Getting broken up with was one thing Aliana Haven was used to. Her first years of High School mostly consisted of heartbreaking break-ups. But on top of all that, she has to deal with the remnants of sadness left behind after her mother left her and...
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Aliana's POV
"Do you have any siblings?" I asked Ashton. We were currently laying on the hard floor while using our hands as pillows below our heads.
"Yeah, I do. I have a brother. A step-brother, I mean," he answered.
"Oh, cool. I didn't know you had a step-brother," I replied truthfully.
He nodded before speaking again. "Do you have any?" he asked me.
I shook my head sadly. "Unless I have a long lost brother or sister that I've never heard of, I don't." I frowned to myself as I remembered my lonely days as a child.
"Were you lonely as a kid?" he asked.
I hesitated telling him because I was a lonely kid. Nobody ever wanted to play with me, or as I got older, 'hang out'.
Suddenly his voice broke through my thoughts. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." he said hurriedly.
"No, it's fine. I just had a pretty rough childhood in the friends category," I admitted. He nodded as if he understood, but I knew he probably didn't.
"I get it," he said.
"No, actually, you don't." I stood up and started pacing around the cabin.
"Ali-" he started, but I cut him off.
"No. I'm sorry I lashed out. It's just..." I paused and took a deep breath. "I had a really rough childhood and it's hard to think about it."
"Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, we won't. I won't pressure you," he said.
"Thanks. I just wish it was an easy thing to talk about, but it isn't. I wish my whole life wasn't miserable. I wish I had a normal life, with normal friends, and a normal family. But I didn't. And now, I have to live with the memories of the past." I paused to take a breath. "Yes, I'm older now, but that doesn't just erase my childhood."
I wanted to stop talking for a second but I couldn't. I never poured out my feelings, but for some reason, I felt the need to. In this moment, in the second. I glanced at Ashton. He was watching me intently, as if he was silently telling me to continue. So I did. "But over the last couple of years, I've learned to deal with those horrible memories. Because I thought one day, 'Hey, that's just life. I can't change it even if I want to'."
"Wow, that sounded more like a quote then a thought," Ashton said after a second of silence. That made me chuckle a little, but it didn't last long. I was too lost in the memories of my childhood.
"Hah! I made you laugh," he said proudly. I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't roll your eyes!" he ordered with a hint of humor in his voice.
"I can roll my eyes all I want, Bossy Pants," I said. He smirked and shook his head slowly from side to side.
