Ashley chews on her bottom lip as she sorts through the records, admiring Awsten's collection, while feeling sad that he's letting all of this go.
She has a horrible feeling that he's going to regret it, but she's not going to tell him that.
He said that he doesn't want to talk about it with her, so she's going to respect that, and not push him.
"Can I have this one?" She asks, eventually breaking the silence that had fallen between them, as she lifts a vinyl out of the box.
Awsten finally looks over to see her holding Commit This To Memory by Motion City Soundtrack.
"Yeah, of course," he smiles at her, softly. "You can have all my Motion City records, if you want," Awsten offers. "I've got all the CDs, and I'm not planning on getting rid of those, so," he shrugs again, hoping he's coming off as casually as he hopes.
"Are you sure?" Ashley asks, carefully, earning a confident nod. "Thank you," she smiles, as she picks out the rest of the records, holding them securely in her arms.
Ashley stands quietly for a moment, watching him carefully.
It's not long before she realises she's staring, and quickly looks away again, clearing her throat.
"So, uh, I'm gonna get going again, I think," she announces, slowly beginning to step back towards the door, causing Awsten to turn around. "Thank you for these," Ashley offers him a small smile.
"You're welcome," he shoots her the same expression in return. "You okay?" Awsten asks, carefully, as he finds himself studying her expression. She seems to have distanced herself with the few steps she's taken away from him— but it's not just physically.
"Yeah, no, I'm just—" Ashley begins, before pausing, and rethinking her words. "I'm just heading off to see Robbie, so, I should get going."
"Oh, okay," Awsten nods, slowly, clearly not fully convinced that she's telling him the whole truth. "See you later, yeah?" He says, turning back to flicking through the vinyls in front of him.
"Yeah...See you later," Ashley responds, before slipping out of the door quietly.
After a few moments, Awsten frowns— his eyebrows furrowed as he turns around to look at the empty doorway.
She left without giving him a hug goodbye.
He can't help but linger on the thought for a while, before eventually shaking it off, and returning to the task at hand.
Later, the evening had set in and Awsten is having dinner with his family.
He's been stuck in his bedroom for most of the day, and now he's staying fairly quiet— this earns an odd look from his mother, which she shares with his sister, while his dad stays out of the exchange.
"So," Gracie clears her throat, breaking the quiet that had settled over the table, "what did you want Ashley for earlier?" She asks her brother, trying to coax some conversation out of him.
It takes Awsten a few moments to even realise that Gracie is talking to him, but he eventually looks up from his plate, covering his mouth with the back of his hand while he swallows his food, and tries to formulate a response.
"Oh, uh, I just wanted to see if she wanted any of my records," he replies, with a shrug.
Selling some of his collection isn't new information to everyone at the table, so he's relived that he won't have to answer a million questions about it all over again.
"Did she tell you about her parents?" Ginny speaks up, before taking a sip of her water. "So sad," she sighs, quietly, shaking her head.
"Huh? What about her parents?" Awsten looks between his mother and his sister, clearly confused. "What's sad?" He shifts his gaze towards his dad, hoping for any sort of clue from him, but he still appears to be staying out of the matter completely.
Gracie pauses, shooting her brother an odd expression.
"Did she actually not tell you?" Her eyebrows dip together.
"Tell me what?" Awsten presses, growing more concerned. "What's going on with Ashley's parents?"
"They might be separating," Gracie tells him, finally, and Awsten's shoulders slump. "I really thought she would've told you..."
"No, she uh—" Awsten cuts himself off, taking a second to process this. "She didn't mention anything," he frowns, looking down at his now-empty plate. "Excuse me," he pushes his chair out and stands from the table, picking up his dishes and bringing them over to the sink, before quickly heading upstairs.
No more than a couple seconds later, the three of them watch Awsten come back downstairs, now with his keys in hand.
"Where are you going?" Mrs Knight asks, although she thinks she already knows the answer.
"Out," Awsten mutters. "Be back soon. Love you," he adds, quickly, before swiftly heading out of the door.
A quiet hangs over the dinner table for a few moments once Awsten is gone, before Roscoe lets out a sigh.
"I swear," he shakes his head, muttering. "That boy is so in love with her. When is he going to realise it?" Mr Knight continues, quietly— almost inaudibly.
"What?" Gracie turns to her dad, her face twisted in confusion.
Ginny looks to her husband, with a warning look to remain quiet, and he then realised he shouldn't have made such a comment in front of Gracie.
"You're dad clearly doesn't know what he's saying," Mrs Knight attempts to laugh it off, hoping that Gracie will join in, but she doesn't laugh.
"Yeah, clearly," she scoffs. "Awsten and Ashley? You're kidding, right?" Gracie raises her eyebrows, now beginning to laugh slightly. "That'd never happen," she shakes her head, before her attention back to her food.
"Well, that attitude is...An interesting take," Ginny responds, slowly, unsure of what to say, but hoping for some sort of insight to her daughter's tone.
"It just wouldn't happen," Gracie shrugs, her tone still a little defensive, as she finishes her last mouthful of her dinner. "Besides," she begins again, after taking a sip of water, and beginning to stand up from her seat, "Awsten is talking to that girl in California," Gracie says, dismissively. "And he's obviously like, obsessed with her or something— no matter what he says to try and deny it. We all know it's true."
•••
