It felt so strange being in the house all alone after Ashton and the kids had left.
I didn't like the empty feeling so I hurried to Ari's house on my bike, wanting to be with someone even if it was the person who was miffed at me.
When I got to the house and walked in I was surprised to find her in her bathroom, sitting on the counter doing her makeup.
"You're sick and you're still doing a full face of makeup?" I leaned against the door frame.
"If I'm going to die I'm going to die glamorous." She remarked as she started in on her eyeshadow and I rolled my eyes.
"Do you need anything?" I asked her.
"Can you check my phone and see if the pharmacy has called to say my prescription is ready?"
"Yeah."
I headed to her bedroom which looked like a war zone.
"What the hell happened in here?" I called out to her as I made my way through piles of dirty laundry, shopping bags, and tissues.
"I'm sick, leave me alone." She yelled back.
"Still." I muttered under my breath and went to check her phone seeing the pharmacy had indeed called.
"They called I'm going to go pick it up. Do you need anything else at the store?"
"More tissues and ice cream. Chocolate not German chocolate, you know that."
"If you know that I know then why did you remind me?"
"Just go." She waved her hand at me and I gave her a look before leaving.
Of course I noticed the teenage girls who were grocery shopping with their families staring at me as I walked through the store.
A few took my picture as I passed but I just smiled at them and gave them a little wave.
As I was standing in line to check out I received a text from Ashton saying they had arrived in Sydney safely and along with it was a picture of Gracie asleep in the back seat of the car.
I smiled and sent back a reminder for us to talk that night and then bought the groceries.
Back at Ari's house she had finished her makeup and was now laying in bed.
"Okay let's hope this cures you and we don't have to send you to the centre for disease control." I said as I popped open the pill bottle.
"You're sassy today." She remarked.
"I live with a four year old sass monster and a brother and fiancé who aren't much better."
"Gracie being sassy gives me life." She laughed after she swallowed her antibiotic.
"You should have heard her this morning." I said and then switched to a higher pitched voice to mimic hers. "Mommy, you can't tell me what to do I'm a big kid now, so I can tell you what to do."
"Oh gosh." Ari giggled. "How did that work out?"
"Let's just say she was extremely disappointed when I informed her that was not the case." I chuckled.
Ari and I sat next to each other on her bed while we watched a rom-com on the television, eating ice cream out of our cartons.
"Here let's take a picture." I smiled, offering the olive branch so we could hopefully get past this awkward stage we were in. I didn't like fighting with my best friend.
I held up my phone in front of us, us holding up our ice cream cartons and smiling before I snapped the photo and shared it saying 'Best friend, ice cream, and Sleepless in Seattle. This is how we spend sick days.'
After we had watched the movie Ari fell asleep.
I took this opportunity to clean up her bedroom, doing laundry and throwing the trash away.
She didn't wake up again until dinner and I made her some soup which she ate in bed, took another pill, and then went back to sleep.
I made myself a bed in the guest room and called Ashton and the kids before I went to sleep.
In the morning Ari was awake and I went downstairs to make myself breakfast and something for her as well.
"Okay here's your antibiotic and a cup of tea." I said to Ari as I walked into her bedroom, setting the cup on a coaster to protect her mirrored night stand.
"Thanks doll." She gave me a soft smile, the blanket pulled up to her chin.
"Of course." I smiled.
I still hadn't told Ari I was going on tour with Ashton, and I was scared to. We were still so rocky from our last fight over Ashton and I getting engaged.
We hadn't really talked much yesterday, but I knew Ari and I knew she wouldn't be able to hold off from conversation much longer.
"So how are you doing?" She asked me, I could tell she was a little nervous. "I didn't ask yesterday."
"Good." I answered.
It was silent for a moment as she stared at me and I saw her cave.
"I owe you an apology..." She sighed. "I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. You and Ashton are happy, and I don't want to get in the way of that because Car you deserve all the happiness in the world, but I'm just scared that you're going to get hurt."
"He's not going to hurt me Ari, you have to know that. Yes he hurt me before, but that was then and this is now, and we are an entirely different couple, we're stronger. We have a daughter, we live together, we're just in a totally better place."
"But what about when he leaves? He's not going to be here to protect you."
"About that..." I trailed off.
"What?" She asked.
"I'm...I'm going with him." I broke the news to her.
"You're what?"
"I'm going on tour with Ashton."
"You're leaving?" She breathed.
"I'm sorry...I should've told you sooner I know...but we just decided a few days ago."
Her face looked shell-shocked.
"Ari I'm sorry." I apologised again.
"What made you...why...I mean...why?" She asked me, still in shock.
"Ashton doesn't feel comfortable leaving me and the kids after everything that's happened, and I don't feel safe when he's not home. We just need to be together right now. The kids need him, I need him...we're a family and right now we need to be with each other."
"How long are you going to be gone?"
"Seven months." I bit my lip.
"You won't be here for my wedding..." She dropped her shoulders.
"Of course I'm going to be here for your wedding. I'll fly back so I can be there and do all of my maid of honour duties." I assured her.
"But you won't be here..."
"I know..."
"You're okay with leaving? You're just going to pack up and leave everything behind? The house, the shop?"
"Of course I'm sad about that, but if it means that I get to be with my fiancé and my kids then I'm okay with it."
"What about the kids?"
"They're excited. Ender's really happy, and I feel like this is going to be a good experience for him, he needs this. And Gracie, she'll just be happy that she's with me and Ashton."
"Where are the kids anyways?" She asked.
"In Sydney with Ashton. He's doing press stuff and took them with him."
"When do you leave?"
"A week and a half." I replied and she winced.
"That's quick." She commented before throwing her head back against the pillow. "God he's taking you away from me."
