•••Unedited•••
Riley's POV
I could not get a wink of sleep. Even though Ashton was cuddled next to me, I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes and relax.
I didn't want to wake Ashton up by moving too much, so I stayed as still as I could. I turned my head slightly to check the time. It said 11:41 pm.
I groaned softly and stared blankly at the ceiling. I sat up, the covers pooling around my waist. I ran my hand through my hair a couple times and went up to the bathroom. I splashed my face with cold water and patted my face dry with a towel.
I went back to the bed and saw Ashton looking around frantically. When he saw me, his facial features relaxed.
"Sorry if I woke you up." I apologized, sitting on the bed next to him.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to his side. "It's fine. Is something wrong?"
I looked at him with a soft smile. "How'd you know?"
"It's written all over your face." He kissed my cheek. "So what's bothering you?"
I unconsciously traced patterns on his arm. "You know," I started, "my past isn't such a good one. If you want to leave me after this, go ahead. No one wants to carry an extra baggage."
"I would never leave you, Riley." He said softly.
"I just hope you're right." I said before diving into my story. "Everything was normal. Normal people, normal social life, normal family. That is until six years ago, when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors couldn't save her in time and she died. During the time when she was alive, my dad was one of the best dads in the world. The best dad a ten year old could get. When my mother was in treatment, Spencer and I would hear him crying in his room. When the doctors told us that my mother was dying, he turned to alcohol. Spencer tried making him quit, but my dad would just yell at him."
My bottom lip trembled and my eyes became glassy. "As my mother slowly died, my father went to the hospital less frequently. He slowly became abusive to me and Spencer was my only protector. We would often go to the hospital to visit my mother, but when she died we couldn't go to a safe place anymore. My dad would lock himself in his room for days and only come out for food or to get alcohol. If he ever caught me alone, he'd just.... hit me until Spencer comes back from school."
A tear balanced on my eyelash, threatening to spill. I quickly wiped it away, not wanting Ashton to see me in a pathetic state. His arms tightened around me and he kissed my temple. "You don't have to continue, if you don't want to."
I shook my head. I have to tell him, to get this off my chest. "Two years ago, Spencer and I were walking in the park because my dad went to drink beer with his friends. He went to get me ice cream from the store near by but I wandered into an alleyway- I still have no idea how I got there. I didn't know anyone back then so when I saw Ben, I was terrified. He was drunk out of his mind and he slurred his words. He tried to r-rape me-"
"What!" Ashton was about to jump out of the bed but I put a hand on his leg, stopping him.
"Wait. You haven't let me finish." I said firmly. He reluctantly eased back onto the bed and brought me back to his chest, his arms circled protectively around me.
"Spencer found Ben cornering me and he lunged at him. Spencer was winning when these other guys came. Spencer yelled at me to run home and I did. I knew I shouldn't have but I was too scared to think. I waited all night for Spencer to knock on my door and tell me that he was safe. He never came home. I began searching for him whenever I could. I gave up after nine months of searching. Then, after much moving, I joined Kingston High."
Ashton smiled at a memory. "I remember first seeing you across the parking lot. My wolf was howling for me to mate you. You were so beautiful that I almost lost control of my wolf." I blushed. "I'm so glad you're my mate."
He kissed me tenderly on my lips. I smiled and cupped his face, bringing him closer to me.
He pulled away to ask me a question, "How did you find Spencer again?"
"Uh... I was at a bar and I saw Justin with the boys. I was originally looking for someone but when I saw Ben, I tried attacking him. He knocked me out and made the boys bring me back to the hideout. That's where I found Spencer."
"Hideout?" Ashton echoed.
"The place where all the gang stuff happen." I said shortly.
"Was that where you were when you were missing?" He asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, sorry for making you worry." I smiled apologetically.
"You apologize a lot." Ashton kissed my forehead.
"And you kiss me a lot." I retaliated.
"You like my kisses." Ashton said kissing my nose.
"Whoever said that?"
"Me."
He smashed his lips onto mine. I giggled and kissed him back as fiercely. We must've moved whilst kissing because I don't remember straddling him. We broke apart and I rested my forehead on his. I closed my eyes, basking in the moment.
