The bad boy and the broken girl

Chapter 10 - What the f*ck?

Ashton POV

I went home shortly after the pizza was delivered but Cade promised to pick me up again so when I come downstairs to find him waiting outside with his bike I look at him in surprise.

'Where are the others?' He looks up from his phone and smiles when he sees me.

'Good morning to you to sweetheart. And Noel is taking them.' I nod.

'We're going on your bike?' I ask and he pockets his phone.

'Unless you want to walk.' I shoot him a look and he smirks.

'Yes, we're going on my bike. Why?'

'No reason.'

'Ash.' He says warningly and I look at him.

'You don't let anyone on your bike, everyone knows that.' There is a silence before Cade speaks.

'Yeah, but you aren't just anyone.' His voice is softer than normal and I find myself blushing slightly as we stare at each other.

'Come on, let's get to school.' I step forward and Cade does my helmet up before he helps me on behind him. I wrap my arms around him and feel his stomach tense slightly and he clears his throat before starting up the engine.

When we pull into the parking lot I get off and turn to face Cade. I'm hopeless at getting this helmet off so I wait for Cade to do it. He looks up at me.

'Nice look sweetheart, but the helmet doesn't really go with your outfit.' He teases and I whack his arm.

'Hilarious. I can't get it off Cade.'

'So?' He asks with a smirk and I whine.

'Cade....' He chuckles before reaching up and unbuckling the helmet. He pulls it off and I quickly sort my hair out. He stands up and pockets the keys before we turn to walk into school and come face to face with an astounded student body. I'd legitimately forgotten they were there.

'Ignore them.' Cade mutters under his breath and grabs my hand, pulling me after him as people move out of the way at the sight of Cade. We finally reach the school and once we are in the hallway he releases my hand as Noel and the others appear.

'Hey boys.' I say and they all say hey. We are walking to my locker when my phone beeps. Looking down I see a text from Kallie.

Got flu or something, not coming in today. Sorry :( xxx

Get better soon. Ly xxx I type back.

'Everything okay?' Cade asks and I look up, putting my phone in my bag.

'Yeah, Kallie's ill. She isn't coming in today.' He nods and turns back to Caleb.

Because Kallie isn't here I just talk to the boys today and it's fun. Cade has opened up way more. He still glares at people but he smiles at me occasionally and talks more than his original one word sentences. I think he is starting to see me as a friend which is surprising. I often wonder why Cade didn't kill me that first day but hey, I'll take it. These guys are great and they make me happy, something I haven't honestly felt in a long time.

Cade POV

I drop Ash at home and wait for her to get inside before I text the boys.

Gym, in an hour? I shortly get replies agreeing. I head home to get changed. As I drive, I let my mind drift and it's Ash that fills my thoughts. I'm surprised at how quickly she has entered my life. I know the boys love her and think of her as a friend and little sister but every time I see her, all I can focus on is her beautiful face. She gets to me but I'm also curious. There is something that Ash is hiding, it's in the way her eyes fade and fill with pain when she thinks no one is watching. It's the way she tensed up and looked emotional when we saw the tattoo, which by the way, hottest thing ever.

When I get to the gym the boys are already there. That's another thing, I've started thinking of them as the boys now. They used to be my friends, but Ash always says

'Hey boys' in that way of hers and it's kinda stuck. We greet each other and head in. We walk into the main hall and look around. The big ring in the centre of the room has two guys fighting each other. The weight training area in the opposite corner is empty and the punching bags on the other side of the ring are being used by some guy I haven't seen before. There aren't many people that come to this gym, it's kind of rough and it's run by a guy called Jase who only lets certain people in. We're all friends but I won't lie, some of these guys are hard asses, worse than me. One of them is now walking over to us. Blaze, I have no idea what his real name is, reaches out a hand and I accept it.

'Hey.' He says gruffly. He's a decent guy but is one heck of a fighter and doesn't take shit from anyone. He's worse than me in that he will fight someone that even looks at him wrong. I just glare and watch them run away.

'Long time no see.' He says and I nod.

'Yeah. Jase back too?' I ask and Blaze nods, something flickering in his eyes. They said they had to go take care of business on the other side of the country but they refused to say what. We are standing just inside the doors and he claps me once more on the back before heading off to the weights were he starts to promptly bench press more than my body weight.

'That guy is a beast.' Noel mutters beside me.

'So's Jase.' I point out. 'That's why they manage to keep control of this club and this area.' Yeah, they also have control of a couple of miles radius. Most of the town is owned by someone, not that a lot of people know about that of course. Suddenly the door swings open behind me, nearly hitting Ryder with the force. We all turn and stare at the person in the doorway.

'Ash?' Noel finally asks. What the fuck?