Claustrophobia ✽ L.H

chapter thirty-two ❆

cw// abuse
this chapter contains scenes of abuse (physical) but is not explicitly graphic. please continue with your own caution or skip this chapter if need be. love you all :)
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Tuesday
December 19th, 2017 // 3:34 PM

•Stella•

"What's wrong this time?"

I can hear the irritation in Ashton's voice as I sigh deeply and sit on his couch.

He hadn't invited me over this time — rather I had took it upon myself to just show up this time, assuming that my self proclaimed best friend wouldn't mind. Plus, his parents are always so excited to see me, so it's really a win-win.

"Nothing is wrong," I tell him, "I just have a lot on my mind."

"That's usually a sign something is wrong, Star," Ashton laughs, but still continuing to watch me suspiciously, "So your date with Luke a couple days ago, it went well, right?"

I nod slowly, "Yeah, it did, but I can't stop thinking about how weird he was at first. When I showed up at his house, he immediately told me he wanted to go to the mall."

"Is there something wrong with going to the mall?" Ashton asked, expectantly with the raise of his eyebrows.

I sighed, "No, not exactly. It just seemed like he used it as a quick excuse to not let me inside. Maybe he doesn't want me to meet his mom or something, but that wouldn't make sense, right? I already met her several years ago when we were younger. What if he just doesn't-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Ashton interjected, cutting me off with the sharp slice of his voice, "Don't you dare say Luke doesn't care about you. We might not have met, but if you're both going to this much trouble for each other, paired with everything you went through with him this past semester, there's no way that's possible. Now calm down. I'm sure the man just needed new jackets for the winter like he said."

I sit there in shock for a few seconds, surprised at how forceful he was being, but before I could even reply, Ashton was shoving a glass into my hand.

"Drink a sip of this and calm your nerves," he instructed, "but not all of it. This is mine."

I rolled my eyes as I did what I was told, trying not to gag as I exclaimed, "What is this, a hundred proof?!"

"Eighty-nine, but who's counting," he laughed.

I shook my head slowly, wondering how anyone could possibly drink something that strong before feeling my phone ring. I knew from the ringtone it was Luke immediately, and I felt my heart race faster.

"Hello?"

"Stella, oh thank god," Luke exclaimed exasperatedly, "Stel, baby, where are you?"

"I'm at Ashton's, why?" I asked, trying to find the cause of urgency in his voice, "Is something wrong?"

I could hear heavy breathing and a lot of shuffling around before I heard a loud, "Fuck! Oh no. Oh god."

"Luke!" I yelled, trying to get his attention back, "Are you okay?"

"Can you come over?" he questioned quickly, "Like, right now? Can Ashton bring you? I need your help with something, and fast."

I glanced over at Ashton, watching the concern in his eyes as I sighed, "I drove here, so I can come now. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thank you so much," he told me before hanging up.

"What the hell was that?" Ashton asked, head tilted and watching as I pulled the phone from my ear.