"It doesn't even seem real." I sighed into my phone.
"I know how you feel." Ashton sighed back at me.
I couldn't get the image out of my head.
My face pressed against the floor of my boat, red blood covering the area around my head, making a horrible contrast against the pearly white, glossy metal.
"When I saw that picture my heart literally stopped." He said and I couldn't agree more.
"I know the feeling." I laughed lightly. "So how's London? I didn't even know you were there when I was in the hospital."
"Well we left the day the accident happened, that's what I was calling to tell you, and I didn't find out about the accident until I was already there."
"Oh. Well what's it like there?" I was laying on my stomach on my bed, my feet up in the air.
"Cold." He laughed. "And rainy. But it's really pretty."
"I think I'd like to go to London someday." I mused.
"I can take you. We can go sight seeing and go to some of my favourite places. I think you'd like it."
"That would be amazing." I smiled into the phone.
There was a moment of silence.
"I'm sorry I can't be with you this week. I really wish I could." He breathed.
"It's okay, Ash. I really am fine." I assured him.
"I know you're fine, it's just that I shouldn't had to have left you the day after you got out of the ER. I feel like I barely got to see you." The guiltiness was thick in his voice.
"I barely got to see you too, but we get to see each other this weekend. We can make up for lost time." I suggested.
"I'm definitely taking you up on that offer." He said, a smirk evident in his voice.
I could hear the sound of the house phone ringing downstairs and a moment later it stopped, Ender probably answering it.
A few seconds later his feet pounded up the stairs and he appeared at my open bedroom door.
"Hey, Car, the bank's on the phone." He walked up to me.
"Okay. Ash, hold on a sec." I said into the receiver while holding out my other hand for the house phone.
"Hello?" I asked when I pressed it up to my ear.
"Is this Halle Chase?" The woman on the other line asked.
"Yes, this is she." I replied.
"Well, Halle, I've called to inform you about two things. One, your savings account had a withdraw over the amount of five hundred dollars and we were just making sure that was you?"
"Yes, that was me." I confirmed.
"Great. And the second thing is that you've been charged for 3,780 dollars from St. Vincent's hospital and you don't have enough in your account to cover it."
My heart sank.
I knew the bill was going to be hefty but I didn't think it was going to be this expensive.
"Okay. Um, can you move over whatever you need to from my savings account to cover it?"
"I can."
"Do that then, and I'll transfer some more from my savings to my regular account tomorrow." I sighed.
"Alright. Thank you Miss Chase."
"Yeah, have a nice day." I replied and hung up the phone, groaning in annoyance.
I tossed the house phone onto the bed and picked up my cell.
"Sorry about that." I apologised to Ashton.
"It's fine. Is everything alright?"
"Um..." I trailed off, not really knowing what to say. I didn't know if talking about your financial issues was an appropriate topic to discuss with your boyfriend. Guess I was going to go for it anyway.
"I just got the hospital bill and I don't have enough to cover it." I bit my lip.
"Car," he paused, "can I say this and you not get mad at me?"
"Yeah?"
"I can take care of the bill for you." He said softly and I was taken aback by his offer.
"No no no no you don't need to do that."
"Carter, please."
"I'm going to move some money around, I've got it covered." I explained.
"I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you'd let me pay for it." He tried again.
"Ash, you're my boyfriend, you shouldn't be paying my bills."
"Don't even start with the obligations thing Car."
"I didn't even say that!" I defended myself.
"No, but you were thinking it. And I'm your boyfriend, I should be taking care of you."
"There's a difference between taking care of me and coddling me." I replied and he sighed.
"Okay...what if we got a joint bank account?" He suggested and my heart did one big leap in my chest, and I wouldn't be surprised if he could hear the thump through the phone.
"You can't be serious? Ashton, a joint bank account? We don't even live together, we haven't even been dating that long, we haven't... Ashton's that's crazy."
He sighed. "Okay, it's too soon for that. But at least let me take care of you like I want to, okay? Let me be there for you."
"Ashton, you're already there for me."
"I don't feel like I am." He said so quietly it made me feel so incredibly sad.
"Ashton..." I whispered, not knowing what to do.
"Send me your bank account information and I'll transfer the money to you."
"You don't-"
"I'm not taking no for an answer, Carter. I'm going to be there for you wether you like it or not."
"I just don't feel comfortable taking money from you." I tried again but it seemed like he really wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"You're not taking it from me, I'm giving it to you. Don't feel bad."
"Still..." I gnawed on my lip.
"Im not getting off the line with you until you send me the information." He said firmly and I huffed loudly.
