Song suggestion: This is what it takes or A Little too much by Shawn
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"Mum, how are you feeling?" Ash asks gently.
"As usual. How was your day?" her voice is soft and a little tired.
He gulps and says,"Amazing." He turns his head to look at me,"Mum, this is Lee. Lee, my mom."
My lips lift up in a smile,"Hi.. Mrs-"
"It's Miss Carter." Ash says pursing his lips.
I bite the inside my cheek and look away. Miss Carter sighs,"You can simply call me Jess, Everlee."
I quickly nod and look at Ash. He still seems tense and does not make eye contact with me. I really did offend him I guess. His words from two days ago, replayed in my mind. His words about his dad.
"Ash can I see you for a second!?" Elizabeth's voice calls from a distance.
"Yeah.... I'll be there! Uh I'll be back in a minute." He hurries out the room leaving just me and his mom.
I lick my lips feeling conscious."Everlee dear, come sit." She taps her hand on the space beside her.
I swallow my nerves and step ahead to sit on the bed. I intertwine my fingers together and place my hands on my lap.
She smiles,"It seems like Ash does all the talking when you both are together."
I breathe out a chuckle,"Yeah... sorta."
"He talks about you so much. I am glad I finally got to meet you." Her eyes shine a little making the previous dullness go away.
I blush a little and look away. She gives a slight laugh and exclaimes,"I hope you don't get irritated by his talking."
I shake my head at her,"No never. Sometimes he talks too much but it doesn't bother me. I like his talking."
She sighs and says,"I just wish it stays that way. I love seeing him so happy all the time, after- after what he is been through. Please even if he makes a mistake, don't stop being his friend. He deserves this feeling. Previously he used to hide his problems but now......now it seems like he forgets about them for a while to enjoy what is actually important in his life. So please, I request you."
Her eyes shine again but now it is because of the water swirling inside them. I place my hand on hers and smile,"I will never leave his side. I'll stay there as long as he wants me to. I promise."
"She still isn't used to- wait what did I miss?" I look behind me and see Ash at the doorway.
I take my hand back and place it in my lap again. He slowly walks inside the room and stands beside me.
"The part where I told Everlee about you refusing to eat anything without feeding your dolls." Her lips curl up in a playful smirk.
I chuckle and Ash's eyes widen,"Mum you are not supposed to tell that to my friends! Lee, we should go to our project before I get more embarrased."
I laugh loudly but get up anyway. I face Jess and say,"It was nice meeting you Jess."
She grins and says,"You too."
We both exit her room and go up to his room. He opens the door and gestures for me to walk inside. As soon as I step inside a weird but pleasant smell hits my nose. His room has a window seat which is probably the best part of the room.
My feet takes me to the seat and I have the strong urge to sit there. It is still raining outside and the soft sounds of the raindrops hitting the window added to the urge.
"Go on, sit." I look back at Ash when he speaks. He picks up some books and nods his head towards the seat.
I smile and sit down on the mattress with one leg folded under the other. It dips down a little by my weight. I pick up the pillow beside me and place it on my lap. I lean back and rest my back against the wall. Ash comes and sits in front of me in the same position.
We start working on the project. We discuss the final script and note down the changes required. But he seems a little off and distracted. I know there is something bothering him. I didn't wanna pry in his life but I can't help the voice in my head who is forcing me to just ask him.
I finally give into the urge,"Ash, is everything okay?"
Ash looks up at me with his eyebrows raised. He stares at me for a moment and then sighs looking away,"I wish Lee."
I gulp and question,"What's the matter?"
He gazes out the window and licks his lips,"You must be wondering what happened to my mom. She-she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome two years ago. At first it was just muscle pains, but then it kept getting worse and we found out about it. A few months into the treatment, her lower body was paralysied."
He stops talking and swallows, lowering his eyes from the window. It must be really difficult to talk about this, I shouldn't let him keep telling me this.
Before I could tell him to stop, he continues,"We-we used up her savings and then ...... my savings. But this isn't something which can be cured easily Lee. The syndrome was under control but the paralysis, that wasn't. Every penny we had was over. But I was not gonna let her know that, she was already dealing with so much. She still thinks I'm spending the fund which her father left for her."
