This was so nice. So damn nice. I didn't have to wash any dishes. I didn't have to lock myself in my room. I didn't have to clean the living room and pick up empty alcohol bottles. This was nice. After lunch, we all helped Carol with drying and washing the dishes. Ashton and Anna led me upstairs and soon got into an argument over who I should spend time with. In the end I persuaded Ashton to let me hang out Anna as I was going to spend the rest of my day with him. So here I was, sprawled on Anna's bed, relaxing as she worked on one of her assignments. I was actually helping her. I liked helping others with school work, it makes you feel smarter, confident.
"I seriously hate school," Anna groaned.
"Uha," I mumbled, I didn't mind school.
A knock came to the door, and then the person behind it swung it open.
"Sorry sis. Time's up," Ashton strode in, pulling me up from the bed.
"Fine," Anna huffed, going back to completing her assignment.
Ashton and I left her room and went downstairs.
After an hour of Ashton and I debating over our favorite movie and some soccer, the bell rang stopping our childish bickering. Ashton quickly jumped up from the couch to go answer the door. Carol had left a few minutes ago to visit her dad who lived only a few houses away. I heard the door unlock and open.
"Oh Ashton," a sweet yet chirpy voice bellowed.
"Hey Aunt Karen," I heard Ashton reply.
"Is your mom home sweetie?" The lady – his aunt Karen- asked.
"She went to check on gramps, come in," Ashton told his aunt.
I heard as more footsteps came near.
"Is your sister around?" His aunt asked.
"She is, one sec," Ashton said and his footsteps followed.
In a second he was in front of me, right where he left me.
"Hey, my aunt's here to drop off my cousin, we'll call Anna and the leave," Ashton told me as he a gave me a hand to pull me off the ground where we were sitting.
"Oh, okay," I nodded.
He led me out to the corridor where I saw a tall, young woman cradling a little, sleeping baby boy. As she heard us, she gave us her attention with a wide smile. She looked exactly like Carol.
"Oh, who is this?" She beamed.
"This is Sam, a friend from school," Ashton answered with a grin.
"It's so nice to meet you sweetie," Karen smiled widely.
"Nice to meet you too," I replied quietly.
"I'm Karen, Ashton's aunt," she added.
I nodded with a smile.
"I thought your mom would be here. Wanted to ask her if she could watch Aden."
So the little boy is Aden.
"Anna's here, you know she'll watch the little guy," Ashton said as he affectionately looked at his cousin.
I could see that Aden had blonde hair and a very light skin tone as his face was buried in his mother's chest. Just then Aden stirred in his sleep and fluttered his eyes open.
"Well look who's up," Karen chuckled as she brushed his blonde curls with her fingers.
Aden gurgled and looked around.
"Hey bud," Ashton touched his cousin's hand.
The little boy let out a baby squeal and brought his arms up to Ashton, making me and his mom chuckle. Ashton laughed and lift him into his arms. It was then that I saw Aden's face. He was so darn cute, so adorable. He had chubby cheeks, a few teeth, grey gleaming eyes, and a tiny nose. He propped one hand around Ashton's neck while the other was in his mouth as he grinned and looked around. It was a really nice view to see Ashton – tall and big – holding a baby.
"He loves Ashton. He always knows when he is around. Ashton is amazing with Aden, a sweetheart," Karen whispered to me as we watched Aden giggling as he tried to place his finger on Ashton's lips without Ashton playfully biting it.
"He's a cute baby," I chuckled.
"Oh, he's cute when he wants to be," Karen chuckled.
Anna came bustling down the stairs.
"Aunt Karen, Aden," she beamed as she hugged her aunt.
"Hey hon. You free to watch the little devil?"
Anna nodded as she gave her cousin the evil eye, playfully of course.
"He better behave," she stuck her forefinger at him, in a threatening way.
Aden's eyes stuck on Anna and then his mom, then in the most adorable way, he turned to Ashton and buried his face in Ashton's neck as his tiny hand held onto Ashton's shirt.
"Leave him alone," Ashton chuckled, pecking his cousin's head.
It was then that Aden noticed me, the stranger who stood beside his beloved cousin.