"Fine." I groaned and grabbed the envelope from my nightstand that contained my account information. Even though I couldn't see him, I knew he was smiling at the victory.
"Okay, there." I said once I had sent it to him.
"Thank you." He said like he was smiling and I rolled my eyes dramatically.
"Okay, so I need to ask you a serious question." He said and I immediately became nervous. That tended to happen when I was around Ashton, my feelings flipped all over the place.
"Ask away." I said quickly, bracing myself.
"Why do you always say you don't want me to feel obligated to do something for you?" He asked and I drew a blank.
How do I respond to that? I mean yes, that was true but I had never really thought about why.
"I guess...I don't know...it's just been me and Ender for so long that I think it's hard for me to tell the difference now between generosity and charity."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when our parents died we had people helping us out because they felt bad for us, and we were like the town charity case. So now when others try and help me now that I don't need help anymore, it feels like they just pity me and I really hate that." I explained it to him as I figured it out myself.
"You know I don't pity you right?" He seemed genuinely concerned.
"I know that...it's just hard to shake that feeling."
"Well is there anything I can do to make you not feel that way?"
My heart fluttered at his sweetness.
"I'm just going to have to get over it. And i'm new to the whole relationship thing so it's weird having someone want to do things for me like you do."
He laughed."But I feel bad that I can't be there for you as often as i'd like so I like to do things for you to let you know that I really do care about you."
Not knowing how to respond I began to laugh as well.
"Why are you laughing?" He asked confused.
"Because, you're funny." I giggled.
"I'm funny?" He asked, a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Mhmm." I quirked.
"You're so weird." He chuckled and I grinned.
I heard some noise on his end of the line and then some muffled voices in the background. He said "okay" to someone then came back to me.
"Hey, it's late where you are and I have to leave for work now, but text me when you're up." Ashton said.
"Okay. Goodnight." I smiled.
"Night, babe.I can't wait to see you."
"Can't wait to see you too." I said back and then we hung up.
Well tonight had been strange to say the least.
I fell backwards onto my pillows, letting out a loud sigh.
Ashton had revealed a lot of things to me today without him knowing and it honestly scared me a little.
He thought extremely far into our future when I only thought about what we were going to do for dinner when he got here next weekend. I was extremely curious as to where he saw our relationship going because I honestly felt sometimes that he was more into us than I was, and I was freaking crazy about him.
We'd only been together around three to four months, that wasn't really along time. The things he was suggesting were things that married couples did. Ari and Jason didn't even have a joint account, at least not yet.
I sighed deeply and shook my head trying to move on from it before I drove myself mad overthinking it. Besides, all of the talk about joint bank accounts and paying for my bills had given me a headache.
Downstairs I grabbed something for my head and a glass of water.
Ender was in bed upstairs and I went by to tuck him in and tell him goodnight to which he bid me goodnight as well and snuggled up to Bear who was snoring away on Ender's bed.
Back in my room I downed my pill and then slipped into bed, checking my phone one last time. I unlocked it and entered my password but strangely when I got to my home screen it began to flicker and wouldn't let me touch anything.
"What the...?" I mumbled as I tried to get to my text messages but was unable to.
Giving up I locked it and put in on the charger, planning on taking it to the I.T. shop tomorrow.
Getting comfortable I rested my head on my pillow, signalling an end to this very weird and confusing day.
In the morning my headache had ceased but my flashing phone had not.
I used the house phone to call Ashton before breakfast so he wouldn't worry if he couldn't reach me, and he recommended I get it fixed as soon as possible.
"I will. I'm going right after we eat." I assured him.
"Good. I don't like not being able to talk to you, it makes me nervous now."
"Ashton, please, you're going to have to move on from that. It was a one time thing." I sighed.
"Carter, put yourself in my shoes for a moment, it scared the hell out of me."
I took a large breath. "Okay. You're right, I'm sorry."
"No it's fine. I'm just glad you're safe."
I paused briefly. "Okay wow I miss you, please hurry up and come back." I whined as a wave of needing him hit me like a ton of bricks.
"I am. I'll be there before you know it." He promised.
"Okay." I said a little smiley. "I'll let you know when my phone is fixed."
"Alright. I miss you baby, just three more sleeps." The reminder of how long until he was here made my heart leap with anticipation.
"I know, I'm excited. Talk to you later."
"Alright, bye."
Hanging up, I let out the squeal I had been holding in whenever he called me baby.
Ender came down and I made us pancakes, scrambled eggs, and orange juice before we headed out to town.
