Secluded (Ashton Irwin)

Chapter 25

Reagan shoved her stuff into her small purse, "See ya later Amanda," she called as she left work.

It was the second to last night Liam was staying with her in LA, and she was going to miss him more than she was going to admit.

Reagan and Liam weren't always close growing up, they of course had that annoying sibling stage where they couldn't stand each other. But now, they were really close. She had forgotten how much she missed being around him.

But again, she was excited to have some time to herself. Just to lay around and do whatever she wanted. It was nice coming to a quiet house all alone... well sometimes.

She had been doing much better with Liam around. She hadn't been too sad or angry, except for the one night after Sam left and Reagan couldn't help but break down after Liam fell asleep. She instinctively picked up her phone and called Ashton, getting forwarded to his voicemail which she was thankful but sad about. She was glad because she didn't know what she would say if he picked up. But yet again, she ended up leaving a voicemail that wasn't so nice and she kind of regretted it.

"Hey Liam," Reagan called pushing open the door to her apartment.

"Hey I made dinner," Liam smiled when Reagan made her way into the kitchen.

"Since when did you learn to cook," Reagan chuckled as she watched Liam put some chicken and pasta on their plates.

"I did learn other things from mom besides how to pack for a business trip in 15 minutes," Liam laughed.

Reagan rolled her eyes and laughed at his sarcasm. It was funny all they learned from their mom was about travel. They were both pros at getting around at an airport and how to pack, but what else do you expect when you grow up with your mom leaving so often?

"Let's eat," Liam said placing the plates down on Reagan's tiny table. It was a dinner table she had gotten from Ashley when she first moved here. It only fit two or three people, but Reagan didn't have many people over anyways.

"How was work?" Liam asked once they both sat down.

"Slow, Wednesdays are usually that way," Reagan said before taking a bite of her food.

They both ate, and rather quickly because Reagan was starving after work. She always was though, she didn't even have to do much and she was always hungry after work.

"You put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher, and i'll wash off the dirty ones before putting them in," Reagan instructed so they could be done twice as fast.

Once they were done, Liam agreed and they made their way into the kitchen.

"Soooo I've been thinking," Liam said a few minutes later.

"About?" Reagan said giving him a confusing look.

"Let's do something spontaneous and a little crazy," Liam smiled before Reagan told him to go on.

-

Reagan woke up easily. She was so eager to do this next step with Liam, she couldn't sleep she was so excited. Thank god everyone at work was so understanding and wished her the best of luck to do what she needed to do. Everyone knew Reagan needed some space and a small fresh start.

"Liam do you have the tickets?" Reagan called, making all her stuff was packed.

"Yep!" he said as Reagan entered back into the living room.

"Well let's go," she smiled as she took one last look in her apartment before closing the door behind her and walking down the stairs.

They got into their cab after loading all their belongings in the back, and Reagan kept her eye on her apartment complex as they drove away.

The airport was busy, but else was expected for a saturday? Everyone was flying in and out of LAX all the time. Celebrities, business men, tourists, it was just always busy.

Reagan and Liam bag checked their stuff and made their way through security just in time for them to make their flight.

"Here we go," Liam said slinging his arm around Reagan as they walking towards their gate.

-

All Ashton could think about lately was Reagan. Everything he did tied back to her.

He woke up, remembered how Reagan would snuggle up next to him when he slept over.
When he drank coffee or went to starbucks, he remembered all the times they went to starbucks together or Reagan made coffee for him.
When he came home and played with Harry, he remembered the time Reagan came over and they all played tag.
He went to work, and whenever the bell rang he hoped it was her coming to say hi.
He couldn't even drive in his car without picturing her in the passenger seat, with the wind blowing through her hair.
He couldn't play the cds he kept in his car, because half of them had Foo Fighters on them and he couldn't stop thinking about the first time their lips met.

His head was spinning. He looked over at the clock, it was early afternoon. Ashton couldn't take it anymore. He had to go see her.

He jumped out of bed and got ready.

"I'll be back in a few hours," Ashton said as he flew by his mom in the hallway. He didn't even hear what she said in response. Did she ask him to pick up some bread?

Ashton drove anxiously over to Reagan's. He drummed on the steering wheel on the way over, super jittery. Would she slam the door in his face? Would she say spiteful things? Would things be okay in the end?

Ashton parked, and blew out a huff of air before making his way up the stairs. As he stood in front of her door, he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans before knocking on the door.

He waited a few seconds... nothing. He began to knock a little harder.

"Reagan?" Ashton asked as he pounded just a little harder.

"Reagan, I know you probably don't want to see me, but I just want to talk," he said through the door.

"Reagan?" he pounded once more.

He waited... but there was no answer.

Ashton turned and let out a sigh as his back felt Reagan's front door pressed against him. He rubbed his face with his hands and made his way downstairs. Ashton wouldn't want to talk to himself either.

Ashton went home, and since his mom had to work the night shift, he made dinner for Harry and Lauren. Once they were fed and the dishes were done, he went into his room and turned on netflix. He didn't watch much. Instead, he stared blankly at the screen, wondering how different things could have been.

Ashton drifted in and out of sleep for the remainder of the night. Yet, everytime he finally did fall back asleep he couldn't get comfortable, or he woke right back up. When his alarm went off for work, his heavy eyes felt like he only got four hours of sleep maximum.

He threw on his work clothes, which always consisted of jeans and a t-shirt before heading to the kitchen and making himself a big mug of coffee to go. He surely was going to need it for his shift today. He had a long shift today, but it made up for him being off Friday, and Saturday.

Ashton parked his car, and mumbled a "here we go" to himself once he pulled open the door to the small music shop. He walked behind the counter to clock in, when Brad walked past hitting his shoulder lightly.

"Hey man," he smiled.

"Hey," Ashton said lightly, trying to not give off a vibe he was miserable.

"Couldn't sleep last night? You look awful," Brad frowned.

"Yeah, it was rough," Ashton said with a light chuckle, trying to be lighthearted. He had stayed up for most of the night.

Ashton wasn't sure whether him staying up all night was due to all the coffee he had been drinking, or because all he saw when he shut his eyes were Reagan's.

But what he did know... Ashton really did feel awful.