Elusion // l.h

Chapter 21-Problems

"Ashton what's going on?" I asked frantically sitting in his car. His face was emotionless and silence filled the rather large truck. Something was eating at him, and he obviously wanted to talk to me about it, yet he stayed silent.

"Ashton." I said sternly hoping he would start explaining what was going on. He hadn't answered and kept driving, rather fast if I were to pay attention to the speed that the vehicle was going. He looked angry and sad at the same time.

Feelings of anger were those that completely manipulated a person. Not a single drug, or any types of liquor could take control of one's body like the feeling of anger could. There are so many types of anger and when describing a situation that induced one to a state of fury, that person is left speechless trying to explain it, although the person sitting right across from them felt it at some point in their lives. So why can anger do that to a person? Because anger always hits the hardest, and stabs the deepest. It's a deadly mix of disappointment, sadness and frustration that can send a person to do unimaginable things.

I hadn't known Ashton long, but I knew that whatever was making him feel the way he looked, had to be serious. Or at least serious to him. I had absolutely no idea where we were, and Ashton's driving became incredible reckless. He ran several red lights and floored the gas for a good five minutes.

"Ashton if you don't slow down I swear.." I threatened. I never spoke to Ashton in a harsh way. It was a weird feeling but he wasn't acting like himself.

He started to blink several times and it seemed like maybe he had snapped out of whatever he was thinking. We were about to pass a big plaza and he turned into it quickly, probably so he could stop at a parking lot.

He swiftly drove into a spot and stopped the car, shutting the engine off.

"Are you ready to talk?" I asked hoping that he would finally speak. He did ask me to talk and there wasn't any talking happening. His head was pointed toward the floor and he started to rub his face, eventually leaving his hands to rest there.

"I don't know what I should do." He said with a voice of hopelessness and helplessness.

"What's going on?" I asked slightly frustrated. He was jumbling something that made no sense.

"I try so hard. You don't understand how much I try. But she won't listen." He whispered, almost as if he were whispering to himself.

"Who Ashton?" I unbuckled my seat belt and moved myself more to his angle.

"Maggie. She has a problem Peyton." He admitted and I felt myself getting extremely confused. What kind of problem could Maggie have? She seemed like a normal girl, chirpy and what not.

"What kind of problem?"

Ashton closed his eyes.

"She won't admit it. But I've known her for over two years and it all started last year. Her parents got divorced and she didn't take it well. I mean hell most parents are divorced these days." Ashton rambled on while remaining to avoid eye contact.

"And we go out often, and she goes over the top every single time. You saw it yourself.." He spoke and I nodded remembering how Maggie was drunk within an hour and by the end of the evening, she was gone.

"Wait, are you implying that she has... an alcohol problem?" I asked a bit abruptly.

"I don't know how else you would describe her behavior."

"A lot of people get drunk at parties, it doesn't necessarily mean they have a problem." I insisted. I knew that for a fact. So many teenagers go out and get drunk every single time they are out.