"He's wondering who you are," Anna chuckled.
"This is my friend Sam, wanna say hi?" Ashton spoke to his cousin sweetly.
"Hey," I waved at the baby with a smile.
He lift his head and smiled widely as his hand opened and closed in front of his face.
The Wesotns laughed and explained that he's starting to learn how to wave and still hasn't got the hang of it. He's five months old.
"Well I have to go, I'll come pick him up at around seven. It was nice meeting you Sam," Karen hugged her niece and nephew and offered me a sweet smile.
We bid her good bye as she kissed her son and then she was out the door.
"Well, we have to leave as well," Ashton said.
"Just wait a minute, I need to finish off one more thing, please?" Anna begged her brother.
He huffed in annoyance and told her to hurry. We headed to his room so we'd wait for Anna.
Ashton placed Aden on his bed as he beckoned me to sit beside them.
"Watch this," Ashton told me.
He smacked a spot on his bed and Aden laughed out loud as he fell to the side.
I erupted in laughter, so did Ashton, as the little boy tried to sit up again.
"He's really funny," Ashton commented as he ruffled Aden's hair.
"Do you always watch him?"
Ashton shook his head.
"Sometimes. Aunt Karen owns a restaurant so she sometimes can't take him with her and asks some of the family to watch him," he explained.
Aden crawled to Ashton's lap and tapped on his leg.
"He's a devil sometimes. He knows exactly how to get what he wants," Ashton placed Aden on his lap.
"He's a cute boy. He really loves you," I said as I watched Aden move back to the bed, this time sitting closer to me.
"We're pretty close," Ashton smiled, this time his smile was so affectionate and loving.
"Mmmmma," Aden exclaimed.
I looked down at him and found him looking up at me, clapping his hands.
"He means he wants you to clap," Ashton provided.
And so I did, and I ended up teaching a little baby how to high five when asked. His tiny hands were so tiny and soft against my own.
"He likes you," Ashton commented as Aden slapped his hand onto my thigh.
"He's a baby, he likes whoever plays with him," I neglected his comment.
"He likes you. Who wouldn't?"Ashton gave me a wink which made me profusely blush.
Aden slapped me again and this time I looked down at him. His arms were held up for me.
"Lift him up," Ashton urged me.
"I don't know how to, I've never held a baby," I rushed out nervously.
"It's easy, I'll help," Ashton sat next to me as he took Aden and placed him on my lap.
"Go on," he urged me again.
With a tight throat, I held Aden and made sure I had him balanced. One of his hands held the neckline of my shirt while the other was on my shoulder.
"See?" Ashton grinned.
Aden looked at me and smiled, resting his head then on my shoulder.
"He likes you," Ashton whispered as he moved forward, his face inches away from mine, his hazel orbs staring into my own.
It almost felt like he didn't mean Aden, but someone else.
We were soon in front of the garage Ashton worked at. Ashton turned the ignition off and turned to me.
"Ready?" He asked with excitement.
"Yup."
We left Aden with Anna just a few minutes after my attempt at carrying him. He found my hair very interesting. He didn't pull it or try to suck on it like he did to Anna's, he only clasped his hand around it, smiling up at me, and then placed it on my chest like he was organizing it or something.
"Let's go then," Ashton broke my thoughts as he nudged me to go out.
Once outside the car, I joined Ashton's side as he led the way to the garage. It was huge, like really huge. There were many workers snickering around with one another while fixing cars. Almost everyone was covered with grease, and almost everyone wore low-hung jeans and a white shirt. Everyone had a piece of cloth hanging out of their pockets.
"Ash," yelled a gruff voice.
The owner of the voice was a big man with a bulging stomach, but yet with most alight face. His head was almost balding and reddened cheeks made him seem so friendly.
"Boss," Ashton greeted the man.
"Who you got there?" The man asked with raised eyebrows.
"This is my friend from school, she's spending the day with me," Ashton explained.
"A friend ay? Well nice to meet ya sunshine, I'm Carl," he grinned.
"Nice to meet you. Sam," I smiled back, just wanting to giggle as his cheeks became redder with every twinkle of his eyes.
