Hopelessly Falling [book 2]

Epilogue

M A N Y   Y E A R S   L A T E R
• • •

Ashton's POV ***

"Fucking shit! I'm going to gouge my eyes out," I groaned after slamming the door shut behind me and leaving the other two in the room.

"Please don't, I find them rather pretty," Crystal called over to me from the other room. I just kept my face scrunched in absolute disgust, an eternal cringe shrieking up my spine.

"Well maybe if you learned how to fucking knock-" Layla came bursting out of the room a few minutes later, following me down the stairs with Eli behind her- who's face was bright red.

"Ew ew ew ew EW." I kept walking away from them and sat down on the couch next to Crystal, who chuckled at me. I shot her a glare.

"You see these? These are knuckles," Layla rounded the counter and pointed at her hand, I glared at her as well. "I don't know if you knew this, but they're not just for punching people! They're actually also for doing things such as knocking when we're about to enter a room!"

"I thought you weren't home!" I yelled, and she crossed her arms. I finally shifted my glare to Eli when he came in the room, but he just awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, and backed out of the room again.

"Yeah, well, I am home. So," she went back at me, and Crystal holding back her laughter next to me only made me more irritated at my sister. "We've been over this- it is your fault for having such a hot best friend, and the fact that he lives with your equally-hot little sister means that certain things are inevitable-"

"Ughhh just shut up," I covered my ears and leaned my elbows down on my knees. "Jesus- can you two not just wait till you're alone in the house? That's all I've ever asked."

"We weren't doing it doing it, Eli was just-"

"Yes, I saw what Eli was doing to you, thank you very much for the reminder," I cut her off.

"What the hell did you even want from my room, anyway?" She asked, but I gave her a pointed look and then glanced over at Crystal- who thankfully had been looking down at her phone. When I brought my gaze back up at Layla, her eyes flashed with realization and she smiled wildly. Once again, I gave her a sharp look, and she forced her smile back down.

"Okay okay, I'll put the... charger under your pillow right now," she spoke in code to me, and I rolled my eyes at her as she sprinted back up the stairs to her room.

"What's up with you?" I asked Crystal, aware that she had been uncharacteristically quiet today. She paused for a moment in thought, but then spoke.

"This is probably going to sound really weird, but I'm experiencing some serious baby fever, man," she admitted, putting her phone down and sitting up to face me. Even all these years later, I couldn't help but glance over all her beautiful features as if it was one of the first times I was doing so.

"Understandable.. having a little us in the world would be cute as fuck," I replied, reaching over and rubbing her thigh. She smiled a little.

"We've talked about it a little from time to time, but I've kind of been thinking a lot about it lately, actually," she fiddled with her fingers, and I thought it was kind of weird that she was acting so fidgety and nervous talking to me about this. There was never anything we were uncomfortable taking to each other about- and I mean anything. A part of me wondered why.

"Well, to be honest," I took a breath, and she looked intently into my eyes as if trying to read what I was about to say before I said it. A smile spread on my lips, "we graduated college a few months ago.. so honestly," I paused again, secure in my statement but knowing the weight it carried, "I'm ready when you are," I smiled again, and tears nearly flooded to her eyes as she smiled back.