"Scarlett, it's time to wake up."
I blink, nestling my head against Ashton's chest. "Just five more minutes."
I'm expecting silence but instead he laughs, shaking me in the process. "You said that twenty minutes ago."
"Time passes so quickly." I murmur, trying to steal his warmth. No matter how many blankets I have the attic will never not be cold in January.
"It does, if we wait any longer we'll be running late." He reminds me, kissing my temple.
Immediately, I let go of him. I forgot what today was, Ashton's going to college. Without protesting I get up and walk to my bathroom, trying to appear upbeat. I've spent seven months dreading this day and I'm still not prepared.
Ashton and I go about our morning, a routine we've easily fallen into. He typically spends one night a week at our house, sometimes more, but that's not happening anymore.
"Hey." He whispers, hugging me as I grab my shoes. I stay silent, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Everything's going to be alright."
Offering my best smile, I kiss his cheek, "I know that."
I walk downstairs before he can say anything else, grabbing my bag on the way out. My house is packed with people, any other morning I'd be thrilled but today I just offer a sad smile.
"You look a lot better than I imagined." Avery offers, nudging me with her elbow.
Looking down at my ripped jeans and Alabama sweatshirt, I scoff, I'm a mess. "How are things at your place?"
She makes a face, taking sudden interest in her nails. "The same as always."
Ever since our conversation with Karen, Avery's had a lot more freedom but that ruined whatever relationship she had with her mom. If it wasn't for the fact the trust fund became hers at 18 rather than 21 I'm sure she'd be cut out of the family fortune.
"You can stay here whenever you want." I remind her, wishing she would take me up on the offer more frequently.
Avery waves me off, "Now that lover boy is leaving, I might just take you up on that."
As if on cue Ashton walks down the stairs, a sad look on his face as he takes in the crowd. Avery walks up and gives him a hug, "I'd love to stay and chat, Ash, but I've got a flight to catch."
I forgot, Avery's going to California for a shoot before school starts back up.
He laughs, hugging her tight. "I'll miss you, Avs."
She pulls away, pecking his cheek before heading to the door. James and Stella walk up, the latter throwing her arms around his neck. "Have a great time, but don't forget the message I sent you."
The flash of fear across his face is enough for me to slap her back, "I thought we were over the threatening phase."
She shrugs, "Just needed to make sure it was fresh on his mind."
James rolls his eyes, taking his turn to hug Ashton. "I'll be there with you in a couple months, dude."
"I'm counting down the days." Ashton assures him.
Oh, the stories I'm sure to hear once those two are reunited. Gabe runs up and throws his arms around Ashton, "I plan on visiting as soon as you scope out all the good parties."
I roll my eyes, something tells me Gabe will be visiting him before I do.
"Please behave while I'm gone." Ashton begs him, genuine worry in his voice.
"Don't worry." Gabe assures him. "I won't do anything to drastic and I'll watch out for your girl, free of charge."
Okay, does he not care that I'm standing right here. Also, he seems to be forgetting that I'm the one who usually gets him out of trouble. Last week alone I saved him for getting beat up by some girls angry boyfriend.
I should've let him get beat to a pulp.
It's hard to believe even after graduation I'll be stuck with him for the next four years, Vanderbilt isn't ready for the both of us. Well, three of us if you included Avery.
Zev drags him off of Ashton, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. I'll miss you man."
"I'll miss you too, please know you're in charge of ensuring nothing bad happens." Ashton jokes before they walk away.
Conner and Sam walk up, neither one going to hug him. "Bye, Ashton, we'll miss you."
"Thanks for being like an older brother to us." Conner adds.
They turn to go and Ashton grabs their arms, "What, no hug?"
Before they can say anything he gives them an overly dramatic hug. I laugh at the shocked looks on their faces. They're both going through their too macho phase, they're not even my kids and it's annoying.
Ella steps forward and Ashton hugs her, the two of them surprisingly have become pretty close. I guess they're the two official members of the stuck dating the Rhodes kids club. "Take care."
"You too, Els, try to keep Sage from getting into too much trouble." He tells her.
After she walks into the other room my siblings go to hug him, "Whoa, what do you guys think you're doing?"