Ashton grabbed my hand and guided me along. As we passed by, guys were greeting Ashton and howling in a playful way while Ashton just flipped them off. We stopped at a walk through area where a sliding door was opened.
"This is my section," Ashton gestured around the area.
"Wow, it's big," I looked around at the millions of tools and the few cars lined up.
"Yup, get in," he ushered me in as he slid the doors closed.
It looked just like a car garage would look like. Three cars in a row, one was high on some stands. Tools were splayed next to each car. The only decent thing in this area was the red stool and the cabinets to the side, as well as the table with the swivel chair.
"What do you think?" Ashton asked me as he looked around the place.
"It's cool," I mumbled as I wondered over to the cars.
Two of them were rusty, while the other one was just banged up at its front.
"So you ready to help?"
I turned around giving him the 'have you freaking lost it?' look.
Before starting on the cars, Ashton walked me through what he basically does. It's not that complex, as he isn't a professional at it. He fixes some motors, adjusts some loose parts of cars, and sometimes he breaks apart parts of old cars. Pretty basic...for him that is.
"Don't worry, I was just joking," Ashton chuckled as he noticed my conflicted expression as he told me I'd be helping.
I followed him to the desk. Ashton opened a drawer of the desk and pulled a duffel bag.
"Are those your tools?" I gestured to the duffel bag.
"Nope," he unzipped it and retrieved a white shirt (the ones all mechanics wear).
Oh dear lord, he's gonna wear that?
"It's my uniform," Ashton said.
I watched him, attentively.
"You don't mind do you?" He gestured to his shirt as he was about to pull his off.
I shook my head, dazed. Slowly, to my eyes' pleasure, he took his shirt off and I gasped. I didn't gasp because he was standing shirtless in front of me, well part of it was. I gasped because of what was on his skin...tattoos. One right above his waist where his jeans hung low, and another one right on his collar bone. Ashton looked at me with confusion and then slowly his confusion subsided to understanding.
"Oh, yeah," he mumbled.
"You have tattoos," I mumbled without thinking.
He rounded from behind the desk and stood in front of me.
"Yup, I have tattoos," he affirmed, and I noticed another one on his back.
"Wow," I stuttered.
My hand and fingers seemed to have a mind of their own. My index finger moved slowly to the tattoo on his collar bone. Under my skin, his body became rigid and tense. It was so interesting and small. They were all of writing, but the one on his back was of some sort of angel or something, I wasn't sure as I just had a glimpse. Soon all my fingers were on his tattoo, running over it. I looked up to Ashton's face. His eyes were so glossy, deep, they were intense. My eyes were stuck to his, not wanting to gaze away. It's then that I noticed how close we were, our bodies with an inch in between. Our hands, the one that wasn't on his chest, were touching and spreading sparks over my body. Slowly, I felt as his finger ran over my hand. With the fire in my stomach, I moved my eyes to his waist.
"Did they hurt?" I mumbled, my hand slowly moving down.
My fingers were now running over the tattoo on his waist.
"At first they did," Ashton answered, in a hoarse voice.
"They're really cool," I whisper as my eyes travel to his upper body.
There's no six pack, no chiseled abs. His abs are lean and defined. He hasn't got that sharp V, but he has an outline of it. His arms have a defined shape, a bit buff but not in an exaggerated way.
"They kinda suit you," I smile, my hand now dropping to his side.
Ashton smiles at me, a twinkle in his eyes. One of his hands rubs at my thumb, soothing my skin.
"My mom flipped when she found out," he chuckled.
"I bet she did. When did you get them?" I asked.
"At around sixteen," he smirks, as if he's done the most mischievous thing ever.
"Seriously?" My eyes widen.
"What?" He laughs as if it wasn't serious.
It's then that he finally covers up and slips his shirt on, only his arms are now on show, but the shirt outlines his upper body and abdominals.
"Okay, enough chatting. Let's get to work," Ashton states as he pulls me over to the stool.
"You'll take a seat here," he instructed, "while I get things ready."
And so he did; readying his tools, placing cars at a higher height, and many other things which I didn't give my attention to. Ashton started on the first car, which was a small vehicle. He placed what looked like a skateboard on the ground and rolled himself under the car.
