The New Irwin {Adopted by Ashton Irwin}

Chapter 27

  I'm so concentrated, confused, and frustrated with my math that I don't even hear the green room door open. I let out a small yelp when something is thrown into my lap. I look down to see a sandwich wrapped in a McDonald's wrapper. I furrow my eyebrows and look up to see the culprit.

"I don't eat burgers. You know this, Michael." I say picking up the sandwich and throwing it onto the coffee table.

"Yeah, I know, it's a fish sandwich." He tells me. I let out a small 'oh' and nod. I go back to trying to figure out my math and the rest of the boys come in.

"Luke, your mom is a math teacher, right?" I ask as he plops down next to me. I've met Liz once before, a month ago when she came to visit the boys. Apparently, she didn't know Ashton was adopting and was pleasantly surprised when she walked into the living room to see me on the couch, sketching.

"Yeah, but if you're about to ask me to help you with math, those genes were not passed down to me, so I wouldn't be much help." He explains. I nod and pull out my phone, pulling up Liz's contact.

Me: Hey, Ms. Liz!! Sorry to bother you, it's probably pretty early there, but if you're not busy, could you help me with something?

Liz Hemmings: Ah, good morning Autumn! You're not bothering me at all, I'm just waiting on students to arrive. What can I help you with?

Me: I'm having a bit of trouble with my math. Could I call you for a minute?

Liz Hemmings: of course!

Incoming call from...

Liz Hemmings

After a few minutes of explaining to me how to do my math, Luke trying to talk to his mom, and me telling the boys to shut up a thousand times, I finally get it and she is forced to hang up, due to her students coming into the classroom.

Math being my final subject for the day, I close my laptop and pick up my sandwich. I start eating it when there's a knock on the door. Calum opens it and reveals a guy with a camera.

"Hey, Dan!" Ashton says, hugging him.

Everyone gets up and greets him and my eyebrows scrunch together.

  "Autumn, this is our photographer, Dan. Dan, this is my daughter, Autumn." Ashton introduces. Dan smiles wide.

"Why can't there ever be any females?" I laugh. "It's getting overwhelming being with a bunch of guys."

"So this is the famous Autumn that Ashton raves about." Dan beams, causing me to blush.

"You talk about me?" I ask Ashton. He nods and smiles.

"You are my daughter. Why wouldn't I rave about someone as great as you." He says, causing my blush to become red instead of a light pink.

"Daaad, Stop." I whine, shoving my face into my sweater covered hands. Everyone laughs.

"You got a cute one here, Ash." Dan states as someone nudges me in the side, causing me to let out a small squeak. I uncover my face and see Luke trying to suppress a smile.

  "Don't push me." I grumble, pushing him away from me.

  "I didn't push you, I nudged you." Luke laughs. "You pushed me." He says, lunging forward and tackling me to the ground. I scream, scared of what's about to happen.

  Is Luke mad? Is he going to hit me? No, he's not like that. He's not like my dad. Ashton wouldn't let him, anyway, would he?

  Walking cautiously down the stairs, as to not wake up my dad, I head to the kitchen. I grab a red solo cup from the counter and fill it up with water.

  "Hey sweetie." My dads voice sounds from behind me, mischievously. I suck in a deep breath and place my cup down. I turn around and see that he's already right behind me, trapping me between the counter and his body. He leans in, practically pressing his body against mine.

  "Get off of me." I sneer, pushing him away.

  "Excuse me?" He says, anger filling his once lustful eyes. He grabs my wrists forcefully, yanking them off his chest. He then pushes me to the ground, my head hitting the tile aggressively. He hovers over me, slapping and punching me repeatedly.

  Suddenly, Luke starts tickling me, catching me off guard. But he abruptly stops.

  "Hey, Hey, What's wrong? You're shaking." Luke coos, getting off of me. He sits me up and pulls me into a tight hug. "Did I scare you, babe?" He asks gently. I nod gently. "I'm so sorry." He says as he pulls me closer, his voice full of remorse.

  "I'm sorry. I know you would never do anything. I don't know what got in to me." I tell him.

  "No, don't apologize. I understand. You've been through a lot, it's your instinct." He squeezes me one last time before pulling away and smiling softly at me. Milo comes up and forces his way into my lap.

  "Anyone care to explain why she got so scared?" Dan asks.

  "No." I say casually, standing up.

  "Uh, why not?" He asks.

  "Because it's none of your damn business!" I snap, walking out, Milo following. I need to get out of here. It feels like the walls are closing in on me. I run to the closest exit, pushing my way out. Milo is hot on my tail.

  I slide down the wall and bring my knees to my chest, letting out a sob. I never want to relive those moments. Those moments when I was beat, harassed, tortured, and tormented. Those moments when I'd come home and the house smelled of weed and smoke. Those moments when I'd catch my parents snorting cocaine. That moment when Ryan was killed in front of me because he was protecting me. It was my fault. He was protecting me. I didn't warn him soon enough.

I feel a nudge on my shoulder, so I look up. Milo sits beside me, watching me with concerned eyes. He whines and forces his way into my embrace, causing me to chuckle briefly before going back to crying.

Soon, the door next to me opens. I look over to see a very worried Ashton. He lets out a breath once he sees me, and closes the door. He sits down next to me, holding me close to his chest, allowing me to let out all of my emotions onto his shirt.

By now, he knows what I'm thinking. He's known me long enough to know what most of my break downs are about, so he doesn't question me. Most of the time, he doesn't even talk, he just holds me close to him and let's me cry.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise, my love." He assures me, swaying our bodies back and forth and running his hand through my hair, knowing that these gestures soothe me.

  I know he will. He's already protected me from so much shit. So have the other boys. They were my everything in the orphanage. They were my idols. My saviors. They kept me alive through their music and tweets. Now, they're still my everything, just in a different way. Now, they're my family. The family I had always hoped for. They're my idols and saviors, still, but now they keep me alive from the love that they give me personally, rather than inspiring tweets to the entire 5SOSFam.

  I don't know where I would be without them.