"He's not doing it on purpose. Think about it from his perspective. We're engaged, we have a child, I've been diagnosed with the seizures, the fans and media are writing about me and following me, and then Dylan shows up at the house in the middle of the night while the kids are there and wants to talk to me and we had to call the police...he's scared Ari."
"Ever since he got here I feel like all he's done is take you away."
"He's my fiancé. How do you think I felt when you started dating Jason and then got engaged? I felt like the third wheel. But now I have someone of my own who loves me and wants me, and I deserve it. I deserve to be happy. After everything I've been through I deserve it."
"I know you do, but-" She sighed, "we've been best friends since we were kids, I don't know what to without you?"
"I'm still going to be here, I'm not leaving forever. We can call and text all we want, rack up mine and Ashton's phone bill." I tried to make a joke to lighten the mood and she showed a glimpse of a smile.
"How are you going to book for the summer?"
"Ashton had my work emails forwarded to my
phone so I could work that way."
"And Ender's school?"
"Management is working on getting him a tutor set up so he can continue classes privately."
"Don't take this the wrong way but how can you afford all of this?" She asked me.
"I'm covered by the band, but Ashton and I have a joint account now so I'll be fine." I explained and her eyes widened.
"You have a joint bank account? Jason and I don't even have that."
"Ari we're not you!" I said exasperated. "Ashton and I are a totally different couple. Yes we move fast but that's just how we are, and there's nothing wrong with that. We know what we want and are ready to start living with each other, so that's what we're doing."
"I just..." She said and then sighed. "I don't get how it takes me years of dating to find the love of my life and you find yours in the first guy you date. It's like love finds you while the rest of us have to look."
"But you have Jason now, so why does it matter?" I asked her.
"It doesn't." She sighed again. "I don't even know why I'm jealous. I'm happy for you I am...I just wish that I had a love story like yours."
"It's not a love story Ari, it's my life."
She nodded.
"I can't believe you're going on a world wide tour."
"Me either." I laughed lightly. "But I'm excited. I get to spend so much more time with Ashton and the kids and become a stronger couple."
"You two haven't even had sex yet and you're going on tour with him." She shook her head.
"Yes we have." I furrowed my eyes together.
"Wait you had sex and you didn't tell me!" She exclaimed, sitting up. "He took your virginity?"
"Yes." I laughed awkwardly.
"When?"
"Oh gosh...our first time was the night after my birthday." I thought back.
"Seriously? That was like a forever ago!"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well we are engaged now I just assumed you knew." I shrugged.
"So tell me about your first time." She pressed and my cheeks flared.
"Um..." I said awkwardly.
"Oh come on! Divulge me a little, I haven't had sex in like two weeks." She laughed.
"Like what do you want to know?" I joined in her laughter.
"Like what led up to it, how he did it, you know the basic everything."
"Well, he had kind of planned out this whole surprise date night for us, and so he took us to this really nice hotel and then we went out for dinner and walked around the city a little bit, and then went back to the hotel. He took me up to the rooftop and gave me this really long speech-"
"What did he say, what did he say?" She asked like an excited child.
"He said that when he came here for vacation he hadn't expected to meet anyone but he met me, and that he couldn't imagine his life without me. And then he told me that he loved me, and I told him I loved him too." I said with a little smile.
"Was that the first time he told you he loved you?" She asked and I nodded. "Then what?"
"Then he gave me the promise ring, and then we went back inside and...did it." I laughed at the end.
"So was it like slow and gentle or like hot and heavy?" She wiggled her eyebrows.
"In between?" I laughed. "It was really sweet and he was very gentle and loving."
"So how is he?"
I gave her a confused look.
"You know, how is he?" She gestured down there.
"Oh, Ari!" I widened my eyes.
"What?! Girls talk about this stuff!" She exclaimed and I laughed. "So is he big?"
My cheeks flared but I bowed my head and nodded and Ari squealed.
"Okay I always thought that he'd be like really rough in bed." She said and I couldn't stop laughing.
"I mean he can be if he wants to."
"So how many times have you done it?"
"Oh gosh I don't know...a lot."
"Ugh, you guys are in that stage where it's all just talking and sex. Oh I envy you." She groaned.
"Well." I laughed. "I like this place we're in, I don't want that to ever go away."
She smiled at me.
"Ashton really loves you Carter. I'm sorry about flipping out on you before. I know you're going to be happy with him, and I'm happy for you two, even if you have to leave to go around the world with him."
"Thank you." I grinned. "And there's something Ashton and I wanted to ask you."
"What?" She raised an eyebrow.
"We were wondering since he and I won't be living in the house for a long time, and we don't really want to leave it there alone, if you and Jason would like to stay there together until we got back?"
"Are you serious?!" She grinned.
"Yeah." I nodded.
"That would be so amazing!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to text Jason right now!"
I watched and laughed as she texted him for a few minutes.
"He said yes!" She shrieked and I grinned.
We talked for a long time until Ashton texted me a link to listen to their radio interview and I pulled it up so Ari and I could listen.
Every time I heard Gracie or Ender talk I couldn't help but smile widely, knowing they were having the time of their lives hanging out with Ashton.
He sent me pictures of the kids that Ari and I fawned over.
I was glad she and I were good again, and the fact that her and Jason we're going to move into the house made me happy as well.
Everything was coming into place, and I knew nothing could stop Ashton and I from living our life together now.
--
I'm so sorry this chapter took forever!
I had finals and had to move back home so life was kind of crazy, but I have the next few chapters almost complete and I promise not to have you guys wait that long again!!
I hope everyone has been doing good!
As always, comment and vote if you'd like!
much love xx -M