Keep Me Safe ~ Ashton Irwin

Chapter 23 - Answers

RECAP:

"Do you want anything to eat?" He yelled over to me.

I turned to face him.

"Uh......n...no thank you" i stuttered, awkwardly placing my hands in my lap.

He walked over to where i was sitting and looked down at me on the sofa.

"You sure? You look like you could some food, if you don't mind me saying" he mumbled.

"Its okay, honestly I'm fine" i lied.

"Okay...well i'm going to make some food for two..just incase i get extra hungry" he said laughing. I looked up to see him smiling down at me. I gave a small smile back and he walked back to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What seemed like ten minutes later he came back into the room and set down two plates of pasta salad.

He sat on the couch next to me and switched on the t.v. before grabbing a bowl for himself.

I stared down at the plate in front of me, my mouth was literally filling with saliva. It looked delicious and i was hungry.

"You know i didn't really make two bowls for myself right?" He said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?' I replied turning to him.

He laughed and pointed to the bowl on the table in front of me.

"I made it for you" he said, smiling at me.

"No, its okay i-"

"Hayley, just eat it" he said, cutting me off.

I looked from him to the food in front of me. I swallowed the lump in my throat before slowly reaching out to grab the bowl of food and placing it in my lap.

I looked at ashton from the corner of my eye to see him smirking.

"Thank you" i mumbled, weakly returning my gaze to the food in front of me.

"Its alright. I'm not a chef or anything so you know if you vomit i understand" he said laughing causing me to express a light smile.

I dug into the bowl in front of me and instantly my body craved for more. I must've looked like a disgusting animal in front of him, of course that's what Nate would always say when i ended up scrounging for his left overs. He would call me a dirty dog and throw curses at me all the way to the moon and back, but i was hungry...i needed to eat.

"It's really good" i said whilst forcing the food into my mouth in a hurry, in case i wouldn't be getting anymore for a while.

Within seconds my bowl was completely clean, i didn't dare leave one speck of food on the plate. I looked at Ashton who was staring at me with his eyebrows raised as if a little in shock.

"I'm sorry." I apologised, placing the bowl onto the table.

"T-that's okay." He stuttered, smiling weakly at me.

"I..uh..i can kind of cook a little i guess" i randomly said, attempting to make conversation, even though i was the worst at doing so.

"Really?" He said and i nodded.

"What can you cook?" He asked, intrigued.

"Uh..well i cooked my first steak the other day, it came out pretty well, i think" i said, tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

"You think?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. I mean i uh...i made it for Nate. He said it was good" i mumbled, gulping.

"You didn't eat it?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"No." I admitted.

"Why not?"

"Because....i..uh.....i..just....made it for him" i stuttered. I could feel my breaths increasing and my palms beginning to sweat.

"So what did you eat?" He asked, his nostrils flaring slightly.

"Um...i had something"

"What?" He pushed.

"Just something gosh what does it matter" i said, snapping at him. I'm starting to think that it was a mistake ever coming here.

He huffed and an unreadable emotion crossed his face.

"Does he.....he does let you eat doesn't he" he asked. I could see the anger in his eyes as he placed his pasta bowl on the table and stared at me waiting for my reply.

"O-of c-course he does" i replied, faking a smile.

"You're lying?" He growled.

"No I'm not" i quickly replied and turned my gaze to the t.v., suddenly it had become a lot more interesting.

"I swear this guy sounds more and more like a dick everyday" he said in a low tone.

I ignored his comment, picked up my bowl and walked into the kitchen before beginning to wash the dishes.

Ashton followed behind me.

"You don't have to wash them up" he said softly, to which i ignored him and kept washing them.

He sighed loudly and walked over till he was stood beside me, near the sink.

"Hayley" he whispered. I could feel his breath on my neck but i didn't look up at him.

"Mmm" i replied, still washing the plates, but doing it a little slower so i had an excuse not to face him. I watched as his arm slowly grabbed the kitchen tap and turned it off. Preventing any water from flowing.

I kept my gaze on the sink basin and could feel Ashton's eye on me.

"Why are you still with him?" He whispered.

I didn't really know what to say. Deep down i knew the answer, but i didn't know how Ashton would react to it.

Would he hit me?

Hurt me?

Abuse me?

Everything about Nate made him angry, i didn't know what to do.

I turned my gaze to meet his and could see curiosity lingering in his eyes.

Do i tell him the truth?

"Well" he pushed, waiting for an answer.

"Because" i mumbled as i stared into his hazel eye.

"Because" he repeated, slowly inching closer to me.

"Because i-"

"I love him." I said, in a barely audible whisper, yet i knew he heard me. By the look on his face i could tell he heard.

I felt ashamed.

But why?

How could i feel ashamed to love someone?

Unless its not Nate that at i am ashamed of , but myself for loving him, for continuing to love him after everything he's done.

I guess there is only one reasonable explanation why?

Its nothing but a simple four letter word that we find ourselves subconsciously holding onto.....



Hope.



Because i hoped that someday Nate would change, that he would go back to the loving , caring guy that i fell in love with. The one who use to comfort me when i cried and would tell he how he would make it all better. The guy who would whisper sweet nothings in my ear when i had nightmares about my mum. The guy who seemed to break down my walls in a matter of moments.

That's what it was....

And i wasn't willing to let it go.....

I guess i'm just afraid that if i do......

I will never be the same again.

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HELOO , SO YOUR PROBABLY THINKING "HEY IS IT SATURDAY ALREADY" WELL NOPE ITS NOT 😊

MY INTERNET EXPIRES IN LIKE AN HOUR LOL AND I WONT BE BACK TILL NEXT WEEK 😭😭😭😭😭 I'M GNA MISS U ALL.

THANK U ALL SO MUCH FOR STILL READING MY STORIES EVEN THOUGH I HAVENT UPDATED IN A WHILE. I PROMISE NEXT WEEK UPDATES WILL BE BACK TO NORMAL 😇

HOPE U ALL HAD AN AWESOME CHRISTMAS AND A SUPER WICKED NEW YEAR 👮😐😴😯😦😧😕😎👷😐😴😴

SO THE SHIP NAME FOR HAYLEY AND ASHTON IS .... 😇 #AshLey YAAAY SO COOL WEEW HAHA

THANKS TO ALL U GUYS WHO EVEN CAME UP WITH THIS NAME LOL IM TERRIBLE AT SHIPS BUT THIS ONE IS COOL.

THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO JUSTCALLMECOOKIE CAUSE SHE IS AWESOME AND TOO COOL SO BE SURE TO CHECK HER OUT...BUT NOT IN A PERVY WAY 😏

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK 👋

-Shakila😏