Thick and Thin [l. hemmings]

thirty-four

Ashton ended up leaving the house after that. It's been three days. I don't know where he went. I just know he's not with Michael.

Michael had also gone missing. I couldn't get in contact with him at all. Kyle and Nina couldn't either. I understood why he wouldn't want to answer me. But I wish he'd just let somebody know he was okay. I just wanted to know he was okay.

Nina has been having to drag me out of bed to get to classes. But again, it's only been three days, I don't think she's that annoyed with me yet.

"Kels, hey, just breathe." Nina tells me as she walks into the kitchen, seeing me pace back and forth as I snack on a granola bar.

I nod, "I just want to know they're both okay, you know?"

"I'm sure they are. I still don't know the full story, but I'm sure they are. They're both grownups. They can handle themselves"

Nina doesn't know everything that happened. Her and Kyle know Michael and I broke up. She knows Ashton is upset with me. She doesn't know about the whole Luke part, considering she doesn't know about Luke.

It's going to have to come out eventually. I know that. I shouldn't have ever kept Luke from them. Especially since I met Nina and Kyle when Luke and I were still together. But I didn't tell them. I don't necessarily regret everything, it just sucks now that it seems like Luke and I might actually be getting along.

As Nina and I leave the kitchen, Ashton is entering the house.

"Oh, hey." Ashton says, nodding over at us.

"Uh, hi." I manage to speak.

"You good?" He questions, though it seems like he doesn't really care.

"Yeah." Quickly nodding my head, trying to act like things are fine, though I'm very confused.

"Okay." He says, heading towards the stairs until Nina calls out to him.

"Hold the fuck up. You disappear for three days and that's what we get? No. You left all of us, especially Kelsey, in a panic."

"Don't start with me." Ashton warns, before walking to the staircase again.

"Hey! What the fuck?" She yells, making him stop at the bottom of the staircase.

"Kelsey knows exactly why I needed to leave and clear my head. I'm stuck in the middle of a shitty situation. I'm fucking disappointed. You know what, whatever." He says, finally heading upstairs.

"Are you okay?" Nina asks me, as she looks over at me, apparently, I don't look okay.

"Whatever. I have class. I have work. I'll talk to him later."

-

When I walk into the house after a day full of school and work, all I can see is Ashton glaring at me.

"Fuck off." I mutter, walking past him in the living room to head upstairs to my room.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He says, standing up, and following me upstairs.

"Leave me alone, Ashton." I tell him, not even looking back at him.

"We have to talk." He says, still following me into my room, closing the door and locking it behind him.

"No! We don't!" I tell him, rolling my eyes at him, "I cheated on Michael and now you fucking hate me! I get it!"

"I could never hate you!" He tells me.

"Then stop acting like it!" I yell, my eyes filling up with tears.

"Don't cry-"

"You were the only person I could really talk to about this and you disappeared! I know you're upset with what I did but I just- I needed the person I could trust with anything! I needed you to tell me things would be okay!"