and we played

Chapter 38

ASHTON

Mya is looking at something on her phone, I'm staring at her. I took her out to Starbucks for today, since we came to the conclusion it would be good to have some other dates too except from the hookup sessions. It's been one week since the Halloween party. One week since Mya and I have been doing this. Dating.

I'm happy to be able to call her mine, but she could have been calling me hers for a longer time. I have always been hers. Will always be.

She takes her cup in the hands, and she squints her nose in a frown.

"Everything alright, sweetheart?", I ask, cupping her face in my palm and lifting her chin to look at me.

She nods, turning her phone so that I see what she was looking at. An image of us two we took in a mirror bathroom. "I wanted to post this picture", she says.

I nod, not seeing a problem in that. She stops me though with an eyebrow raised.

"If I post this, everybody will know the two of us are together. Do your parents know?" I can see her tone getting shakier as she says that.

I swallow hard, shaking my head. "They don't." But not because I'd be ashamed or scared to be with Mya. But because I'm worried of what my parents could do to her if they found out we are dating. I can do my best to protect her but you know what they say: Even the weakest can kill the strongest in their sleep.

"In that case, it's fine", she says, closing her phone. I notice it's a new one, the screen no longer broken. She also got a new case, filled with stickers. From stickers with texts like "Badass" to a bunch of tickets, one from a movie we saw, one from a Formula One race... that case screams her.

I lean over the table to reach her lips. "Post that picture."

"But, your parents...", she counters worried.

I shake my head to assure her it's fine. "I'll take care of them. You want to post that picture, you post that picture. No one can tell you what to do."

She smiles at me, taking my face in her palm and pulling me closer, kissing me.

When I smile, I mean it.

~

Family dinner. A silence fills the room. Nothing to keep me sane than the drink in my hand. I started drinking less lately. Normally, I would drink when in need for something feeling remotely close to happiness. Same applies for smoking. But having Mya beats any happiness. Who needs nicotine when one look at her smile already makes you feel high?

"Ashton", Sloane begins.

That could never be good.

"Yes, Sloane." The alcohol burns my throat, the feeling more bearable than the way she said my name.

"Is it true?!", Father explodes. "Are you seriously dating Mya Cunnan?!"

Here we go.

"Don't bother denying it", Sloane backs him up. "We have all seen the post. That's you kissing her."

"I find it rather alarming you go over my girlfriend's posts", I hiss.

Father stands up, a fist meeting the table. "So you are dating her?"

I only nod. Maddie is the only one to look at me and smile proud.

"This has to stop", Father continues. "I can't have you associated with that girl."

I raise an eyebrow at him, tightening my grip around the knife in my hands. One word against her and I might have a fit.

"Isn't she the girl who used to be with Lukas Winthrope?", he asks. I only nod matter-of-factly. Maddie freezes next to me for a reason.

"We can't have you dating the girl who dated him", Father shouts. "Can't you find another girl to fuck?! I get she might have a nice pussy, she managed to get both you and Winthrope under her spell, but that's all she's ever going to be."

Maddie starts crying and excuses herself from the table, running upstairs to her room. I stand up pissed. They can call me a loser. They can call me a nothing. They can do all the things they did. But they could never talk like this about the woman I love.

"Speak out her name again, I dare you", I hiss. "Speak of her again and I promise her name is the last thing coming out of your mouth."

Before I know it, I feel a punch touching my face. Blood rolling down my nose. I have to spit, the impact coming so unexpected.

I look shocked at the man I call my Father. What is a father anyway? A person who shares your blood? Because when people talk of their fathers, they talk about love. They talk about evenings spent together. They talk about him teaching them to ride a bike. They talk about a figure to look up to. As I look in my Father's eyes, all I can see is hate.

"Mind your place, son", he hisses, walking out of the room. "This isn't over yet", he adds shouting.

You can for sure as hell be certain it ain't.

~

"What happened?", Maddie asks, entering my room.

I look at her, then notice my mistake. I still have the small ice pack on my nose. Maddie comes closer and takes it out of my hands, gently pressing it on my bruise.

"He had no right to talk about Mya like that", she whispers. I look her in the eyes. She lets out a soft smile as she nods: "I've never seen you so happy before. Or so in love."

Her eyes wonder to the painting hanging on my wall. I swallow hard. Her voice is shaky as she asks: "Is that her?"

I nod. She looks as if she had expected that.

"People are afraid of love, Ashton. Of true one at least. It frightens them. They either crave it or regret it. Some will do their best to try to pull you apart from the one you love."

I look at her surprised. Why does her voice sound as if she knew exactly what she is talking about? Why does her broken voice seem to reflect her heart?

"But true love ain't something that goes away so quickly. It lasts. It grows inside you. It's like a flower. Like a daisy." She chuckles nervously, wiping away a tear from her cheek. Then, looking back at me, she whispers: "Fight for her, Ash. It's what you've been wanting to do all this time. Now you have the chance. Don't let it slip away."

My eyes are wet as I look at her. "I'm not letting her slip."

"That's my brother", she adds.

We remain there for a while, her helping me out with my bruise. I look at the painting on the wall.

I'm not letting Mya go.