{COMPLETED} ✔️ The Girl He Left Behind

Eight

I wake up at the sound of Ash's alarm clock stabbing my eardrums and making my head hurt like someone hit me with a baseball bat. I roll over and feebly reach my arm out expecting to find Ash laying next to me but my arm just flops onto the empty bed. The fact he's not there makes me a lot sadder than it probably should. I manage a smile though when he walks in from his bathroom and turns his alarm off.

"Hey Sam!" He says way too happily for me when I'm feeling this ill. I manage a groan in response. He smiles at me sympathetically as he continues buttoning up his shirt.

"So I take it you still feel ill?"

"Understatement." I manage to croak out.

"Aww c'mere." He comes and sits on the edge of the bed, pulling me up into a hug. I hide my face in his shoulder so he doesn't see me blushing. He rubs my back and I can feel my heart beating quicker. I sniffle and wiggle out of his arms.

"I don't want you to catch whatever have," I supply when he looks sort of offended that I moved away from him.

"Sam, I would be happy to get any type of disease if it meant I got to hug you."

Woah. Like...WOW! I forget how to form proper sentences so I just sit there blushing like crazy, pulling the sleaves of my hoodie over my hands and using them to cover my face from Ash. I can't believe he just said that! Ahhhhhh! He peels my hands away from my face and I've got no energy to fight him. He laughs and kisses my forehead. I hope he hasn't realised how much what he said affected me...

"Mummmm!" Ash calls. I look at him, confused. He just shrugs. Rachel comes in a few seconds later dressed in an oversized hoodie with flannel pajama pants and ugg boots, her hair done up in a messy bun and half of her makeup done. She looks as pretty as ever.

"What's up with my babies?" She asks, looking back and forth between us.

"Sam's ill." Ash says before I have a chance to stop him. I give him an evil look but he doesn't acknowledge it.

"Tell me what's wrong, gorgeous." Rachel says, coming to sit on the floor in front of Ash and I. I tell her everything that I'm feeling and she looks more and more conserned as I go on. She places her palm on my forehead to check if I have a temperature.

"Aww baby, you're burning up. Maybe you should go the doctors?" She asks, giving me a hug. I shake my head; all I want to do is go to school like normal so I'm not left alone with my thoughts about liking Ash and Matt all day long. "Ok. Well you could stay off school if you want. But if you go, you need to promise me that you'll call me if you feel worse and I'll come pick you up babe."

My whole body feels warm as she says all them things; I love how she always makes me feel like part of her family. Sometimes I prefer talking to Rachel than my mum because she's just a much cooler person and parent. Obviously I still love my mum but I've never really viewed her as a parent, more like a big sister. I guess because she had me so young, she never knew how to be a proper parent but I like the type of relationship I have with her anyway.

"I promise." I mumble as she crushes me in a big hug.

"And you," she says pointing at Ash. "Look after her today."

He nods at her and winks at me, making me giggle.

"And since you're ill, I'll make my super special breakfast." Rachel calls over her shoulder as she trudges out the room. If my throat wasn't hurting, I'd probably squeal. See, whenever any of us is ill, Rachel makes breakfast with all of our favourite foods like raspberry and white chocolate pancakes and my personal favourite, doughnut toast; her own special made up recipe that she'll never tell anyone. It's basically just toast that she some how makes taste like doughnuts but it's honestly amazing.