"What're you doing?" I wondered.
"Looking for the problem," Ashton answered from under the car.
"Oh," I mumbled as I looked around.
I found a notepad on the desk. Grabbing it, I looked through it to find some sketches of symbols. I picked up a pencil which lay to the side and started scribbling some things, unaware of what they were.
"Is it hard?" I asked.
"Nah, pretty basic," Ashton replied.
He was now on his feet, wiping his hands with the cloth which he placed in his back pocket.
"Wanna have a peek?" He asked.
My head shot up.
"Really?" I asked, a little bit excited.
"Yeah," Ashton smiled gesturing for me to go over to his side.
I skipped to the car and followed Ashton, as he placed another one of what looked like a skateboard. We each lay down on the board and rolled ourselves under the car. It was weird. It has all these parts which just looked like jumbled.
"Surprised?" Ashton asked from beside me.
"Yeah," I breathed out. "What were you fixing?" I asked him, my head moving to the side to look at him.
He smiled sweetly and tenderly at me, then pointed to a part of the car.
"This here has to be tightened," he told me. "
How do you do it?" I ask with wonderment.
"You use this," he took a tool from his pocket. "And tighten it," he demonstrated to me.
As he twisted the tool, his arms flexed along. I wasn't interested in the car's part or in the way his arms moved. I was mesmerised by his face. His eyebrows knitted together, his face was serious, some strands of his hair fell over his forehead and eyes.
"There," he sighed. We rolled from under the car and stood up.
I followed him to the next car as he assessed it.
"Ashton," I whined, stomping my foot on the ground like a little child.
"What?" He chuckled as he looked at me over his shoulder.
"I wanna try," I pouted.
He was currently on his last car. He had the car's hood open and perched up. His back was to me as he was working on the car's inside.
"It's really messy Sam, you'll get greased," he repeated what he first told me the first time I asked to try.
"It's fin. Please," I pouted again with my pleading voice.
He stopped what he was doing, turned around with a smirk and nodded.
"Okay, c'mon."
I stepped to the car with giddiness and a wide grin on my face. Until now, this day has been going amazingly. I'm having so much fun with Ashton, it's a real break from the harsh, real world.
"Okay, see that part there," Ashton pointed to a greasy, rounded part of the car.
"Yup," I enthusiastically nodded.
"Okay, all you're gonna do is twist it twice with this," he held up some sort of tool, "and then add some drops of oil to it. Got it?"
I nodded my head cheerily.
"You need to push up your sleeves," Ashton told me.
He said it almost as if just his words would break me. I knew why, he was worried about me showing my bruise. Slowly, I pushed my sleeves up, my eyes on his. He smiled for a moment and then gestured for me to move to the car.
"Okay, right there," he pointed for me.
Just as I lowered myself, my hair got in the way so I tied it up in a ponytail. I grabbed the tool Ashton passes me and placed it where it had to be placed.
"There?" I looked back at him to make sure I wasn't messing it up.
"Yup, now twist it," he replied.
I twisted once, but it was hard.
"It's not budging," I huffed, making my bangs fly over my eyes.
"Here, like this," he was behind me, plastered to my body – his front to my back. His breath was hitting my ear, making the wisps of hair fly about. His hand was soon around my own, his arm across my own.
"It's pretty tricky," he whispered as he twisted the tool in my hand, over and over again. "There," he smiled, his hand still on my own and his body still against me.
"Oil?" I breathed out.
His hand slightly left my own and he was soon back to the same position, placing the oil in my hand. I added some drops and then Ashton finally moved – I'm glad for my breathing was back to normal.
"Whew," I breathed out, wiping the slight sweat on my forehead.
Ashton chuckled at me as he shut the hood of the car, the last car thank god.
"What?" I asked him with raised eyebrows.
"You've got grease on your forehead," he laughed.
Stepping in front of me, he grabbed his cloth and wiped at my forehead, again we were inches away. Why is this happening a lot this day? Who am I kidding....thank you Jesus!
"I also got your shirt dirty with grease," he grimaced, but his eyes never leaving my own.
