𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 | 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞

ɴɪɴᴇᴛᴇᴇɴ

NEVER MIND
ʚ chapter nineteen ɞ
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That night Elijah stayed for a little longer, just talking about whatever came to their minds. Kind of like Annie and Asher's stay-up night, but different. It had the same intention but it could never come close to the feeling Annie got whenever she did it with Asher.

He didn't stay the night because he knew she wanted to spend as much time with her family now they were here. After all, he was glad to be on good terms again, even though he didn't quite trust Annie saying she fully forgave him.

"Wibble, wobble. Up cousin, Annie," Anthem said as she walked in Annie's room. Annie was usually the one to wake up early, but because she stayed up longer with Elijah, she had clearly slept in. The clock showed twelve pm exactly.

Annie's mouth fell agape. She had predicted she would wake up later than usual, but not at noon. She hurried to get out of bed, putting on something more presentable than striped pajama pants and cleaned up her room from the past couple of days.

She hadn't been in a decent mood lately, due to all the stress both Asher and Elijah had given her, and therefore didn't find enough effort to clean her room. She promised herself last night, after she had said Elijah goodnight, to not let anyone stop her from being happy again. She knew it would be impossible, but it was worth trying.

"Me is hungry," Anthem stated blankly. She has been in the room with Annie to wait until she was done, and it felt like an eternity to anthem. All Anthem wanted was for her family to sit at the table together and eat. Annie had already missed breakfast and Anthem insisted that Annie would be there at lunch, making it her own responsibility.

"I'm sorry, bub. Let go now and eat. You know if you wait a little longer after your mommy has called you for food, you don't have to help with setting up the table," Annie said with a wink. Anthem's little mouth fell open, she has never been more intrigued. Everything that gave her the ability to play longer, was welcome.

"Thank you, Annie. You know my priorities very well." She raised her imaginary glasses up her nose. She knew how to make herself sound smart like one of the very best. She took Annie's hand and let her downstairs to find a perfectly set table.

"Told you so," Annie whispered into Anthem's ear. Anthem let out a cheeky smile and couldn't help to contain a giggle.

"And what may this be all about," Paige said with her pretend strict voice. She had used it too many times for Anthem to budge. Instead, Anthem sat down with her arms crossed and smiled. "Dork," was all Paige said before calling the rest for lunch.

The Leblancs have a strict rule of 'no phones while sitting in company at the table'. With all her respect, Annie had followed that rule ever since owning a phone, but she couldn't contain herself when she saw Asher's name pop up when she took a glance at her phone after feeling it buzz in her pocket.

Asher
I sincerely hope this time away from each other is giving you what you need.

Annie was shocked by his text. Is he going to tell her he never wants to see her again? Is he going to tell her he found another girl he likes? Is he going to tell her he is moving and she can't move with him? More contingencies ran through her head as she saw him type another text.

From her point of view, he took an eternity typing his text. Her anxious behavior didn't stay unnoticed by her family for long. "Is everything alright, Annie?" It wasn't quite often that her mother spoke in such formal words. Annie turned her head to look at her mother, who sat patiently but worried on her chair.