Hopelessly Falling [book 2]

Chapter Forty-One

XLI
• • •

Ashton's POV ***

        "Hey, Layla, have you heard from Crystal?" I asked her from across the table. She had made us 'healing pancakes', whatever those were. It had been a few days since Eli and I quote-on-quote made up, and she was still convinced I was mad at her for tying us up, even though I wasn't. I was more proud of her for the idea than anything else.

"No, why? Is everything okay with you two?" She replied, stuffing her face.

"Yeah, I think so, at least. She just hasn't been responding to my texts. It's probably fine," I tried to shrug it off, and I probably would have been able to if she hadn't told me she wanted to do something with me today. She usually would have at least sent me a text saying we'd do something another day. She could have forgotten, though. Maybe it was more of an idea than an actual plan.

"Maybe she finally got sick of your angsty ass," she mused, pouring some more syrup on her pancakes.

"She loves my 'angst', for your information," I snarked back.

"I think she probably just puts up with it because she likes all your money," she joked, and I laughed at that one.

"Well if that's the case then I don't know why the hell Eli would like you," I joked back, and she sarcastically laughed.

"I do make some stellar breakfast," she offered up.

"I'll give you that one," I nodded, "why is it that you can make breakfast but any other meal made by you is basically inedible?"

"One of my foster families basically used me for meals- well- for breakfast," she snorted, "they originally had me for dinner, but after I accidentally set some pasta on fire they quickly switched my spot with Maria's so that I was on breakfast duty. They had a boy who made lunch, he was my age and didn't talk much. He was cute, though," she finished the story with a nostalgic smile, but I frowned. Every time she told me a messed up story about foster care it made my heart hurt so much. So much.

"Awesome!" Jake came trotting into the kitchen, not having been told that Layla made us breakfast.

"Get ready little man, these are some of the best pancakes I've made in a while," she told him, pulling out the chair next to her for him to sit down in. I watched as he poured a ridiculous amount of syrup on his little stack.

"That's disgusting," I judged him, but he shook his head.

"It's the best way to do it," he disagreed and basically shoved his face into his plate, getting syrup all over his mouth.

"Hey hey, have some manners," I told him with a grin.

"Why? It's just you guys," he spoke through a mouth full of food, and I chuckled to myself.

"Because we're practice for when you eat with people that actually matter," Layla answered for me, though I shot her a strange little look at the fact that she was also talking with a mouth full of pancakes.

"I live with a bunch of animals," I muttered.

"Eli can attest to that," Layla joked under her breath and I let out a grunt, scrunching my face in disgust and dropping my fork back down onto my face. She laughed.

"You know, you're not helping his case," I warned her, "okay, you've made me lose my appetite, so I'm gonna go and try to call Crystal," I got up and started walking to the living room. I heard her and Jake bantering as I slipped my phone out of my pocket and sat down in the couch with a sigh.