“Where the hell are you, Ashton?” I say into his voice mail for the fifth time today.
It’s Wednesday now and he still hasn’t replied to any of my messages or phone calls. I’m getting really worried that something has happened to him and I’m starting to wonder if this is how he felt last week when I locked myself up. Helpless and anxious. I just hope he hasn’t gone into the same stage I was in. And if he has, I wonder what the hell caused him to do it. I can’t imagine him doing it though, shutting off the world like that.
He’s always been my rock, and rocks don’t break. Rocks are solid.
And that pretty much leads me to where I am now; Sunday’s. As I set my foot inside I am surprised Yolanda doesn’t throw herself at me and I actually manage to get to the counter before she sees me.
“Joselyn, sweetie!” Her face lights up with a smile. “Ashton’s not here.”
“Oh. Do you know where he is?”
“He took a few days off. Why?” She asks as she dries her hands on her apron.
“He hasn’t answered his phone so I’m-”
“Worried?” She finishes my sentence, giving me a understand smile. “I can see it in your face, sweetie. But don’t you worry. He always comes back.”
Always? What does she mean with he always comes back? Has he run away before? This makes my thoughts about him breaking once again reach the surface and I step outside as quickly as I stepped inside.
There’s only one place I can imagine him being at - and after looking up his home number on the phone and calling his mom asking if he was at home, then having to explain who I was, involving a 5-minute conversation with her asking me things and I made a promise to come visit her - I made up my mind to go there, to that place. If he’s not there, then I have no idea where he can be.
The drive is long, longer than last time and the GPS system crashes a couple of times, making me even more delayed. I skipped my last class today as well, and honestly, as long as I pass them – who cares if I attend them? Not even the teachers care, or so I overheard two of them talking in the hallway yesterday. Apparently all they care about is the free coffee in the teacher’s lounge and of course, getting paid.
I finally start recognizing the surroundings and I find a clear space pretty close to my final destination. I slam the car door shut and start walking. There’s still a 2-minutes’ walk to the house, through some trees and bushes. It’s so quiet here and I see the grey clouds moving closer across the sky. I hope it doesn’t start to rain.
“Ashton!” I call out.
No reply and I finally see the outlines of the house.
“Ashton!” I call out again.
Still no reply.
I pick up my phone. Maybe, just maybe, will he pick up if I call him, if I have phone reception, that is. To my surprise, I have 2 bars and even internet connection.
“Ashton. Just…please. Just call me or text me if you hear this,” I say. I don’t know how many of those messages I’ve sent to his voice mail. “Where are you? I want to talk to you…No, I need to talk to you. Pick up the phone. Please? I just…hello?”
“The inbox you’re trying to reach is full. Please try again later,” a robot voice says.
“Fuck!” I yell into the receiver, feeling my fingers grip it harder and I want to throw it into the lake. I hear a bird flap its wings above me and make a screeching sound. It flies across the sky. Away from the tall trees. Away from me.
YOU ARE READING
Affection // irwin
Fanfiction"I heard you get butterflies in your stomach when you fall in love, or have a crush on someone. I've never experienced it so I didn't know what it meant, until now. My stomach is fluttering and my heart is not beating at normal rate. How did this h...