He finally looks at me and says,"But she had no idea that my bastard of a father had already taken up the fund when they got divorced. We had no insurance beacuse we never needed it. And I was not getting a job which would pay me that much. A year ago I was so helpless that I had to ask him for help."
He grits his teeth and his hands curl up im a fist. My eyes well up at the sight. I had never seen Ash this broken in these two months I've known him.
He shakes his and continues,"For a while he helped me with the expenses. The house expenses were fulfilled with mum's pension. It was going okay, for once I thought my dad was doing something for us. But boy was I wrong?" he chuckles humourlessly,"After some months he refused to pay me. He said he can't waste more money on his ex wife. He wanted me to earn the money. So he sent me to the god forsaken place to fucking race."
He holds his head in his hands and mutters,"My life is such a mess. But I can't give up on mum. She is everything to me."
His voice cracks at the end and he sniffles slightly. A tear falls from my own eye and I swipe it away.
Keep it together Lee.
I have to be the one to comfort him. My hands wound around his hunched form and I hug him tightly. Without any due his arms come around my back and he rests his forehead on my shoulder, pressing his face on it. His sniffles come out more urgently, I know he is trying to control himself. I run my fingers through his hair, trying to soothe the pain.
We stay in that position for a while. The only voice heard is of our light breathing. Eventually, we pull away and look at each other.
"Thank you so much. I haven't talked about this for a long time." he whispers.
"Thank you, for trusting me with this." I whisper back and his lips form a smile.
I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the mere grateful look on Asher's face or the soft gleam in his eyes or the promising voice of his. The next words just flew out of my mouth,"I don't have parents."
He frowns and opens his mouth but I cut him off,"I am sorry I didn't mean to, it just.... it felt like you-you deserve to know about me too."
His frown deepens,"Lee you aren't obliged to tell me anything."
I shake my head and utter,"I wanted too."
He sighs and smiles softly,"It feels good to know that you want to open up to me." He pauses for a second and says,"Who is your legal guardian? If you don't mind me asking."
I lick my lower lip and say,"It's Lina and ...... she-she isn't my real sister but seriously she is way more than that to me."
His lips part in surprise and he exclaims,"What happened with your par-."
"Can we not talk about that right now? Please?" My voice is shaky when I say that.
He nods and says,"Yeah sure. Whenever you're ready to tell me, I'm ready to hear okay?"
My lips stretch into a smile and I nod my head. His hand raises and hold my head. He leans in and kisses my forehead. It is a sign of comfort, a sign of understanding, a sign of affection and I am so thankful for that.
He leans back and express enthusiasticly,"Now, let's finish our project it's due next week."
My hand shot forward and place it on his hand,"Ash, you know you'll get through this shit."
He smiles softly and places his hand on mine,"Yeah I will." He then chuckles and continues,"You are so cute when you cuss."
I hit him on his shoulder,"Shut up."
He laughs and I couldn't stop the smile on my face. We continue with the project, joking and laughing in between. Soon one hour passes and it is time for me to go. Overall though this is one of the best evenings of my life, out of the few I had.
Ash insists to drop me at my house. At first I refuse but then I had to agree or else it would've looked suspicious. During the ride, he asked the directions to my house. I told him that there is some construction going on near my house, so he has to drop me a little before. He stops the car when we reach the point.
"Thank you Ash. I had a great time." I lean in to hug him.
He hugs me back and whispers,"Text me when you get there."
I nod against his shoulder and reluctantly pull back. I sigh and get out the car. I wave at him and start walking. I reach the intersection and look back, Asher's car is still there. I shake my head and smile. With the smile still there I turn the corner and the voice of the car driving away fills my ears.
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Okay first of all sorry for the late update. I have been super busy and didn't get the time to write. So sorry!
Now, tell me how did you find this conversation between Ash and Lee or should I call them Ashlee? Lol I don't know.
There is so much more to their lives, so stay tuned ;)
If you liked the chapter please vote!!
- Love ❤