Darkest Secret

Chapter 8

Ashton's POV

(Six years prior)

"You're sixteen, just try one." My cousin practically pushes the bottle into my hand but I refuse for the third time.

"Max, I said I don't want one." Although with the hell I've been through this year I deserve a drink.

"Come here," he leads me to the couch of his, and now my, apartment and pats the seat next to him for me to sit, "I miss your mom and dad too. That doesn't mean you get to stop having fun though. It's been almost six months since it happened, let loose a little." He places a firm hand on my shoulder.

"How could you say that?" I snap at him and shrug his large hand off of my shoulder. He gives me a puzzled look and rubs the back of his neck.

"What do you mean?"

"My parents were assholes to you, how could you miss them?" Despite my admiration of my parents their feelings towards Max were uncalled for.

"Well, I mean, they were my aunt and uncle. I know they were harsh but I did care for them. That's why you're here. If I hated all of you I never would have agreed to let you stay with me." He smiles which makes me laugh. My cousin and I have always been close with each other and when my parents died I looked forward to living with him. I'm not saying I'm happy about them dying though.

"Still offering that beer?" I say after a few moments of silence and he nods his head.

*Present time*

"Get your ass up!" I hear Max's voice boom and his hand smacks my arm that's laying off of the bed.

"Fuck off." I spit and turn my head away from him.

"No. We have stuff to do today. Get up now, Ash." He turns the light on and I curse loudly. He always does this shit.

Brooklyn's POV

"What do you mean?" I look into my best friend's eyes and we both know how bad of a liar he is.

"I mean he left. He's gone, Brook. Yesterday he packed up his bags and left." He immediately wraps his arms around me and I cry into his chest.

He left. Ashton said he was going to leave but I didn't know he actually meant it. I'll miss him dearly even though things have been weird between us lately.

I feel Luke tighten his arms around me. His embrace is warm and inviting like always. Jamie is so lucky to have such a comforting guy like him.

"Where's Jamie? I want to talk to her." I demand and Luke points to the living room. I wipe under my eyes and straighten out my dress before exiting their room.

"Jamie?" She looks up from her phone and flashes me a stunning smile. She really is beautiful.

"Luke told you about Ashton?" She immediately asks as she takes in my appearance. "Come here." She pats the seat next to her and I sit down and lay my head on her shoulder. An arm wraps around me and she hugs me closer.

"We're all going to miss him, Brook." She whispers and I know her words couldn't be more true.

Honestly, I wasn't crying because I'll miss him. I was crying because of how things ended between us. He loves me but I don't love him. I'm not sure if I will ever learn to love him in that way and I know how hard it must be for him.

"I'm going to go call him." I excuse myself and take my phone from the kitchen banister.

I tap his name and wait as it rings three times and it goes to voicemail. Instead of leaving a message I decide to text him.

'Ashton please call me. We need to talk.'

People might criticize me for what I'm doing. He asked for me to leave him alone and that's the opposite of what I'm doing. I just need to talk to him one last time and end things on a better note.

Ashton's POV

While I'm riding in the passenger seat of Max's car I feel my phone vibrate and my blood goes cold when I see her name. I let it go to voicemail and ignore her for a second time when I receive a text message.

Doesn't she listen? She knows that I want her to leave me alone yet she keeps trying to get in contact with me. What the hell?

"Is it a girl?" Max questions after a few seconds of silence.

I reach forward and turn on the radio. My shit life is none of his business.

"Ash," he reaches forward and turns the music back off. "I've had my fair share of relationship shit. What's her name?"

Should I tell him? If I do how much should I tell him?

"Brooklyn." I sigh. Even saying her name is painful. Honestly, how could this happen to me? I don't date or fall in love with people so why now? "And it isn't 'relationship shit'. We don't date."

He holds one hand up in defense and keeps the other on the wheel. "Whatever, Ash. Isn't my business. Besides, you don't have time to tell me a story anyway. We're here."
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Thanks for reading!

QOTD: Where do you think Ashton and Max are going?

Song suggestion: Ready to Run- One Direction

Please comment and vote! Xoxo

p. s. That's Jamie at the top/ side