The next time I wake up, I find myself in my bed.
"How did I end up here?" I groan and mutter under my breath.
That's when I see a shadow across my room. Hearing my voice, the person turns around.
"Hey sleepyhead," Ashton says. "How're you feeling now?"
How am I feeling-the events of just this morning flashes in front of my inner vision.
Derek and I broke up.
I look back at Ashton. "My head is hurting a bit but other than that, I feel great," I tell him honestly.
Ashton smiles. "I see," he says. "Nothing a cup of coffee can't fix."
He gets on his feet to leave.
"Can you grab some Advil from the medicine box on the way? It's in the cabinet."
"Sure," Ashton says before leaving my room.
I grab my phone from the nightstand. Ashton must have put it there. I almost catch a seizure when I look at the time. It's quarter to one now.
Geez! Did I sleep all morning? I shake my head and glance at the battery percentage. It only has 33% left. I slap myself mentally for forgetting to plug it in last night and plug it to the charger immediately. The door opens, revealing Grisbee on the other side.
"Hey girl, what's up?" I coo as she jumps on my lap.
I run a hand through her soft furs. The cat purrs and rubs her furry cheek against my stomach. "Were you worried for me girl?"
The cat replies with a nonchalant meow as she enjoys me petting her. I sigh. Why do I even try?
Ashton returns with his promised coffee and Advil, with a bowl of soup.
"Eat," he says. "You'll feel better."
I thank him and take the bowl from him. He sets the coffee, the bottle of Advil, and a bottle of water on the nightstand.
"How did you get us in?" I ask him after a short while.
"The back door," he informs me.
My mouth turns to an 'O'. We should really start locking that door.
"Do you wanna go back to school?" Ashton asks once I finish my soup.
My mind immediately starts to search for an excuse. There's no way I'm going back there today. Or anytime, if that's possible.
But my thoughts get cut short when Ashton starts laughing.
"Just testing," he says. "I don't feel like going back either."
I sigh. What a prick.
"By the way, I had Owen come over here during the lunch break to take your car's key. He said he'll drive it home after school," Ashton says.
I smile gratefully. "Thanks."
Ashton nods. "But you really should've told me Kat wasn't in school today," he says. "I had sent Nyako and Owen all over the school to look for her. ThenMiles told them she went to a camp."
"I didn't know I had to give you my daily tab," I tease. "We didn't know about it till the last minute."
It's true. It was quite a surprise for us too. Kat's coach called last night saying they have to go to a Her coach called and said their swimmers camp in Florida. There's a competition and it's kind of a big deal. Miles's brother, Dylan, has gone there too.
"She'll be back by Thursday. It took a while to manage mom and dad, but they agreed in the end," I tell Ashton.
He nods. "And how're your parents?"
My smile brightens. I already told him about my parents' wedding anniversary celebration last weekend. "Honestly, I think they're doing okay. They called today before Kat left and sent over some pictures. It looked like they're having a lot of fun," I sigh. "This one week break from everything is doing its magic. I'm sure they'll be back to normal after the week."
"Your parents sound so in love. A bit too stubborn to admit but still in love."
I giggle. He's right.
I look at him again and see a longing look on his face. What's with him now? Is it something about his family?
As much as I recall he never mentions his mom. Could it be-
I shake my head. I always assume the worst.
"Ashton?" He looks at me.
"I'm fine," he says and gets up from the bed. "So, as we've already wasted half of our own declared holiday for you to wake up-" is he really putting the blame on me? "-do you wanna celebrate the remaining time of the day?"
I blink. "What?"
Ashton rolls his eyes and offers me a hand. "Kiara Olive White, would you like to spend the rest of your Monday hanging out with me and enjoy our self-declared holiday?"
Oh boy. If someone was keeping an eye on us from distant, they surely would've thought Ashton was asking me out.
But as there's no one watching over us, I grin and accept his hand. "I'll love to."
"So-" Ashton says as we walk down the stairs. "Where would you like to go first?"
A grin spreads across my face. "I know a perfect place to go to." I drag Ashton out with me. Grisbee meows and starts following us.
📸
New cover^^^^
And one more by -Tura- thanks sis for making this one for me. It's so lovely.
Who's ready for part 2?