The Story of Him and I (slow updates)

t h i r t y - boy of my dreams

✨I fucking love you ✨

I was pissed that my phone was filled with notifications from Drew while the guy I actually cared about, didn't even bother to call me and find my whereabouts.

 "I'll be right back. Call me if anything happens."

--

I splashed some cold water onto my face and before I knew it, the waterworks began. I hiccuped as I tried to cover my mouth with the hem of my t-shirt.

Teardrops fell from my puffy eyes as I sobbed, "Didn't he say he was in love with me? So is love, walking away when things get tough. Is love, not trusting a word I say and jumping to conclusions without even waiting for an explanation. Because if that's what true love is, then I guess I uh... dodged a bullet," I whispered to myself.

"It isn't," someone cleared their throat.

"Sophia, uh... oh my god, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay there," I quickly rubbed away the falling tears and brushed a hand through my hair, trying to make myself look the least bit presentable.

"Come on, Allison we might not be BFFs but I know you enough to know who you're crying about. Listen to me, he's a hormonal teenage boy who doesn't understand how much your tears are worth. So, whatever he's done, just know that his stupid boy brain doesn't understand how much heartache every dumb thing he does causes you," she rubbed my back in soothing motions.

After a while, she took my hand and pulled me out of the bathroom, "I had come to tell you that it was time to meet him."

I took a deep breath before we went in, "Hello, Mr. Woods, I know you probably hate me and my family, but I really wanted to hear out what you had to say and apologize for everything."

Sophia slowly backed away from the room, leaving me stranded with this stranger, "So you're Hill's daughter, God I feel sorry you have a father like him."

My eyes darted across the room, "Umm... he's actually started becoming better at this parenting thing. But that's not what I want to talk about."

He smiled, "Not good at making small talk, I see. Okay, so where should I begin? When Ashton was around twelve years old, I had gone on a trip to San Francisco for this deal. His mother and I had been having problems, but gosh was I surprised when I came home to see that both of them had packed their bags and run away from home.

I called and I called, but she had her phone switched off. I had no idea where they had gone, until I got a phone call from a random payphone, from a scared, young Ashton. He sobbed as he told me what had been going on for years under my nose, as his mother beat him and abused him every time I was out of sight. And he went on to tell me how he caught her cheating on me, with some rando she found at a bar. And when Ashton dared to tell me the truth, she threatened him into silence while they fled the city. Well, after finding out, I went in a downwards spiral that led to me, pretty much ending up here. "

I exhaled deeply and let out in a shaky voice, "Wow, I can't believe Ashton having to go through all that at such a young age. It must have been so horrible for him. God, I can't believe how idiotic I must seem, fighting over the smallest things while he's had a traumatic childhood filled with abuse."

He looked up from the table where his arms had been handcuffed to, "You, you care about him a lot more than you let on. Come on, tell me. How exactly do you know him."

I sniffled, "Umm... so basically... ever since your wife cheated on you, they have been living next door to me. We became best friends in about 7th grade when he was the only one to defend me against a bully and well, like most friendships we drifted apart if you could call it that."

His eyebrows raised, "Is that all? Are you sure you're not missing anything? Like maybe, the feelings are written all over your face every time you mention his name."

Blushing a beetroot red, I denied, "What? No, absolutely not. He's the one missing something because well, he can't even give me an inch of his trust so why should I let myself be open with him?"

"Well, listen to an old man here with a life filled with regret. Guys like Ashton, who are sweet and kind despite all the damage done to them, they don't come very often. And when they do, you shouldn't ruin your chances of being with him over something as small as ego. So apologize first, even if you think you did nothing wrong. Because as far as I know my boy, he doesn't express himself very easily, especially not to a girl he likes."

"What do you mean?"

He drifted into his world of finite memories he had preserved with Ashton, "It must have been around fourth grade, there was this girl named Emily. She was the kind of shy, quiet loner who sat all by herself in a corner and though nobody else gave her any attention, for some reason she caught Ashton's eye.

 He would spend every lunch break trying to work up the courage to sit with her, but he was always too scared about what the others would say. One day, this big bully named Connor decided to intimidate Emily for some fun. But as all the children stood idle as he punched the crap out of her like a boxing bag, Ashton, trembling with fear, chose to stand up for her. Though he didn't stand a chance against Connor, he held up pretty good and even threw a few punches before the hall monitor finally came along and put a stop to everything. After that day, he sat with Emily every single day until she had to move away."

He was never too scared to stand up for what he believed in, not then and definitely not now. And if Ashton doesn't feel like he trusts me, then his damaged past gives him every reason not to. After all, everyone in his life has found a way to hurt him and he's simply protecting himself in case I try to do the same. But I need to make it clear to him that... I guess what I'm saying is that I fucking love him.

Smiling, he gave my hand a squeeze, "You go get him."

I got up from the metal chair I had been sitting on for the past hour, "I'm so sorry about everything but I really need to go."

Interrupting me, he said, "Don't fill your head with so much worry. You focus on getting the boy of your dreams and stop worrying about your father. He made a mistake, a pretty crappy one but he made up for it by bringing up a beautiful girl like you."

As a tear dropped down my cheek, I whispered, "Thank you, for everything."

.

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Word Count: 1214

A/N: I love it when a girl gets to know her S.O's family, ahhh. And I loved the whole cliche realization and all the mushy stuff.  So, tell me if your heart flutters when you think about two people made perfectly for each other, just like Ashly.

Plus, I HAD to throw in that Bazzi lyric, haha.