"Since you went through all the trouble of tell that to me, I'll tell you what I had already known." Ashton said. "Firstly, when you were gone, I went to your house. When your dad answered the door, I asked him if you were home. He told me you ran away and I found out that he was abusing you- I know, I'm slow. Then when you came back, it was after the carnival, Nathan and I kinda stalked you back to your house. I did it because you had told me that Spencer was dead and then he's alive again. So I followed you and then I saw a bunch of teens with silver. Silver being my weakness, I got suspicious. And then not long ago, I found out that my girlfriend is a gang member."
"And I found out that my boyfriend is a werewolf." I fired back.
"Touché."
"... You've known my past for all this time?" I asked incredulously. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Ashton shrugged, "I wanted you to tell me. I didn't want to force you to tell me."
I kissed his jaw, "Thank you."
He growled appreciatively, "You know I would never do anything to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable, right?"
I nodded. "That's why you are the best boyfriend a girl could ask for."
I then climbed off of him and dove under the covers. I rolled around until the blankets were tightly hugging my figure, making me look like a caterpillar. "I'm so tired." I yawned loudly.
"Yes, you can just take all the blankets away." Ashton said rolling his eyes.
"Use your werewolf heat or something." I mumbled.
"I'll just use you to keep me warm." His arms circled around my waist and pulled me to his side. He kissed the top of my head and muttered a goodnight.
I closed my eyes and this time, sleep welcomed me with open arms.
•••
My arms and legs shot out, stretching out my sore limbs. My hand had connected with something hard making me recoil it.
I heard a deep groan and Ashton's head came into my vision. He was holding his nose with his hand, wincing.
"Did I hit you?" I mumbled sleepily.
"I think so." He removed his hand from his nose.
I placed my thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose and rubbed softly. "Is it better now?" I asked.
"Much better."
I retracted my hand, making him whine in protest. I ignored his complaints and swung my legs off the bed. The sheets had somehow untangled themselves from me and are now lying on the floor.
Before my feet could touch the ground, a pair of strong arms went around my waist and pulled me back to a firm chest. Ashton placed an open kiss my neck and I gasped lightly.
"Don't go." He mumbled like a little child. "Stay with me. I don't wanna go outside." His arms tightened around me, preventing me from movement.
"Ashton," I halfheartedly whined. Truthfully, I didn't want to go out either. "Fine, we will sleep for five more minutes."
"Yes!" Ashton cheered quietly, his breath tickling my ear.
"Shh," I hushed him. "I'm trying to sleep."
"Yes, dear."
"Shut up." I twisted around in his arms and smacked him lightly. I buried my head in his neck and breathed in his comforting smell. I repeatedly kissed the crook of his neck, making him growl in warning.
"Riley..." He warned, his breath coming in short breaths.
"Mhmm?"
"You have to stop doing what you're doing. It's driving my wolf crazy. I don't know if I'll be able to control him when he takes over." He panted.
I froze. "You mean finish the mating process?"
"He'd mark you then mate to you."
"Okay, five minutes are up. Time to go to practice." I got off the bed before Ashton could catch me again.
•••
Sam had been released from the hospital yesterday. Edward was also being very protective of her, holding her hand as they walked. He was always glued to her side.
I'm right now walking with Lucy to the kitchen. I had previously went to visit Justin, who was very excited about being released within a week. I'd found Lucy sitting beside him, talking. We talked for a few minutes before we had to get ready for training.
Lucy had just opened the door when an egg whizzed past us. She scrambled back and his behind the door frame. We exchanged surprise looks and peeked into the kitchen.
What I saw surprised me. All five of the Slade children were having a massive food fight in the middle of the kitchen.
Jake and Austin were chasing each other around the island, throwing clouds of flour around. Ashton was wrestling Brandon on the slick ground. Jessica stood a few feet away cackling and flinging eggs at whoever got close to her.
"Wow." Lucy breathed out. "This is such a mess."
"You can say that again." Sophie said appearing beside us.
We jumped. "When did you get here?"
"I was here for a while." She shrugged like she said it everyday.
"Won't they get in trouble?" I asked.
"This is their ritual," Sophie said. "They do it at least once a month. Only the Slade children do it. They will continue throwing food until Hayley comes to scream at them."
We watched as Jake and Austin dog piled Jessica. They pinned her arms to her sides so she couldn't do anything. She shrieked and focused her eyes on a jug of milk. It began levitating. It wobbled in the air before it got steady.
Jessica made the jug float over Jake, who was at the top laughing evilly. She blinked and the jug tipped over.
