Always a Friend

Chapter 28

The next morning, Ashton was already gone when I opened the front door to leave for school, which was unlike him. This early, especially because I was heading to get coffee at Sweet Escape before school. I closed the door and walked down the steps to my car, still staring at where Ashton's car should be parked. I unlocked my car, yawning from the lack of sleep last night, the reason for the coffee this morning. I slid down in my seat, propped my phone up on the stand, swiped it on, and clicked the video icon under Chloe's face. 

"Are you in your car already?" Chloe squinted, leaning closer to her screen. 

"Yeah." I looked around me. "Do you want some coffee from Sweet Escape?" 

"I'll meet you there. Give me fifteen minutes to finish getting ready. I was going to head there anyway. See you soon. Love!" She clicked end. I was kind of hoping she'd talk to me on my drive there so I wouldn't be stuck alone with my thoughts of last night. I started the car, backed out of my driveway, and turned up the music to drown out my thoughts. 

                                                                                         *****

Chloe pulled up next to me twenty minutes later. She was dancing in her seat, with the radio blaring, and I could hear the song's beat with my windows up. She looked over, still dancing away; I motioned to my smartwatch. She nodded and turned off her vehicle. We both got out of our cars. Chloe glanced over her car's hood, and her brows furrowed instantly. "You okay, Gem?" 

"Yeah, why?" Trying to play dumb and failing miserably. 

"Well, the bags under your eyes are screaming; look at me. You didn't get much sleep last night, did you? What's on your mind?" She opened the door for us. "Did something happen?" 

"Uh...I'm not sure. It was really weird. I'm probably reading too much into it." I waved my hand dismissively. I approached the counter, ordered my iced latte, and stepped aside so Chloe could order. "Ashton came over last night, and he was acting weird. Like I said, I'm probably overthinking things." I turned around and paid for our drinks. They had our drinks ready for us within ten minutes so we could get to school. "I'm probably reading too much into it." I glanced over at Chloe. Her narrow eyes peeked at me over the top of her iced latte. 

"What?" I unlocked my car. "You look confused." 

"That's because I'm confused as hell. I have no idea what the hell you've been babbling about for the past ten minutes. I'm not a mind reader, Gem. You've got to give me more information than what you have been. First, who are you talking about?" Chloe unlocked her car. "We've got to get going. Tell me when we get to school. Thanks for the coffee!" She slid down in her seat and started her car. I sat there for a few seconds, wondering if I really just had a ten-minute conversation with Chloe and didn't tell her anything. I shook my head in disbelief, started my car, and prayed this wasn't a preview of how my day would go. Twenty minutes later, I pulled in beside Chloe, still sitting in her car, sipping her coffee. I turned off my car, grabbed my stuff, and walked to Chloe's driver-side window. She glanced up before I could tap on her window, held up her pointer finger, and grabbed her things. 

"You can tell me what you were babbling about at Sweet Escape on our way to our lockers." She locked her car. "So, what's got you so frazzled." 

"I'm not really sure. Ashton came over last night like he wanted to talk to me about something but then ended up leaving in a hurry. It was weird." 

"Gem, it's Ashton. I wouldn't read too much into what he does. He's always doing weird things. He's a player." She took another drink of her coffee. 

I shook my head in agreement. Everything she just said was true so I couldn't argue with her. It didn't help calm my thoughts, though. Why was he acting weird? There must have been a reason. I told Chloe I'd see her later in the Library for our Free block.