"It's ok," I breathed out.
"You look cute with your hair up," he smirks, his finger moving wisps of my hair from my eyes.
I felt my cheeks blush like a beetroot.
"Ready for what's to come?"
Once we left the garage, Ashton needed to make a quick stop.
"So, my shift starts after an hour," he tells me as he drives.
"Okay," I say, insinuating for him to explain.
"I usually rest at my apartment which is a few minutes away. It's close to my house, actually," he explains.
"Oh," was all I could say.
"I didn't know if you'd be comfortable with going there," he mumbles.
Me, in Ashton's apartment, alone.... not bad at all.
"I don't mind," I say, almost too quickly.
"You sure?" He looks at me for a fraction of a second.
"Yeah," I say.
"Ok, great," he beams, and makes a turn onto another road.
He's right, the apartment is close to his house, as well as the place he's working at. It wasn't anything grand. A five story, simple apartment. The lift wasn't working so we had to climb up the stairs. Ashton's apartment was on the second floor. Once we got there, he led me to a brown door at the end of the corridor. Placing the key in the keyhole, he twisted the key and unlocked the door. He gestured for me to go in and I shyly did. Again..it was simple and pretty small.
Upon entering, there's a hall which is about five feet long leading to the living room which has a beige, two seat couch, a coffee table in the middle, a flat screen on the wall with a game box set and a music player underneath it on a shelf. A wide window is to the side, letting the sunshine seep through the white curtains. The kitchen is almost in the living room as it is open with a small fridge, a countertop as a bar where one can eat, and a two seat high table in the middle. There was a very small hall which led to a bedroom and a bathroom, and then to a small room which Ashton said it was just where he had some of his art pieces and some junk. It was small and cozy.
"Wanna see my room?" He smirked.
I nodded.
The room was all Ashton. A queen sized bed in the middle, a table to the side with a swivel chair, there was a clip board above the table with notes and pictures. A mirror stood against the wall and next to it was a set of drawers and then a slight walk in closet, which was small. Beside the door, there was a small bathroom which it's door was partially closed.
"What'd you think?" Ashton asked as he dropped his duffle bag on the ground.
"It's pretty cool," I answered.
"At first it was pretty empty, but along the way, I got some money and got it all sorted," Ashton said as he proceeded to his closet.
"Your'e lucky you have your own place," I mumbled as I moved to the little clip board above the table.
There were a few drawings of his and then a few other pictures of some people, maybe his family.
"At some point, it felt lonely," he came out from where he was.
Turning around, I see him with a button down shirt in his hand, shirtless. My cheeks instantly warm, my heart beat instantly increases, and my breath instantly hikes.
"I'm gonna clean up. If you want, you can use the bathroom in the hallway," Ashton said as he pointed over his shoulder.
"Uh, yeah, thanks," I mumbled.
He smiled and moved on to go clean up. After a few seconds of calming down, I made my way to the bathroom in the hall and attempted to clean up by washing my hands, my face, and attempting to comb through my hair using my fingers.
Ashton was buttoning up his shirt when I walked into his bedroom again.
"Everything ok?" He asked.
I nodded my head and waited for him to finish.
"So, my next job is more relaxing," he chuckled as he fixed his messy hair with his hand.
"What is it?" I asked interested.
"I work at a comic book store. My uncle actually owns it," he replied.
"The uncle who helped you buy this apartment?" I wondered.
"Exactly. He employed me at the cashier first, but I've worked myself up to handling the comics coming into and out of the store. It's very simple," he shrugged.
"I love comic books," I exclaimed.
"Really?" He looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"Well not all, but yeah, I enjoy them," I shrugged.
"Well, that's a good thing. Now let's go," he gave me a playful push.
A small comic store. That's all it was. A small store filled with comic books. And boy did it look tempting to just go in and delve into a superhero comic. Nerdy, I know. There were only two or three customers, and only one employee.
"Hey Dax, is the boss around?" Ashton greeted the employer, Dax.
"Hey man, nah, he left early," Dax replied.
