The Chase ▹ Ashton Irwin

CHAPTER NINETY FIVE

Ashton and I finally made it back to the motel, the smell of cigarettes and sea salt emenating off of our bodies. I was tired, but not too tired to lay down and fall right to sleep. Besides it was only 10:30. We had finished the sunset, then walked around some more and sat in a thai food place for an hour more than we should have because we got too distracted with telling eachother embaressing stories. Our really deep conversation was brushed off for a little, and we were just weird together again. But, everything I said to him and he said to me never left my mind.

Ashton ran his hand through his hair as he shut the door behind us. I flipped the old lights on and slumped down on the bed, facing the ceiling. With a tired sigh of satisfaction, I shut my eyes for a few seconds. I felt the bed shift under me as Ashton climbed up as well, and put his back against the wall. I scooted my body over so my head rested on his lap. I looked up at him as he did the same to me, his eyes wandering up and down my body.

"Did I do a good job?" He asked, rubbing his hands softly through my hair.

"Hm?" I asked, confused on what he was talking about.

"You know..." His voice trailing off. "...just these past two days. Forgetting about your parents, and stuff."

My heart stopped and my eyes widened at him, realization flooding over me. I actually did forget about my parents for these whole entire days. Even though I thought about them a couple times...a lot of the stress I felt was gone. Everything that happened that night when I found out about what my dad has been doing to my mom, and the night everything went haywire and Ashton pretty much beat the crap out of my father... All the nights I spent at Ashton's because I was too scared to step foot in my house, and all the times I cried or said something stupid, because I had no idea why all that happened between them. Those thoughts and stress and anxst just...left, for a while, and I didn't even realize that until now. Just escaping home and running off to California and being myself with just Ashton turned out to be an amazing idea, and I was so thankful we dragged each other down here.

"Yeah..." I said. I smiled. "You did."

Ashton's face tiredly lit up, and he leaned down and gave me a soft kiss. He sighed a weary sigh, and continued to trace his fingertips over my stomach. I didn't seem to notice for a while, but I found myself staring at Ashton. Once again, I was staring at that boy. I stared at his messy hair, his glossy tired green eyes, and his soft lips that were slightly pursed together as he looked around the room.

I tilted my head to the side, my mind starting to whirl... because it amazed me. It amazed me how much I could I fall for someone like Ashton. Someone so... different, yet so like me in so many ways. I've always known this, and I always say this to myself, but I'll say it again. Ashton is perfect. He is absoultely perfect, and to this day, I still don't know why he ever started to like me in the first place. I remembered back to the day we had kissed ontop of his old trailer. after he had told me about his past and how much I wanted to cry. Of course I wanted to cry, because it made me feel sick. All of the things that have ever happened to him make me sick, and I just hope this weekend long break from it all was enough to let Ashton know that I'll always be here for him.

I thought back to only a week ago, after that horrid night at my house. I was terrified, and I felt like running away, like a coward. I said things I never thought I would ever say, and I still feel kind of bad about it. But, I can't take back the past, so maybe I should just try to forget about it. But, Ashton was there for me, and I remembered what he had told me that night. I couldn't really recall one thing that stood out to me, because every word that left his mouth was a lot to take in. From him raging on to my father, and basically indirecting his own, to how he said he was so glad to have found me. I'm not really sure what that meant, besides the fact that I could say the same to him. Of course I could, I'm in love with him.