Secluded (Ashton Irwin)

Chapter 14

"It wasn't so bad," Ashton said as Reagan drove towards her house. She was quiet, and Ashton couldn't tell how she was feeling.

"Exactly, so bad. Trust me I think that's the best a dinner conversation has gone," Reagan said with a sarcastic laugh and an eye roll.

"Oh come on, you make your family out to be so bad." Ashton claimed as Reagan parked. He could see how they had a higher standard, but tonight didn't seem so bad. He didn't know what Reagan's vendetta against her family was. Yet again, he was only with them all for two hours, and that didn't even include her mom.

"It's a long story, Do you want to come in or do you have to go?" Reagan asked as she opened her car door.

Ashton thought about it for a second, he had been spending a lot of time with Reagan. He was hoping she wasn't tired of him by now. He still wanted her feelings to grow towards him, he really liked her.

Reagan asked hoping Ashton would say yes. Yeah, they had spent a good amount of time together, but she liked being with Ashton. She just felt bad since he was always away from home and away from other plans he could have had.

"Yeah I'll come up," Ashton smiled following Reagan upstairs.

They walked up the stairs together as they had done a bunch of times. They were quiet and Ashton couldn't tell what Reagan's mood was still. He wasn't sure if she was happy, content, or mad about how dinner was. She generally looked like she didn't care she even just with to dinner with her dad and brother who she hasn't seen in half a year. Ashton could tell she had a soft spot for her brother, but not so much for her dad.

"So.. I can deal with a long story," Ashton said sitting on the couch once they got inside. He extended his arms to the top of the couch.

"That is if you want to share," Ashton added, "If not I understand."

"It's not that I don't want to share, I just don't know where to start," Reagan said with a sigh as she walked towards her bedroom. She shut the door halfway and reappeared two minutes later. She had changed and put on sweatpants and a tank top.

"It kind of just sucks being talked down to you know?" Reagan asked making Ashton nod.

"It's like nothing I do is good enough. It's been going on my whole life, but i've handled myself so well. Well I always think that until my parents put their judgments down," she sighed.

"If you're happy that's all that matters," Ashton said. He truly believed that. If you were happy, no one else should be able to judge you or think you're not good enough.

"Look it started when I was young. I had to be great at everything. I played three sports, and was put in extra practice for them all. They wanted me to be a top player. Get into college and maybe even play in the world cup or something. My mom never even came to the games though because she's obsessed with her job. I know it's good to like your job and i'm glad she loves it, but she doesn't value family anymore." Reagan explained.

Ashton understood, he was close with his mom, all they had was each other. They've been through rough patches, but they depended on each other and pulled through.

"Anyways, Liam was smart in school. He always had A's.. B's were rare for him. Now he's in law school, but also works at my dads business. Liam was a store manager at 21, while going to law school. I love him and i'm proud of him, but it's not fair to hold me to his standards. I'm not like him, I don't love school. I don't love business. I played sports, but my parents stopped coming once they realized I wasn't the 'all star'. They always told me I needed to focus on school if sports weren't gonna work out, but I hated school. I like seeing new things, and meeting new people. I like art, music, photography, and writing. I just don't want to be stuck in some business office some day. Plus I hate math more than anything in this world," Reagan said with a laugh at the end.