The Therapist's Son // Ashton Irwin [AU] ✔

25.

A/N: As promised, here's chapter 25.

I had to give Luke directions during the drive back to my house, still slightly sniffling and opening my sore, puffy, red eyes every so often to identify my location. Luke was a bright, intelligent boy but he could never remember the directions to my house.

When we pulled up in the driveway, I quickly thanked Luke, gathering my schoolbag and binder before opening the car door and getting out. My mom had told me earlier she would be working late today, so I had asked her to leave the door unlocked since I had no reason to have a key made.

"I'm just going to stay here to make sure you get inside safe," Luke announced, as if I would get tackled to the ground by an escaped criminal on the way from my driveway to my front door. He had rolled down the passenger's car window so I could clearly receive the message. "Unless you'd like me to come in with you."

"No thanks, Luke." I declined, only loud enough for him to hear. I could only imagine the pouty look on his face, but I just wasn't in the mood for company at the moment. I wanted to go inside, listen to music, cry a bit more and take a well-deserved nap.

I walked up the porch steps and reached out to open the front door, only to find the knob refused to turn. My eyes widened as I prayed Mom had remembered to leave the door unlocked. I tried again, and failed.

"Fuck." I muttered to myself, closing my eyes and holding in tears of frustration. Could this day get any worse?

I could vaguely remember my mom telling me where the spare key was kept, but that was one of the days I had been too wrapped up in a TV show and just tuned her out. Now I was wishing I really hadn't.

"Natalie, do you need help? Are you locked out?" Luke's voice asked from behind me.

"No." I curtly responded, thinking of the most logical place to keep a spare key. I began my search, Luke watching from a distance the whole time. Under the mat, under the potted plant my mother had put outside for a more "welcoming" vibe...I couldn't find it.

Maybe we didn't have a spare key.

"Locked out?" I screamed as I realized the voice was right next to me, placing a hand over my heart when I realized it was only my best friend. Apparently, I had been so lost in thought that I didn't notice that his car had been turned off, or hear the sound of his car door opening and closing.

"Um," I was going to make up some dumb excuse that, no, I wasn't locked out. But if that was the case, why was I still standing here? "Yeah..."

"Ok, so you have two options. You can simply come with me and hang out at my house until your mom gets home later, or, we can bust in."

"Bust in?" I asked. He nodded. I didn't like the thought of breaking into my own house, but I didn't really have a choice. I just wanted to be alone.

"Lucky for you, I have a credit card," Luke smirked, reaching in his back pocket for his wallet. I rolled my eyes, muttering an 'impressive'. He chuckled to himself, taking the blue piece of plastic out of his wallet before putting it back in his jeans. "Ok, hold the doorknob, turn it and lean back, and I'll try to slide the credit card between the locks."

After five minutes, my arm grew tired and Luke grew frustrated.

"Okay, fuck it. Plan B," Luke huffed, returning the credit card to it's rightful place. "Luckily, your house is a one-floor. What's in front of that window?" He pointed to the nearest window, and I gulped.

"The couch, I think," I answered.  "You're not going to break it or anything, are you?"

"Of course not!" He exclaimed. "I forget my key all the time, I'm an expert at this. Trust me." He walked over to the window, tugging at the corner of the screen. It seemed to come out easier than what's expected, and he was able to pushed the unlocked window open.

"Ok, here we go," He muttered, almost to himself, as he put his hands on the windowsill. Luke was tall, but the window beat him by a bit, and he'd have to work to get himself inside the house.

He hoisted himself up, feet dangling a bit before he was able to swing a leg inside, shortly getting his whole body inside.

"Go to the front door, I'll unlock it for you." Luke smiled. I nodded, beating him to the door and waiting. A feeling of relief washed over me when I heard the sound of the door unlocking.

I was greeted with a smirking, successful Lucas saying: "Fancy seeing you here, Natalie. Please, come in."

I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, going straight for my room.

"I'm going to go fix your window, I'll be back in a minute." Luke informed me, and I sighed when I heard the front door close.

Luke was my best friend. Nothing could change that. At the same time, I knew he liked me, but I like Ashton. I trusted Luke around me, I could trust him with anything. 

But I'm afraid that I can't trust myself.

A/N: This actually happened to me on Monday. My stepdad left for work early without telling me, so I got home and my aunt was trying to help me break in with her credit card. Eventually I had to go get my landlord and he dismantled our window to get inside.