"Saying goodbye." The twins answer together, hurt flashing across their face.
"No, I think we have a three hour drive before we get to that." Ashton tells them.
"You want us to come with you?" Silver asks in disbelief.
"I thought only Sage and Scarlett were going." Sterling finishes.
Sage shakes his car keys from behind them, "Where's the fun in that?"
He goes to start the car while the others run to go get their shoes, leaving just Ashton and I alone in the kitchen.
"What made you change your mind?" I ask him.
He shrugs, pulling me into a hug. "They're family, I can't say goodbye to them just yet."
I don't say anything, knowing he needs a moment to collect his thoughts. All those goodbyes at rapid fire definitely took a toll on him. My mind tries to memorize how it feels to be pressed against his chest but all too soon we break apart.
"We should get going." He says, heading for the door.
I follow, silently wishing I could stop time.
*****
Ashton and I don't say much on the drive, one of his hands on the wheel the other over my shoulder. Another thing we've grown accustomed to doing that after today won't be normal.
His parents and Ronnie are in front of us and my family follows behind, a steady line on the road towards our new reality.
Three hours feel like three seconds as his truck comes to a stop, unbuckling our seatbelts I go to get out but he stops me. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Cupping his face, I smile, "Absolutely."
He looks like he wants to challenge me but Sage knocks on the glass, an eager grin on his face. We get out, grabbing bags from the back before walking inside the dorms.
Here goes nothing.
*****
Unpacking a dorm room is difficult. Having nine people unpacking things in one dorm is hell.
Halfway through I decide to take the little girls out for a snack, their energy not needed in a place where patience are running thin. They laugh and walk ahead of me, not caring if they run into any innocent college kids in their path of destruction.
We're halfway back to the dorm when a voice calls out from behind us, "Scarlett?"
Grabbing a hold of the girls hands I turn around, surprised to find a girl running towards me. "Nina?"
She laughs, throwing her arms around me. "Oh my God, I knew you were coming today but I didn't think this would be where I found you."
I smile, we've kept in touch these last few months. She insists that football girlfriends have to stick together and I couldn't agree more. Someone clears their throat and she looks to find Saffron looking at us expectantly, Ronnie mirroring her.
"How rude of me." I tease, "This is Saffron, my sister, and Ronnie, Ashton's sister."
They both offer a brief hello before focusing on the two guys behind her.
"You're big." Ronnie tells Easton, poking his shin.
He laughs, picking her up. "Hello, Scarlett, how're you holding up?"
It takes me a moment to understand what he's talking about, "Pretty good, goodbye hasn't happened yet."
He offers me a sad smile as Clay snorts. Saffron evaluates him before punching his knee cap. "You're rude and old but I want to be carried too."
Clays jaw drops to the ground but a warning look from Nina, who's dying of laughter, sends him picking my sister up. "I'm not old, you little terror, I'm 20."
She rolls her eyes, "Well, I'm eight so that makes you old."
Easton joins Nina in laughing, not caring that Ronnie crawls onto his shoulders. Clay mutters under his breath as Saffron tries to do the same, yanking at his hair in the process.
They join us on our walk back to the dorm, chatting about their upcoming classes. College terrifies me but listening to them makes me hopeful, it can't all be terrible.
They leave us at the door, not wanting to intrude in our limited time left with Ashton. The girls run and I follow after them, surprised to find the door shut and almost everyone standing outside besides Sage.
"What's going on?" I ask, slightly worried.
Liz dries her eyes, she hasn't been able to stop crying since we got here. I'm sure she cried the entire car ride too. "Goodbyes have started."
"Oh." I whisper, sliding onto the floor.
I thought we would have more time. For sure we had a few hours left but it's already three. I stay in my spot on the floor as everyone else goes in and out of the room, my nerves building by the second.
Eventually Mark and Liz walk out of the room, both wiping their faces. "Scarlett, it's your turn."
I take my time getting to my feet, not wanting to go inside the room because that means goodbye and goodbye means no more Ashton.
