Saturday, September 26th- 12:16 p.m.
I stayed sitting on the couch for as long as I could, avoiding going upstairs in fear of running into Ashton again. I mainly stayed downstairs because I didn't know where he had gone. I only heard one door shut after he went out of eye view, so he could have been in any of the rooms upstairs, including mine.
I was watching reruns of Criminal Minds, curled up tight on the couch when I heard a door open again. I turned my head to try to see who was coming out of where but I had no luck. I faced back towards the tv, pulling the blanket tighter up as footsteps came down the stairs. I tried my hardest to ignore them all as they reached the bottom step, but my mom immediately made conversation.
"Where are you boys headed off to?" she asked from the kitchen, stopping whoever she was talking to from getting too far out the door.
"To go set up for the team party, Ms. Hemmings," Ashton told her.
At least he'd be leaving.
"Oh, when's that?" she asked them, a smile obvious in her tone.
"Tonight, so we've got to get stuff collected up," Mikey told her.
There's two of them leaving at least.
I sat up on the couch, shutting off the tv. I stood up, getting ready to head for my room now that I knew the coast was clear. "Annie didn't say anything about it!" my mom said, genuinely offended.
"That's because Annie isn't invited," I snarked back, turning around to face my mom. I watched her face shift as she took in my words, making me laugh. Like I'd expect to be invited anyways. I looked over to the group of guys, an amused smile still on my face. Ashton, Mikey, and Andrew all stood by the door, ready to leave.
"You should come, Annie!" Ashton finally said. I watched as both Mikey and Andrew wide-eyed him, silently asking why he would do that.
I audibly laughed even when I tried to hold it in. "That's a good joke," I said to him as I turned for the stairs.
"Why not, Annie?" my mom butted in, trying to convince me.
"Cause I don't really want to," I explained as I started up the stairs.
"But you have to," Ashton spoke up, stepping farther back into the house so he could look at me on the steps. "It's team tradition."
"Oh, now you want me on the team?" I said just loud enough he could hear it. I watched as he smirked, knowing what I was hinting at.
"Think about it," he finally settled with. "Luke can bring you with him."
"Yeah, I thought about it and there is no way I'm optionally spending time in your house," I continued. I turned back around, heading farther up the stairs.
"We'll see you at eight, Angel," Ashton called as I reached the top step.
"Don't count on it," I yelled back as I walked into my room, closing the door behind me.
× × ×
I laid in my room until I started seeing the sun set outside. I looked at my phone and saw it was almost 7pm. I walked over to my window, looking at how the sun had turned the sky pink as it fell over the horizon. It made me smile as it filled my room with different colors.
I pushed the window open, climbing out onto the roof below my room. I followed around the corner, reaching the peak of that section. I sat down with the peak of the roof at the bend of my knees, watching as the sun set over the mountains in the distance through the trees.
The sun was the only constant in my life anymore. Everyone and everything around me is constantly changing, but the sun always sets and rises. It gave me one thing to rely on. I knew it would set each night and it would be visible from this spot. It gave me a constant in a life that is continuously revolving out of control around me.
"Annie?" Luke's voice rang out the window. I looked over my shoulder to the direction his voice came from. I didn't speak, but rather looked in his direction. "Come on," he waved me back in.
"Why?" I asked as I focused back on the sunset ahead of me.
"Because we're leaving for this party in 30 minutes and you're sitting on the roof," he explained, waiting for me to come to him.
"I'm not going, Luke," I told him, not moving from my spot.
I listened as he took a deep breath. "And why not?"
"Because no part of me wants to be around Ashton and Andrew more than I have to be," I told him, keeping it brief.
"What do you have against Andrew anyways?" he asked with a laugh.
I laughed right back at him. "More than you will ever know."
I trusted Luke with my everything, but I knew he was as trapped as I was by them. There was no reason for him to know what happened to me when he still had to be around them. He stayed silent for a moment before I heard a noise coming from his direction. I lolled my head in his direction, watching as he carefully stepped across the roof in my direction.
"It's team tradition. They want you there," he said as he reached me. I scooted forward, knowing he always likes the spot against the house over being out in the open.
"It's not like they treat me like I'm on the team anyways."
I brought my feet up to the point of the roof, one on each side. I pushed up off with my hands, moving to stand yet again, but with no wall to lean on this time.
I held my hands out straight, standing completely free as the sun set in front of me. I felt as the wind blew back against me, allowing me to feel at liberty for the first time in a while.
"Remember when we used to sit up here for hours as kids?" Luke whispered from behind me.
I dropped my arms to my side again, still standing on the edge. "Yeah," I laughed. "Now we fill that void with alcohol and sex."
He laughed with me. "I don't even remember who we were when we would sit out here."
"I barely remember who I am when I look in the mirror," I confided to him.
He sat silently for a moment as I continued looking off the edge. "Can I use my Hem's lifeline to get you to come with me?" Luke broke the silence from behind me.
I smiled as I turned around to look at him. "Can I use my Hem's lifeline to not?"
"They want you there," he told me.
Remember when I said Luke's eyes reflect who he's around? Right now his matched mine, like they did when we were kids. 1When I said I felt free, I meant it. It felt like years ago when I was still young and naive, and he was too.
"Ashton said he wanted you there," Luke gritted through his teeth. I turned back around, watching as the sun started disappearing over the edge of the mountain.
"I think that convinces me less," I laughed back at him.
"I think you should come. You preach all the time about how you won't let Ashton and Andrew get to you, this is just another chance to prove it to them," Luke said from behind me.
"Why do they want me there so bad anyway?" I asked as I turned around to face him.
"I don't know, ask them. But they want to make sure I bring you with after you said you weren't earlier," he shrugged from where he sat.
"What do you think they'll do if I do go?" I asked, a smirk on my face as my mind thought about all the ways I could fuck with them.
"Not beat my ass," Luke laughed.
I stood on the peak of the roof, one foot balancing perfectly on it as I slowly picked up my other one. Luke scooted forward a bit, making sure he was within arm's distance to catch me. I smiled at him, knowing how much he hated not being against the wall when he was up here, but he didn't want me to get hurt. This was my Luke.
"And I think you would have fun," he added on.
"Do you really want me to go?" I asked as I brought my foot back down.
"Yes," he nodded to me.
"Fine... I'll go, but I'm going for me and for you, not for them," I told him. His face lit up at my words.
"Then let's go. You have to get ready!" he stood up quickly with his hand against the wall. He led the way back to the window, making me laugh as he was more excited about it than I was.
"Okay, okay," I said as he started almost running. I thought he was going to fall. "I'm coming."
Luke climbed back in the window first, helping me in after. With both feet back on solid ground, I shut the window behind me. "Okay, I'll be back in 30 minutes, and then we have to leave," he told me, pointing his finger toward me.
"Okay," I held up my hands in surrender, knowing there was no backing out now.
"30 minutes," he pointed at me again, opening the door behind him.
"Well, if you leave I could actually get dressed," I challenged, making him leave quicker.
"30 minutes and I'll be back," he called as he closed the door behind him.
I shook my head at the exchange and fell back onto my bed. What the hell did I just get myself into?