After Midnight (a.i.)

35

Ashton's POV

"Are you okay?" I ask, my tired brain attempting to clear the intoxicated haze that left me exhausted. I had to stay on my feet, the second I meet the mattress below me I'll be knocked out. And I wouldn't be much help then.

"I'm okay. Just making sure you'll stop by tomorrow?" She says softly through the speaker. I feel a slight relief knowing that she's okay, she doesn't usually call this late. I thread a hand through my hair to push it out of my face, hoping for a chance of clarity to get my mind right. It doesn't strike. Not from my own attempts, anyway.

The creak of the bathroom door catches my attention with ease, the steam pouring out of the room to give her the grandest entrance of all. She steps out with a shy smile, her freshly washed hair cascading down her back and dampening the old shirt of mine. I didn't care. I never do.

She keeps her movements quiet when she notices my ongoing phone call that I tuned out since she came out. She neatly stacks her clothes from the night in a pile on top of my dresser, keeping her shoes directly in line on the floor below.

"Cub?" Nan repeats through the speaker, a quiet laugh at my lack of attention. I snap out of it, away from the creamy thighs exposed under the large shirt she wore. My shirt.

"Yeah, I'll swing by tomorrow. I gotta go, okay?" I tell her, hoping to ease her mind with her pressing questions. I can't blame her, I'm sure she's bored sitting in that house all damn day by herself. Maybe she needs a goldfish or something.

"Okay, cub. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you, honey." She says, I can see her warm smile through the phone. My eyes are glued to Cara as she continues her nightly routine, I don't even notice her curious gaze on me when I stay silent.

"Yeah, love you, bye." I say quickly and quietly, not listening to her response before I hang up and drop my phone back to the bedside table. I'm left with full focus, and put it on nothing but the woman on the other side of the bed who stood with a shy smile and blushed cheeks.

It was late, maybe four in the morning at this point. The party has officially died and my headache ensued from the lack of toxins filling my bloodstream. I was too ashamed to get my fix with her so close, so naive to think of what I was doing in here earlier. She didn't question it, but I wondered what she thought I was up to. I was able to keep the demons at bay for the rest of the night, the copious amount of alcohol in my system subsiding the harrowing side effects of my lack of use.

But none of that mattered. It never did, not when I had her in front of me and I wanted to do nothing but keep her satisfied.

"Who was that?" Cara asks me softly from the opposing side of the bed, but I could tell she wasn't trying to pry. Simply asking a warranted question that I didn't want to answer. She sinks down to the mattress with crossed legs while I kept my ground, mulling over my options as she made herself comfy in my bed sheets. My shirt practically swallowed her whole, it made my chest feel full.

"That was..." I think of what I could even tell her, but I knew what I had to do. I couldn't lie to her anymore. Not with those big blue eyes full of wonder sat on my bed that urged me to bare my fucking soul.

At this point, I fucking might.

"My nan." I tell her, honestly and fully. Her eyes flicker to me with a small smile, I can tell that's not the answer she was expecting. Although, it was the answer she needed to hear.