Jake yelled in surprise and scrambled away. He shook his head rapidly, milk droplets flying everywhere. "No magic, Jessica!"
"Well, your fat butt was on me."
Austin scoffed. "I'm not that fat."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."
Sophie chuckled. "They have rules. Jessica can't use magic. Only when Hayley tells them to clean up, Jessica resets everything so all the food would be placed where it once was, untouched. The boys don't like it when she uses her powers for food fights. If she used too much, she wouldn't clean everything up and she would be very weak. Her powers increase everyday and she learns something new every time."
Our head snapped back to the siblings and saw Ashton dumping a bag of flour on Jessica. Brandon then took a stick of butter and stuck it onto Jake's head. Austin was trying to get off the slippery ground, but he always fell when he stood up straight.
"Here comes Momma Slade." I said pointing to Hayley who was storming her way to the kitchen. You could see steam pouring out of her ears.
She sent us a quick apologetic look before making her way into the kitchen. "What's happening?" She shrieked.
The Slades froze.
"Food fight?" Jessica said meekly.
"Why now?" Hayley asked, stressing out.
"It's ritual, Mom." Jake said slinging an arm over his twin, who slipped again and they both crashed to the ground.
Hayley rubbed her forehead and mumbled, "Why do my children have to be religious?"
I laughed softly.
"I better go help her." Sophie patted our backs and went to stand beside Hayley.
"Go clean up!" She commanded. "Jessica, no using magic to clean. The boys have to clean up themselves and the kitchen. You and Austin go to the mall and get more food."
"What?" Brandon pouted like a child. "But Jessica always uses magic. Can't she do it?"
"No." Sophie crossed her arms, "You boys have to grow up and not depend on your little sister. She maybe younger, but she is definitely much more responsible. Anyways, look at her! She's all tired and is about to fall over any moment."
Sophie pointed to Jessica who was in her feet. Jessica pointed to herself, "Me? Tired? Never! I can clean all of this in a jiffy!"
She closed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows. Some cups and broken plates began reforming. She bit her lip hard and concentrated. Eggs and flour began gathering up and going back to their original form. She then lifted her hands and beads of sweat started to cover her forehead. Forks and spoons began flying, brooms and mops cleaning the floor.
Then she dropped her hands and sighed defeatedly. She leaned backwards and lost her footing. Luckily, Ashton was behind her and caught her easily.
"Jessica?" He asked brushing the hair away from her face. She had passed out.
"Jessica!" Hayley approached her daughter, alarmed. "Jessica, baby, are you okay?"
"Mom, she's out." Brandon said.
Lucy went in and I followed. Lucy took Jessica's wrist, checking for a pulse.
"She's fine." Lucy said, making the everyone sigh in relief.
"She must've used too much energy." Sophie tutted. "Told you so."
"She needs to rest," Lucy said after doing a few more tests.
"You're a doctor?" Jake asked in surprise.
"Basic knowledge." Lucy shrugged. "CPR, getting a bullet out of someone's body, getting the heart to work, etc., etc.."
"Doesn't seem so basic to me." Brandon muttered.
"I might've read a couple more medical books when I was bored." Lucy said, ashamed.
I gaped at her. "You said it was boring!"
She winced. "Sorry, it got really interesting. I was hooked on it."
"I am so not talking to you about this right now." I faced away from her.
•••
Once Brandon, Sophie, and Hayley took Jessica to the pack doctor for further inspection, the boys began clean up.
Hayley insisted that only the boys do the clean up and I should go out to get something to eat. I did. I went to Subway and got a sandwich with Lucy.
Just as we were about to open the front door, it swung open. Dennis had his keys in one and the other had his wallet.
"You went to get food without me?" He said in disbelief.
"We got an extra sandwich that's not for you." Lucy said. "Get your own sandwich."
Dennis frowned playfully. "My girlfriend is so caring."
Lucy rolled her eyes and held out her sandwich. "Fine, take a bite."
Dennis grinned widely. He took a large bite out of it and I mean a really large bite. Lucy smacked his head. "Too much! You bit too much!"
"Love you too." Dennis planted a kiss on her cheek, smearing it with sauce.
Lucy scrunched her nose up, "Ew!"
Dennis turned on his heel and ran to his car before Lucy could catch up to him.
"Why do boys have such big mouths?" She asked me quietly.
"So that it fits their big heads." I said.
