Just in Fifteen Days

32. Your Truth

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***

Natalie's POV

"Morning, Talie!" I heard Ashton speak. It was strange, because his voice had never seemed so realistic in my previous couple dreams. Oh, yes. I dreamt of him and I promise it wasn't anything dirty.

"Look what I got for you!" Ashton, stop speaking and let me sleep, I thought as I yawned with my eyes still closed, struggling to open them. The rays entering through the curtain made my eyes squint and I suddenly realised, I wasn't in my bedroom.

I tried to flutter the eyelids a little so that I could see something. I saw Ashton's pale face as he held his phone to his ears. I couldn't hear him at all, though. And when I realised the reason behind the throbbing of my head, all the memories from last night came rushing back. Oh, no! The kiss, the alcohol, the stupid dance, and everything after that became hazy. I hope there was nothing more that happened between us. I didn't even know what the time was. Mom was surely going to kill me this time, I thought.

But, after that kiss, what did Ashton and I become? Were we still friends? Of course, not. We were more than that. Friends don't kiss so passionately. But, it wasn't like Ashton was going to stay here forever. He would be leaving by Sunday. I had to call Char and Steve and tell them everything as soon as possible.

"You haven't even woken up properly. Overthink things later." He giggled. From a pale face to a really charming one - the transform was too quick. My eyes were fully open by now. I smiled weakly.

As I tried to sit upright, I felt the room around me whirling, I was feeling giddy. I chose to close my eyes and sit still. My throbbing head was taking away all the energy from my body.

"Are you feeling okay? Thank god, I stopped you. You had no idea what you were doing." The worry on his face had disappeared and transformed into a stupid laugh.

Char had always warned me to not drink much when I was with others. It would always be Steve who would carry me like a damsel in distress and drop me on my bed and then rant about how heavy I had become, the other day. And they both would laugh all day, making fun of all the things I had done while I was drunk. I just wished I hadn't made those faces I was so popular for.

"Umm, what did I do, Ash?" I asked as I poured myself a glass of water from the jar kept on the side table. My throat had become dry and my voice was coming out as something cacophonous, like someone was talking with cactus stuck in the throat.

"You don't have to worry about it. First, have these pancakes. They also have french toast. So, I got both for you." Aww.

"Thank you. Come, eat with me," I said as I drew the tray towards myself and made place for him. He wasn't looking in my eye, though.

After we kissed, I thought that everything between us would be awkward. But, there didn't seem any trace of awkwardness on Ashton's face. He was being the same Ashton that I had first met. I wondered if the kiss meant anything to him. Because, it meant a lot to me. It was something that I had been wanting to do since I first saw him.

"And don't worry about Sandra. I had called her last night after you went to sleep. She was a little upset and called you irresponsible but then she knew that you were with me. So, she was kinda relieved." I could spot the playful smug on his face. I nodded.

I wanted to know if we were anything more than friends at the moment, but I couldn't really seem to hold on to it. I wondered where I was supposed to start from. The only difference I noticed in Ashton's behaviour was that he was talking way too much. Usually, it was me.

"And you know what, I want to take you somewhere to refresh your mood. So, get dressed soon -- oh, you wouldn't have any dress with you, right?" Realisation dawned on him.

"I think there might be a top or something in my car. I keep it for emergency. And are you sure, you're okay? Because, your bruises haven't still healed. Your lip --"

He touched near his swollen lip and winced, his beautiful features twitching, and abruptly changed the topic. Somehow, anger was boiling inside my nerves.

"Oh. Look, it's ten already. We'll get late. I'll be in the lobby downstairs. I need to make some payments, alright. And don't forget to get the card while you come down." He pointed towards the opaque square holder on the wall adjacent to the door, which has the card inserted in it.

Before closing the door, he took a step back and said, "And I'll get you your top. Give me the keys." His voice had become surprisingly calm. Smiling gratefully, I tossed the keys towards him in the air.

And just like that, without looking into my eye even for once, he left with a duffel bag hanging on his shoulder. I hadn't even looked at him properly. I didn't notice if his eyes were shining brightly or were dark, like the ones I had seen him at his fighting match. I didn't see, if his muscled chest bulged out and changed the shape of his t-shirt. I didn't see if the scar on his forehead had healed or not.

What was going on with Ashton? Did he regret the kiss? Did he even regret meeting me?

Don't be so dramatic. You're overthinking. Too much.

Geez. Thanks, conscience.

I was about to go to the bathroom for the shower when my evil eyes saw Ashton's laptop on the small table in the corner. It wasn't fully closed. Under the laptop, I noticed a piece of paper. There was a link written on it. I made a quick move to take a picture of it. It could be a porn site for all I knew, but my brain was working too fast to contemplate its coordination with my body. My curiosity was silently boiling under my skin.

I stretched the laptop screen to a normal angle, when it lit. There were two tabs, already opened. One was a gmail account and the other one was a Google search page. The search box read, "Kelly's murder case in Australia". Why would Ashton be researching on any murder case? It failed to pull interest out of me. I opened the gmail account.

What I was doing was so bad, such a huge invasion of privacy. But, I couldn't stop myself anymore. Ashton was replying someone. But, the dialog box was empty. He had received the e-mail from yourtruth. Weird, I thought. The e-mail read, "No matter how much you deny, Kelly's murderer will always be you. I know what the truth is and you cannot run away from it, mate."

What?

WHAT?

Before I could react to whatever I just read, I heard someone approaching the room. With the speed of a bullet reaching its target, I tilted the laptop screen somewhat like it was earlier and grabbed my towel.

"You still didn't shower? What were you doing?" Ashton asked, chuckling lightly. His eyes were lit with apprehension and I probably knew what it was for.

I fumbled over my words. "Yeah, j...just -"

"Make it fast, Talie. I got you your top. Come on, go fast." He tried hard to stretch the corner of his lips. I accepted it as a smile anyway, and rushed to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, I pressed my ears to the door to see if I could have any way to understand what was going on. I heard the clicking of keyboard keys. He typed really fast and with frustration, I assumed.

What the hell was going on? I didn't know what all that was about. It was like, I was watching some mystery movie and assuming the character to be myself. Ashton was trustworthy, wasn't he?

***

I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm trying my best to write. It's just a phase, and I believe it will pass.

Hope you liked the chapter! :)