The I.T. shop was empty when we walked in but a familiar face looked up at me when the chime above the door rang.
"Carter? Hi!" Dylan grinned as I walked in and I heard Ender softly scoff behind me to which I ignored.
"Hey!" I waved.
"What brings you in?" He asked, adjusting his glasses on his face.
"My phone. It's being all glitchy and everything." I said as I ambled to his desk and handed it to him.
"Glitchy and everything. Hmmm, let's see if we can figure it out."
I waited on the other side of his metallic desk while Ender roamed around the store looking at all of the different electronics. Though like the responsible adult I was, I made sure he wasn't causing any trouble.
Patiently I waited while Dylan messed with my phone.
"Oh, I got it." Dylan said after a moment and held up to me my phone which wasn't flickering anymore.
"Yay!" I smiled and he laughed.
"Come around here and I'll show you what to do it it starts doing that again." He motioned for me to come around the desk and I did as such.
I leaned on the desk and so did he and I bent forward to see what he was doing.
"So if it starts to glitch out on you, hold down the home and power button together for a few seconds and the phone will turn off. Turn it back on after that and it shouldn't do that anymore. But if it keeps doing this then I would suggest investing in a new phone." He said, my eyes not leaving the device as I watched what he did.
"Thank you so mu-" I began as I looked up at him but in a sudden turn of events, Dylan's lips hit mine.
I was so shocked at first I didn't know what to do as he attempted to kiss me. His lips moved against mine and his hand shot out to touch my waist.
My eyes were wide as I watched the foreign lips touch mine in unfamiliar ways.
I wasn't able to think anything besides that this was wrong and I didn't want him touching me.
When I snapped into it I put my hands against his chest and pushed him away roughly.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I gasped at him.
"Carter I'm sorry it just that-"
"Just that what? You saw a chance and you took it? I have a boyfriend, you've met him!" I scolded him.
"A boyfriend that's never around? Doesn't seem like much of a relationship to me. And besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him." He said the last part almost as if he was suggesting something.
How dare he say that to me. He didn't know me or Ashton or anything about our relationship.
"Stay out of my relationship and don't ever talk to me again." I snarled angrily at him and snatched up my phone.
"Ender lets go." I called as I stalked out of the store, Ender puttering along behind me trying to catch up. I wanted to get as far away from Dylan as possible.
"Carter, what's wrong?" Ender asked as he caught up to me. My face was one of disgust and shock and horror.
"He kissed me." I growled and a look of dread crossed Ender's face.
I took a moment to breathe deeply a few times and calm myself down.It wasn't appropriate for me to act like this in front of Ender.
"Don't worry about it. Let's go get a slice, yeah?" I suggested and Ender nodded quietly, with eyes like an owl.
We made it to the pizza place and took a table outside as always.
I stared down at the table, my mind racing.
How was I supposed to handle this? Thank god Ender didn't see it but he still knows what happened. And what about Ashton? Was I supposed to tell him? He was going to be so angry. And if I don't what if Ender tells him? Will he think I'm cheating on him? Oh my God this was a mess.
"Carter!" Ender smacked my arm and I looked up to see Joey staring at me with a weird look.
"You okay, Car?" He raised a curious eyebrow.
"Not entirely. Um, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure. What's going on?" He asked and took a seat at our table.
I glanced at Ender. I didn't want to discuss this in front of him and Joey seemed to take the hint.
"Hey End, why don't you head back to the kitchen and tell Tyler I said you could help out making some pizzas."
"Awesome!" Ender grinned and ran off inside.
"Okay, now spill." Joey turned to me, a pointed look on his face.
I inhaled shakily before talking.
"As a guy, if another guy kissed your girlfriend, would you want to know about it? And if so, how?"
His eyes went a little wider.
"You wanna explain what happened, Car?" He asked, his voice going a bit higher.
"I was at the I.T. shop getting my phone fixed and that Dylan kid just leaned in and kissed me. I pushed him away and everything but he said that mine and Ashton's relationship wasn't much of one and I'm pretty sure he implied that he wanted me to cheat on Ashton with him." I explained, my face in my hands and my voice thin. "What do I do, Joey?"
"Okay, first off, hold off telling Ashton, I'll go beat the kid up myself." He said standing up, his chair scraping the concrete.
"No, no. Sit down!" I rushed to tell him.
He rolled his eyes and sat back down.
"He can't get away with that, Carter. That's assault." Joey frowned.
"I know that, but just answer my questions!" I begged.
"Okay, I'd want the girl to tell me like as quickly as possible. And I'd want her to be honest with me." He set his hand down on the table in affirmation.