Sage shoves me into the room before closing the door, knowing me too well. I take a moment to look at his half of the room, somewhat annoyed his roommate hasn't shown up yet. A few pictures of him and his family, a couple of him with my siblings or with our friends but I'm blown away by the collage he has.
Pictures of us placed within a frame, so many moments captured. "It's beautiful."
Ashton walks up, looking at the piece with me. "I thought so, after all it consists of my favorite person."
Shaking my head I look away, "Ashton, don't go saying things like that."
"Why? It's the truth." He protests, trying to pull my face towards him.
"Because, I'm trying to be tough and you saying things like that only makes me sad." I admit, hating that my voice cracks.
Arms wrap around me, "Stop, it's too late to detach yourself from me now."
I'm not trying to detach myself, I'm just trying to make this easier on both of us. It won't do me any good to cry like a baby and leave with some delusion that everything's going to be okay.
"This changes nothing." He says confidently.
"This changes everything." I protest, getting even more upset that he's so calm.
"Why are you so insistent that everything's going to fall apart now?" He demands, pulling away from me.
There's anger in his eyes and it makes me even more upset, he doesn't get to be mad at me. "Because there's three hours between us. You're now in college and I'm in high school. You have your freedom and I have four living, breathing responsibilities."
"So what!" He yells, pulling at his hair. "There's spring break, prom, and graduation. Not to mention weekends and we both can drive."
I flinch by his sudden change, avoiding his gaze.
"None of that has mattered in the past so why are you so insistent that I'll suddenly change my mind. Have you learned nothing about me from the last year?" He demands.
"I know you, Ashton." I whisper.
I know him like the back of my hand. I know that by tomorrow he'll have at least ten new friends and even more acquaintances. He'll still insist on having all of his papers proof read by me just because he trusts my judgement more than his own. The chick-fil-a I passed will probably become his favorite place to eat. And he will never over sleep for morning workouts.
"Then why are you so sure that I'm going to leave?" He asks softly, placing a finger underneath my chin.
"Because I'm scared." I admit, finally looking up at him.
He wipes away the tears I've finally stopped fighting. "So am I but I'm never going to give up on us."
Nodding, I hug him, not arguing as he lays us down on the bed. He rests his forehead against mine and we watch each other, not bothering to wipe our tears away.
"I'm still Ashton and you're still Scarlett. I love you with my whole heart and for some reason you still insist on loving me more." He tells me, a serious look on his face.
It takes me a moment but I laugh, "I don't know why you keep fighting me on that, I obviously love you more."
A smile breaks out on his face as he kisses me. "Hell yeah baby, Ashlett all the way."
I scrunch my brows, "I'm sorry, what?"
He blushes, "Ashlett. Ashton and Scarlett combined, it's a thing."
I'm not so sure that's a real thing but I'm not complaining. Reaching up I trace his face, not wanting to miss a second of remembering him. He doesn't move watching me as I watch him. My mind wanders back to the countless times we laid in my room doing the exact same thing without a care in the world. If only we could go back.
"I'm sorry." I say, ashamed that I spent the last few hours trying to distance myself from him. What a waste of time.
"It's not your fault, it's just who you are." He says, kissing my forehead.
I'm about to make a smartass comment when he reaches behind my neck, unclasping the necklace he gave me for Christmas last year. "What are you-"
"Do you ever stop asking questions?" He asks me, holding the chain between our faces.
Rolling my eyes I wait for whatever he's about to do, my neck feeling weird without the chain. I've only taken that necklace off once in the last year and that was one too many. He slides the ring of, evaluating the emerald gem before looking at me.
"This is a promise." He declares, holding the ring in the air. "A promise that no matter the distance or whatever silly fear you have I will still love you."
I stare at him at a complete loss for words, not knowing what to say. He slides the ring on my finger and I finally find my voice. "Are you proposing to me, Mr. McClain?" I tease, wiggling my hand.
He smiles smugly, "One day, I definitely plan on doing something more spectacular than a dirty dorm room for that."
I roll my eyes, pretending not to let his words affect me. One day.
Rolling off the bed I go to the door, snagging the folder from Sage's waiting hands. It's Ashton's turn to look confused as I hand it to him.