She laughed loudly. "That is true."
Then we saw Sam and Edward sitting in the living room.
"Hey, guys." Sam greeted in her soft voice.
"Hey, girl." Lucy waved.
"We were looking for you to go get breakfast." Sam said sounding disappointed. "But looks like you already got it."
I set the extra sandwich on her lap. "We went to get one for you."
"Oh. Thanks." She smiled gratefully.
She unwrapped the sandwich as we sat down. She bit into it hungrily. She offered some to Edward who also took a large bite. Sam didn't seem to mind but I saw a small glare thrown at him.
Then Ashton came in the room shirtless and his wet hair was flopped messily onto his head, telling me that he'd just come out of the shower. "Ooh! Food." He went to me and made a move to take a bite of my sandwich. I maneuvered it away from him, making him whine.
"Why aren't you cleaning the kitchen?" I asked skeptically.
"Brandon came back and my mother decided to punish him because he is the soon-to-be-alpha and he was being 'irresponsible'. So the twins and I get to go whilst he cleans the rest by himself."
He was still leaning over me, much too close for my comfort. I put a hand on his chest and quickly pushed him away. "Space bubble." I told him.
He scoffed. "We don't need space bubbles. We're mates. We can be as close to each other as possible." With that, he picked me up and sat on the couch, bringing me with him.
I tried getting up but his arms would tighten when I move. Knowing I won't win, I rested my head on his chest. I first made myself comfortable by shifting around on his lap, trying to find a comfortable spot.
"Riley," Ashton's pained voice startled me.
"Yes?"
"You have to stop moving." He got out, his breathing becoming ragged.
"W-why?" I asked confused.
"Riley," Lucy's highly amused voice said. "You're giving the poor boy a hard time controlling 'Little Ashton'."
"What are you.... Ooh," I blushed. "Sorry. Are you okay?"
Ashton forced on a pained smile. "Yes, I'm fine. A little excited, but fine."
"Sorry," I mumbled again. "Do you want a bite of my sandwich?"
"Feed me." He opened his mouth and waited for me.
I gingerly stuffed the sandwich into his mouth. "Mmm," he moaned at the taste.
"Don't get too dirty with the sandwich, now." Lucy said. "Your girlfriend is on your lap."
Edward let out a bark of laughter and Sam tried suppressing her giggles. Ashton stuck his tongue out at her childishly.
I resumed feeding Ashton until Dennis came into the room. "I got Starbucks!" He exclaimed. "One for each couple."
He distributed the drinks to the five of us. He gave one to Ashton and I, one to Sam and Edward, and one for him and Lucy.
"Don't drink everything! What's with white girls and Starbucks anyway?" Dennis complained. Lucy cackled and slurped another gulp of iced coffee.
"Aren't we supposed to I out to train?" I asked.
"I think we can skip this one time." Ashton said.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
But not long after, Spencer, Jaimie, Ben, and Cole came into the room. Ashton's eyes landed on Ben and he glared at him.
"What are you doing?" Spencer seethed. "What is my sister doing on your lap? Please tell me she's not giving you a lap dance."
"I'm not." I deadpanned.
"You are supposed to be outside training." Ben said, crossing his arms.
"Do we have to?" Dennis whined. He was cuddled into Lucy's side. Her hand played with his shaggy blond head and his head rested on her lap. "I was just about to sleep."
"No get up. Time to get muscle." Ben said pointing at all if us. "Well, maybe Sam and Edward are the only exception." Edward smiled smugly as we groaned.
Lucy pointed to Edward. "Go clean up the shack with the silver. Leave your girlfriend here to continue her studies on medical stuff."
Now Edward groaned. "What? Why?"
"Because you have to do work as well." Lucy smiled happily. "Have fun!"
~
Hey there my lovely, good-looking readers! As you should have seen on my message board, I'm helping my friend edit her story, Undoubtedly.
I know, I know. Shout outs are horribly annoying- I have a lot of experience because of Instagram- but isn't Wattpad for people to discover more books?
I promise that this would be one of the few shout outs I would ever do.
A special thanks to those who'd already started reading. :) She told me that overnight, she had gained forty more readers! I'd like to think that you guys did that. ;D
So her username is choppedleaf and this chapter is dedicated to her.
QOTD: Were you one of the forty who'd checked Undoubtedly it out?
Vote
Comment
B00kster :)