"Would you be mad?" I asked nervously.
"Not at her, if it wasn't her fault. But Ashton seems like the jealous type, from the few times I've met him, so I think he might get pretty angry at Dylan."
I nodded slightly and slumped back in my seat.
"Here, I'll go back there with Ender and you can call Ashton. I'll bring Ender out when you're done." Joey offered and I smiled slightly.
"Thanks, Joey."
"No problem, Car." He said, and stood up, his flat brown hair swishing with the movement as he swept back into the kitchen.
Hesitantly I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialled Ashton's number. I didn't know if he would answer, but I had to try.
"Hey Car!" He answered on the last ring. He sounded out of breath.
"Hey." I said quietly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I just came back from a run." He panted a bit. "What's going on?"
"Um, something happened."
"Something happened? What happened, Car?"
"Promise not to get mad first."
"I...fine I won't get mad. Now tell me." He said, breathing a little less heavily now.
"Um...okay, so I was at the I.T. shop getting my phone fixed and Dylan was showing me how to fix my phone if it started glitching again and then all of the sudden he was kissing me and I pushed him off and he started saying all of these things about us and I stormed out and I'm really sorry Ashton, I didn't mean for this to happen." I managed to get out, holding back my cries. I felt so guilty.
There was complete silence on the other line.
"Are you mad?" I sniffled in a soft voice, one solitary tear rolling down my cheek.
"He kissed you?" Ashton asked, his voice somewhere between shocked and angry.
"Yes." I whimpered.
"What did he say about us?" Ashton asked next. I wasn't sure if I should tell him, it might push him over the edge.
"I don't think you want to know." I managed to croak out.
"Some guy just sexually assaulted my girlfriend while I'm halfway across world, I wanna know what the fuck he said." Ashton said angrily.
"Don't say that, please."
"That he sexually assaulted you? That's what he did, Carter!" Ashton almost shouted.
"Those words freak me out."
"Freak you out?! I'm not even there, how freaked out do you think I am?!"
This time he was actually yelling and I flinched away from the phone.
"Ashton, stop!" I cried and let out a little sob.
I could hear him breathing but he didn't say anything for a moment.
"I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry. Just give me a minute, please, to think this through."
I wiped away the stray tears from my cheek with the back of my hand.
"Are you going to break up with me?" I snivelled into the line and I heard his sharp intake of breath.
"What? No, Carter, no no no. I'm not breaking up with you, okay? I'm not ever breaking up with you." He said in a much softer voice.
Despite his words of assurance I began to cry even harder.
"I just want you here." I said and my voice broke.
"Baby, shh...it's okay. It's all going to be okay. I'm not mad at you, I'm not leaving you. I'll be there in a few days and we are going to have an amazing weekend and forget this ever happened. Alright? This isn't your fault." He said in attempt to calm me down.
"Things were going so good for us and I ruined it." I continued to break down.
"You didn't ruin anything, Carter. We are fine. I'm still crazy about you, I'm not angry with you. I need you to know that, okay?"
I attempted to catch my breath but my chest was heaving up and down too much.
"Okay." I said in a gasp for air.
"Hey, I need you to breathe for me, Car." He coaxed me for a few minutes until I was able to breathe normally.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. I just really want to see you." I sniffled.
"I want to see you too, baby. I'll be there Friday night."
"Yeah."
"And I'll have Calum with me and we can go beat up Dylan if you want us to." He said and I laughed a little.
"You can take Joey along as well, he almost did a bit ago."
"Well Joey is smart then." Ashton chuckled and I let myself smile a bit. "I'm going to take care of it alright? I don't want you to worry about him or anything again."
"Okay."
"So did you tell him off?"
"Yeah." I laughed a bit. "I told him that he knew nothing about my relationship and that he should never talk to me again, after I pushed him of course."
"That's my girl." He said, making me smile.
"Okay,I think I'm going to go eat and then go home, I'll talk to you later though, right?"
"Of course. Hey, why don't you and Ender go take the movie pass and go see a film, take your mind off of things until I get there."
"Okay." I said.
And that's exactly how I spent the rest of my day.
--
Wow Dylan is a prick!
I wonder how Ashton is going to handle the situation with him.
Anyways, I want to start interacting and talking to you guys more about the story or myself or you guys or just whatever really, so you can ask me questions here!
WARNING: next chapter is going to be a bit smutty and mature so if you're not comfortable reading that kind of stuff then I suggest you don't.
As always, comment and vote if you'd like and i've already pre-written the next chapter so it should be up soon.
Much love xx -M