the sound, settle down [mashton af]

// t w e n t y //

20. A small town/ Dictating all the people we get around/ What a familiar face

After Ashton fell pregnant and refused to terminate it, his family didn't talk to him much. The attention and love he once had was not there anymore, not even close. It was easy for Michael to fill the holes in Ash's sixteen-year-old life, though.

Things have changed.

Ashton hasn't talked to his mother in fourteen years. He spent almost the majority of his life without a mother present in his every day nature and it sucked. It sucked a lot.

He continued to talk to his two siblings, though. His sister Annalise grew closer with Ashton as they both grew older. She has her own life in New York City, though, she doesn't have time to wait around on hand and foot for her older brother.

Today was their first time in a few months meeting up.

Ashton sat in a pastry shop alone, looking out the window to the city in hopes of seeing his sister. Annalise was always the one to be quite late. Ash would plan things and give her a half hour earlier time so that she would show up on time.

He saw her cross the street, flipping off a taxi as it almost hit her. She was looking like a messy type of professional as usual, her brown hair in a bun, her clothes neatly ironed. Ashton's little sister had a phone pressed to her ear as she dug through her purse looking for something.

She was a busy lawyer, much like Michael. She always had something to do, never a free time unless it was planned.

She stood outside in the New York cold for a few minutes, trying to end a phone call before going inside. Their mother taught them well, always telling them to be overly polite rather than less.

Ashton admired how grown she has become, she's a real adult now. That's hard for Ashton to comprehend. She looked like every other busy woman in a suit wandering the streets of New York City, going from one meeting to the next. Ashton would never grow old, never, ever, ever grow up.

Annalise came in minutes later, dropping her purse and coat onto the back of her seat. "I have had the worst morning," she complained. She plopped into her seat, reaching over to take a chunk from her brother's croissant.

"Yeah?" He asked, pushing the pastry closer to his sister.

"I have to deal with such idiots at work. It's exhausting, you know?"

Ash bit down on his lower lip, "I relate, kind of."

She shrugged and leant back in his seat. "How're you doing?" Anna was falling short of breath from her quarter mile walk through the city in five inch heels. She seemed rushed, not really wanting to spend too much time with her older brother.
"It's been going alright. How's Mom?"

Annalise shrugged once more, her matching golden eyes not looking up. "She got married, she's down in Nashville now."

"I think Michael's dad lives down there, too."

"You're talking to him again?" She covered her mouth as she spoke, trying not to spit up crumbs. "Michael—not his dad."

Ash nodded. "Everything went well with getting rights to Tim. We're all pretty close again." Ashton didn't mind lying to his sister, especially if it was better in his favor.

Anna would tell their mother, and then maybe Ashton would have a chance to see her again. Ashton craved more attention, always. Any attention is good attention to him.

"That's good, that's good. I have to deal with his firm all the time, it's awkward." She was talking faster with each sentence, trying to get their brunch over so she could get back to work. "Why didn't you tell me he bought out half of it? I would've sent over flowers or some shit. I've gotta be on his good side."

"I wasn't aware he bought out half, he doesn't talk about work at home."

She looked up, her perfectly arched eyebrows raised. "You're living with him again?"

Ashton debated for an entire two seconds if a lie this big would come back to haunt him. He decided it wouldn't. "Yeah," he said.

"Nice," she said, nodding, "nice. He's packing the digits now, yeah? I could imagine with half a firm that size, he's got some spare cash."

Ashton chuckled and shook his head, refusing to talk about money in public over brunch. That goes back to the polite thing, Ash knows not to talk about money in public like that. It's simply not mannerly. "It's nice to finally raise Tim together, you know? It's like we finally got our happily ever after." His words were so cheesy it began to hurt his stomach.

"Aw, Tim. I miss that kid."

"You were, like, thirteen when he was born." Ashton got comfortable in his own chair, hoping to spend more than fifteen minutes with his only sister.

"I was old enough to know that you and Michael make really cute kids, though." She crossed her legs over one another and looked at her brother carefully.

She knew he was lying. Annalise was a martial lawyer, she could sniff out a liar from ten miles away. She didn't care much, though. Anna wouldn't see her brother for another four months, he'll forget about the shit he's handing her by then.

"I think Tim's got a thing with Michael's assistant."

"Calum?"

"How do you know him?" Ashton asked, furrowing his eyebrows together and tilting his head to the left.

"I told you, I work with Mike's firm a lot. I always have to deal with the kid rather than Michael." Anna reached across the table once more, grabbing Ash's coffee and taking a rushed sip. "He's cute, too. If I weren't a decade older than him, I'd hop on that. Tim and Cal would make cute babies, if that's their thing. How do you know if he's into him?"

Ashton let out a quick laugh, rolling his eyes at the thought of his baby having babies. "I accidentally read some texts between Tim and Cal and," he paused and raised his eyebrows, "yikes."

Annalise laughed the same laugh as her brother, loud and bellowing. "That's some steamy shit. You gonna tell Michael?"

"No, no, of course not."

She gave her brother a smile, "If he gets pregnant—."

"Anna," he stopped her before she could finish.

The two Irwins laughed together, smiling a bright smile. "I'm glad you're happy," she said. Even if he was straight up lying and she knew it, it didn't matter. She liked that he was happy.

"I'm glad I'm happy, too."

There is no foreshadowing, okay, Tim isn't gonna get knocked up especially not by an eighteen-year-old. stop urself 2k16. 

Anyways, thoughts on Ashton lying to make himself feel better?

Do you think it was a good reason? He wants to get his mother back, and his sister is the only connection to make that happen. 

Do you think Ashton is trying to get his life together? Or, is he still faking it all?