Chapter 22

Chapter 20 • • • Lunch was pretty uneventful. I just sat there, looking down at my lunch, overwhelmed with the newly understood information about my feelings for Ashton. Biology was also anticlimactic. The whole time, the two of us didn't say a word to each other. The only reminder that he was next to me was the subtle sent of his cologne. When the bell rang, I took my time going to my locker. By the time that I got there, mostly everybody had already gone. The hallway that my locker was in was completely empty. When I opened my locker I gasped and backed away immediately. I covered my mouth with my hand and slowly inched back to it. Someone had gotten into my locker and destroyed my laptop. I felt a few tears trickle down my face as I pulled the demolished computer out of my locker. I slid down the side of the lockers and tried to open it. It opened slightly, but the inside was even more damaged than the outside. I wiped my face and tried with all my might not to cry by taking deep breaths. That laptop had held the only memories that I had left of my family. All of the pictures got destroyed of us together, but I had managed to scan some onto my computer before they were all demolished. My life before everything happened was entirely on this computer, and now it was all gone. It was like my life didn't even exist before it all. I had sat up against the lockers for about five more minutes, staring off into space with my mind in a tsunami of thoughts, when I felt someone sit down next to me. I knew that it was a guy. I looked up, expecting to see Eli or Kevin. It was Ashton. I quickly wiped the accidental single tear off of my cheek and looked back down at my computer. Wow... He must think that I really like technology or something. "Something tells me that you're not just crying over the loss of your laptop." He said and looked me dead in the eye. "Why would you think that?" I asked, trying to make the situation look as unsuspicious as possible. "You don't seem like the kind of girl to cry over something as materialistic as a laptop." He replied and looked down at it. Damn Ashton and his impeccable observation skills... I hesitated, but replied, "There were just some things on here that I can't get back, that's all." I shook it off. "Who did it?" He asked. "I don't know," I told him. "People are such assholes," he commented and I sighed. "Well, sitting here and sulking isn't going to do anything," he said and got up, sticking his hand out for me to take. I took it, and felt the warm tingle throughout my body as I got up. "What else is there to do?" I asked and got the rest of my stuff out of my locker. He looked like he was debating options in his head. "Well there is one thing that always makes me feel better," he said and smirked. "Tequila?" I asked jokingly as I shut my locker. "No," "Then, what??" "Ice cream... duh," he said and started to walk off, I went with him. "Well I don't have any ice cream right now, but when I do I'll let you know," I said as we stepped outside, into the fresh air. I started to walk to my car when I felt a hand around my wrist, pulling me in the opposite direction. As reflex, my hand quickly snapped out of his grasp. It wasn't because Ashton was touching me, because that part I actually kind of liked, but it was just because of my muscle reflexes. Whenever something would pull me in a direction that I hadn't intended on going, my muscles would have a spasm. Ashton looked at me confused. I really hoped that he didn't find that weird.. "Um, where are we going?" I tried to play it off. "I thought that I made it pretty clear that we were going to get ice cream," he laughed. "How are you in AP bio?" He said and continued to lead me over to his car. "I don't have any money though," I said as I got into his passenger's seat. "It's fine," he said and pulled out of the school parking lot. When we got to the ice cream place, a smile spread across my face. I had passed the place many times on my way home from school and I always wanted to go there. He noticed my expression and chuckled. "You seem excited," he said as we were pulling up into the place. "What can I say? I like ice cream." I replied as he parked. When we got into the small building, the smell of ice cream flooded over me, which deepened my smile. "This doesn't seem like a very Ashton-like place to be," I commented on the cutsie decorations. "I just get ice cream here. That doesn't mean that I like the atmosphere." We got our ice cream and Ashton paid. I tried to tell him that I would pay him back, but he wouldn't let me. We sat outside at a table. No one else was outside with us. "You okay?" He asked as we dug into our ice creams. "Yeah, i guess." I replied and smiled. "So what exactly did you lose that was on your computer?" He asked me. I looked up at him. "Just some photos," I said and looked back down at my ice cream. "That sucks," he said. "Yup." We continued to eat our ice cream. It was silent, but not awkward. I still was having a hard time grasping the idea that Ashton had cared enough to take me to ice cream. I tried not to look up at the gorgeous boy sitting across the table from me. "You said before that you were good at hiding your emotions," I said and he looked me in the eye. I quickly became captivated, gazing into the mysterious depths of his blue eyes. "And you said that a hug feels better from someone who knows what the pain feels like," I continued. He looked back down at his ice cream. "And?" He said in a 'so what?' tone. "Well, I was just wondering, you know... A-are you okay?" I asked and he looked extremely taken back. "What?" "Well, I mean you seem to put up a front that says you're okay, and everyone believes it... but I don't." I said, and he looked like he was about to say something, but instead he looked at me in the eyes like he was reading my soul. His dusk blue eyes reflected an unfamiliar, deepening emotion this time. "There's a lot going on in my life right now." He said. "I just don't want it to involve anyone else." He continued to look me in the eyes, and I gazed back. "You have to open up to someone. Other wise it's just going to eat you up inside, and no one can help because they think that your okay," I said, reflecting back to my own experiences. He paused. "I could say the say the same for you," he said and I froze. I looked back down at my empty ice cream bowl. We threw away our ice cream cups and got back into his car. I decided that I would try to figure out what was going on with him by asking him innocent questions about his life. "So do you have any siblings?" I asked him. Pain filled his eyes, but he quickly iced them over again. "I have a younger sister and brother," he said. "How old" I asked. "16 and 7," he said. "What about you?" He asked. I froze. Probably shouldn't have asked him that.. "Um," I started, not sure what to say. "I'm an only child," I lied. There was no doubt that he had picked up on my lie, but thankfully he didn't try to press it any further. We pulled up at the school parking lot and he stopped next to my car. "Thank you," I said and smiled. He slightly smiled back. "You're welcome." He said as I climbed out of his car. He drove away, leaving me by myself, absorbed in my own thoughts. I sat down in my car and looked up at the rainbow-like sky, which was getting close to sunset. I didn't understand how Ashton knew that something was going on in my life that I wasn't telling people, or why he even cared about what was making me sad. I mean, weren't bad boys supposed to like, not care about people who are completely irrelevant? Overwhelmed with thoughts, I decided to just start my car and drive home. As I was pulling into my driveway I received a text, which I figured I would open inside. When I plopped down on my bed, I took out my phone. Whoever texted me was an unknown number. Unknown- Don't think that I haven't forgotten about everything. You ruined my life. Now I will ruin yours. What the fuck??? Me- Who is this? Unknown- George. And if you say anything to anyone I will hurt them, and you. Badly. My anxiety turned up even more as I read the rest of the message. I quickly shut off my phone and curled up in a little ball in my bed. I couldn't call the police, for the distant possibility that my mom was involved in any illegal actions.. I knew it was highly unlikely, but I just couldn't risk it. I knew that I wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.