He flips through the pages, stopping to take each page in. "Why are you giving me this?"
I shrug, sitting down next to him. "I started it one day and it wasn't until New Years that I realized they all consisted of you so I just kept it that way. You're kinda my favorite person to draw."
I watch as he takes in the different drawings, a look of awe stuck on his face. I've never let him look at my sketch book before and now I'm giving it to him.
"Now every time you miss me you can just flip through this, I added little notes throughout to go with some of my favorite memories." I add, slightly worried that he hasn't said anything.
"T... thank you, I love it." He says, still taking it all in.
"Good, I know it's not anything fancy but it's all I could think of." I offer sheepishly.
Ashton kisses me, "It's perfect."
We sit there for a while but a knock sends Ashton falling to the ground. I'm about to yell at Sage to leave us alone when a new voice calls through the door. "Look, I haven't even moved in yet, can you save the sex till after I've put my bag down."
I turn bright red as Ashton glares at the door, "Something tells me I'm not going to like that guy."
Instead of going to the door he hugs me again, resting his head in the crock of my neck. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"I'm going to miss you more." I counter, giggling as he kisses my collarbone.
Finally Ashton pulls away, reaching up to take his sweatshirt off and I do the same, not protesting as he hugs me again. Another knock on the door has me throwing his sweatshirt over my head.
"I don't think I'm going to like this guy either." I mutter.
Ashton throws the door open, revealing a guy standing on the other side, an arrogant smile on his face. "Finally! I thought you'd never answer the door."
I take him in, a typical football player with good looks. Blond hair and blue eyes make him look like the male version of Avery.
"Who the hell are you?" Ashton deadpans.
He smiles, "The name's Christian." He turns to me, extending his hand. "And you are?"
"Scarlett." I say, taking his hand. I'm slightly disgusted when instead of shaking my hand he kisses it.
"What a beautiful name for a beautiful lady." He winks before focusing back on Ashton. "You must be my roomie, I can come back if you two aren't done..."
Ashton cracks his knuckles and I head for the door, "Actually, I was just leaving. Hopefully you aren't as disgusting the next time I see you."
He laughs but I'm already opening the door, Ashton grabs my hand and pulls me back to his chest. I kiss him, not caring if we now have an audience. "I love you."
"I love you more." He says, kissing me again.
I laugh as he keeps me in place, flipping off his roommate who's gaging in the corner. Finally I walk back into the hallway, letting go of Ashton's hand. "I'll call you tonight."
He nods, watching as I walk away.
I manage to keep my composure until I get outside, holding his sweatshirt to my nose so I can smell mint as tears fall onto the fabric. Sage offers me a smile as I open the car door, taking note of the ring now on my finger.
"You okay, sis?" He eventually asks as we begin to drive away.
Before I can say anything my phone rings, I hit answer. "Hello?"
"I just wanted to hear your voice." Ashton says, slightly sniffling.
An odd mixture between a sob and a laugh escapes my mouth as we pass by the sign to get back on the interstate. "You say that now, I'm sure you'll be sick of it by the end of the month."
"Sweetheart, you don't know what you're talking about." I can hear the smirk in his voice.
"Charming, don't get too ahead of yourself." I tease.
The sound of muffled voices and a few swear words cross through the phone before he talks again. "I have to go, my new roomie wants to go get food."
"Be nice to him, you're kinda stuck together." I remind him, "I'll talk to you later, love you."
"Love you more." He counters before hanging up.
Looking back at Sage, I smile, "I think I'm going to be just fine."
Theres a brief silence before Silver clears his throat. "So are you engaged or what?"
I study the ring, "No, I'm not."
"Thank God, I don't think I can handle any more wedding talk. Between Manny and Uncle John I'm over it and their weddings haven't even happened yet." Sterling says, rubbing his head.
Honestly, neither can I but that doesn't mean I can't be dream. We have a long way to go before we're even remotely ready for something like that.
Not yet at least.
*****
DON'T GO ANYWHERE YET!!!
Bonus chapter 1 and 2 take place before this chapter so continue scrolling to read them!!
Also I hope you enjoyed this scene, it might be one of my favorites ever.
XO-Mo