Broken

• Chapter 58 •

My heart flutters. I catch myself smiling, and guilt prods at my ribs for some reason. I clear my throat and look away from him, "So where was she sitting?"

He nods to the teacup we're sitting in, "Right here, actually."

I raise my eyebrows and glance down, "Here?"

He nods, "Right there. You're probably sitting on her decayed vomit."

I snort and shove him lightly. He smirks and stands up, hovering over me. He climbs onto another ride and balances himself on top of a horse, raising his fist in the air in an exaggerated manner.

I laugh at his ridiculousness and go to grab my phone to play The Breakfast Club song to match this scene, only to see a few messages from Kate. Who's Kate and why is she messaging me? Kate from school? How did she get my number? I read the top message.

Whatever Ash! You have been MIA lately. I can't believe u would ditch another one of my parties! What will people think if I keep showing up alone huh? You can be a real prick sometimes! Ur so selfish! Hit me up when u have ur priorities straight.

Oh. Not my phone. My cheeks flame as I set it down quickly, I forgot we have the same one. Maybe I should get a case. I clear my throat and pick up my own phone, playing the song. Kate's message is on repeat in my head, and this odd feeling builds in my chest.

He's bailing on his friends and relationships to take care of me. I know I have to go home. I look up at him and smirk when I realize he's bobbing his head and singing in a horribly off-tune voice, putting on a show for his ecstatic siblings.

It's sweet to see this side of him.

I stand on top of the teacup's chair to join in, and soon enough we're performing a horrible duet for the kids. I'm sure we're breaking their poor eardrums. My heart sinks into my stomach when I see a flashlight in the distance.

"Hey! Who's there?" a voice calls out.

I jump down, turn off the music and tug at Ashton's sleeve, pointing towards an approaching security guard. Ashton's eyes pop when he realizes what I'm staring at, his smile wipes right off. He hops off the horse and motions for the twins to get a move on.

"Run."

My heart plummets to the ground, but my feet follow Ashton's directions and flee. The adrenaline pumps through my veins as we race towards the fence, I don't even feel my bruises. Ashton and I are neck-to-neck, laughing hysterically for the last minutes of our lives, probably.

"Hey!"

The security guard's voice bellows behind us, and I can hear him chasing after us. The twins are hot on our heals. We reach the fence and the twins begin climbing, I start after them.

"Stop it right there!" the security guard is out of breath, but has caught up to us.

My heart thrashes violently in my ribcage, I'm afraid it's going to split apart. I'm going to get arrested and die in prison for sneaking into a fucking amusement park!

I glance back to Ashton, but he's not beside me anymore. My eyebrows knit together, did he leave me for the dead? What the fuck?

"You are under arrest, young lady—"

The man is stopped mid-sentence when his pants drop to the floor. A blush spreads across his cheeks as Ashton roars his head back in laughter behind him. "Go!" he calls out to me.

I laugh as I climb up the fence, Ashton pulls the man's pants backward, causing him to topple over and fall. I can't help but feel guilty. Poor guy. The man swears under his breath and struggles to untangle himself and pull his pants back up. By the time he does, we're already rushing towards Ashton's car, out of breath from laughing so hard.

We all climb into the car and take a moment to breathe and make sense of what just happened. "Does this happen every time?" I wipe my tears.

The twins shake their head and Ashton smirks, "First time. Guess we've just got shit luck with you."

We're laughing again, and I finally begin feeling normal. Nostalgic, happy. We've been walking on eggshells around one another ever since he saved me. As though I was a grenade, ready to blow up at any given moment of the day. I felt drained. Fragile. Dead.

It feels good to feel alive again.

He smiles at me, and I can tell he knows exactly what I'm feeling. He starts the car and we drive off into the night.