you."

"Sure. How about in a half hour?"

"See you there," he answered and hung up. HIs heart was racing and felt his palms start to sweat. He changed out of his clothes from the night before and into black skinny jeans and a charcoal gray t-shirt. He tied a red flannel around his waist and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked as he bounded down the stairs.

"Getting coffee with Stevie," he said, finding his brown boots by the door.

"Oooh, can I come?" he asked, completely serious.

"Uh, I have to work after," he lied, actually having the day off.

"You told mom the other day that you don't work all weekend," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ashton groaned, wishing that his younger brother wasn't such a good listener. "Right, but you still can't come. I need to tell Stevie something important."

"That you still love her?"

"No!" Ashton raised his voice, getting angry.

"Sorry," Harry quietly said, backing away and into the kitchen.

Ashton walked the short distance to the coffee shop, ridding his nerves with a cigarette. He found Stevie in line and joined her. Her beauty still surprised him after all these years, dressed in a short sleeved floral print dress.

"I'll pay," he offered, setting down a few bills on the counter. Edith was making the drinks today, so Ashton wasn't expecting much out of his coffee.

"Thanks," Stevie said politely as they walked toward a small table. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked, taking a sip of her iced chai latte.

Ashton took a deep breath, losing the speech he had prepared on his way here.

"Ash?" She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain, not having a clue about what he was about to tell her.

"There's something you should know about Aaron," he started. Stevie sat back in her chair, placing her drink down. "I discovered something at your engagement party and I tried to convince myself that it was nothing and he makes you happy, but the guilt is killing me."

Stevie swallowed the lump in her throat, clearly confused.

"Stevie, he's cheating on you."

"How dare you," Stevie said through clenched teeth. "How dare you tell me this to ruin my engagement. How dare you tell me this after all the planning I've gone through for my wedding."

"Stevie, I'm not telling you this to ruin your wedding. I want you to be happy, but I thought you should know the truth."

"There's no way Aaron would do this, he loves me! A lot more than you ever did!"

Stevie's words felt like she was stabbing a knife through his heart. "He threatened me not to tell you, yesterday in the restaurant. That's why I had to leave, I couldn't stand being around him. You have to believe me," Ashton begged.

Stevie shook her head. "I can't believe you would stoop this low just to break us up. I bet you have no idea who his mistress is."

"No..." Ashton sighed, wishing that he did.

"Whatever, I'm leaving," she got up from the table and stormed out of the coffee shop.

ok stevie was a bit rude..

please vote/comment because it makes me happy. xx zoe

do you like ashton with stevie or kaylee? just curious.