The guy looked so out of place. He had coal black hair, ocean blue eyes, sleeve tattoos on one arm and a piercing in his ear. He was wearing black jeans with a grey shirt which had a 'May I Help You?' pin on the back.
"Who's this?" He gestured to me.
"This is my friend Samantha," Ashton placed his hand on the small of my back.
"Sam, this is Dax."
I mumbled a small hello as Dax displayed his pearly whites.
"Well it's nice to finally meet you," he winked at me.
"Don't listen to him," Ashton chuckled punching Dax playfully on his arm.
"Get to work man, you'e holding me up," Dax pushed Ashton away and went back to organizing some stacks of comics.
Ashton led me to the back room where he rook off his button down shirt and stayed in his grey shirt which was identical to Dax's. Ashton showed me around the store and then told me he has to be on cashier duty. So we sat behind the cashier, he pulled out some papers and then started drawing. I looked over to the things on the cashier. There were these cool looking bookmarks, with amazing art.
"These are amazing," I whispered as I held one.
"Thanks," Ashton smirked.
"You made them?" I asked wide eyed.
"Well I drew the art bit, yeah," he replied nonchalantly.
"Holy..." I let it there, not sure how to finish it.
"I'm designing some now," Ashton informed me as his hand worked over the paper.
So that's what he did. He kept on drawing, while I eventually ended up reading a few comics and now and then helping Dax out. He was a very cool kid, very egoistic and full of himself, but a very funny guy.
We were back at Ashton's apartment after his shift was finally over. He only worked about two hours at the comic store, depends on the number of customers that come and go. Overall, today was just what I've always needed. A distraction form the real world. I didn't worry about anything, I was being myself and having some fun. It was great spending time with Ashton and being able to get to know his talents. He made me feel safe, he made everything seem easy going and worthwhile. Anyway, now, in his apartment, we had some snack in the kitchen and left to his bedroom.
"Wanna know the best part about this place?" He asked me, once he exited the bathroom and was changed into some track pants and a t-shirt.
"What?" I asked, as I inspected the cross he had hanging over his bed's post.
"The damn mattress," Ashton exclaimed as he dropped himself onto the bed, his body bouncing up and down a few times due to the effect. He tapped the empty side beside him.
"C'mon, try it. It's really soft and comfy," he sighed.
I contemplated on what to do, and finally gave in as I slowly sat on the bed. Oh heavens! It was so soft, so comfy, so heavenly I couldn't resist not laying back.
"Nice huh?" Ashton asked from beside me.
I turned my face to face his and nodded with a dreamy expression.
"Very," I sighed.
Ashton chuckled as he flipped over to his side.
"Today was fun," he commented.
We were inches apart, he was on his side looking straight down at me while I was on my back, looking straight up at his beautiful, hazel eyes. I hummed in approval. I flipped to my side as well and lay there, admiring his face. I really have it bad for this guy, this incredible, amazing guy. His eyes slowly traveled down to my side, where – without any attention – my shirt had risen up and one of my fresh bruises was showing. Moving my hand to pull down my shirt, Ashton's hand grasped mine and stopped me.
"You don't have to hide this from me," he whispered hoarsely, his hand now on my skin, his finger softly over my bruise.
It was igniting this deep unknown feeling which was so overwhelming yet so soothing.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me Sam," he told me, his breath blowing against my face.
We really were close. Like very, very, very close! My eyes cast down to the duvet, but his fingers lifting my chin brought my attention back to his eyes.
"Sam," his hand went up to touch my cheek, his thumb caressing my skin. "I don't know why, but I have this need to protect you. To keep you safe. I don't know what this is, but I can't bare the thought of you being hurt."
His words sting at my heart for this is the first time since years that anyone has shown me such importance and such worry.
"Don't push me away Sam, I'm always here. I need you trust me. Okay?"
And with tears in my eyes, I slowly nod my head and shuffle closer to him. His arms now around my waist, my face buried in his chest. His fingers are slowly going through my hair, while his other hand is going up and down my back. I should be terrified by now, so terrified because I'm letting someone into my life. I'm letting myself get attached to someone that if what's going between him and I comes to a break, than I'll break as well. With the need for more assurance, my hand curls on his chest as I inhale deeply.