Unbroken | Ashton Irwin's Little Sister (COMPLETED)

Chapter 31

They would yell, they would scream they were fighting it out, she would hope, she would pray, she was waiting it out

***

| Bailey |

I'm awoken the next morning not by a nurse, but by Ashton and mom's bickering. They never argue, but judging by their voices, they both seem very upset.

"Ashton, she isn't strong enough!" Mom says tiredly.

"I wouldn't think of it if I didn't think she could handle it. Come on, mom, she deserves to be a kid," Ashton says. My back is to them so I pretend to still be asleep. What's Ashton talking about?

"She isn't a child anymore, that's the thing. She's sick, and the sooner we all accept that, the easier it'll be!" Mom seriously sounds like she's about to sob, but I have no clue why.

"Melia is her best friend mom, what would the the harm in her visiting? The boys do," Ashton says a bit more gently.

"That was before she got so weak!"

"It was three days ago!"

"The answer is no, that's final," mom snaps before I hear quick footsteps exiting the room. An eerie silence follows, so quiet I can hear my own heart in my ear, and not because of the monitor. Then, whimpering. Ashton is crying?

I slowly roll over and watch my brother as he tries to hold himself together. I know him, and he won't cry if he knows I'm awake. So I roll over and pretend to be sleeping, and he finally lets out all his heart wrenching sobs.

After what feels like forever, I can't take it anymore, so I roll over and Ashton quickly wipes his eyes.

"How much of that did you hear?" He whispers with a bitter chuckle. I frown and reach my hand out to him. He stares at it for a moment before taking it and sitting next to me. I shrug and he sighs, running a hand over his face.

"It's okay, she's just worried," I say. Ashton focuses on something off in the distance with a blank expression and nods before making himself more comfortable on my bed. "It'll be okay," I say as I rest my head on Ashton's chest. He plays with what's left of my hair and frowns when some more comes out. That's been happening a lot lately.

"It's okay, it'll all be gone soon," I say. I sound more upset than I intended to and Ashton hugs me gently, but securely. "It is okay, you'll look beautiful without it anyway," he says as he strokes my head. I let out a soft giggle and allow the sound of Ashton's steady heartbeat to lull me back to sleep.

***

When I wake up again, Ashton is gone and so is mom. I sit up, feeling slightly dizzy, and look around. My eyes land on a familiar face, concentrated on his phone.

"Well hey there sleeping beauty," Xander says with a smirk. I roll my eyes and try to suppress a giggle as I lean over to look at his phone.

"Is that a picture of me?" I gasp and try to hold back another laugh. Xander's cheeks turn red, but he tries to hide it and put on a smirk to hide the embarrassed smile on his face. "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it," he says with a cheeky grin. I let my mouth fall open, "You did not just say that." I finally let my laughter out as Xander grins even wider, looking impressed with himself. "But I did," he chuckles. 1975 fan, Ash will get a kick out of that.

"So, where's your family?" Xander questions. He looks a lot better than yesterday, which makes me feel better. I was actually worried he might . . . I quickly shake the thought away as Xander rolls his IV rack over and plops down next to me.

"I don't know, my brother was here when I fell asleep but I woke up and he was gone," I say with a shrug.

Xander purses his lips. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here to keep you company then," he chirps. I smile until my face suddenly gets cold and I can almost feel the color draining from it. I quickly grab the little bowl sitting on the tray by my bed and gag. I almost flinch when I feel his hand rubbing my back to soothe me, but relax under his touch. As nice as it is for him to be helping, this really puts an awkward damper on the mood.

A nurse comes in to help me clean up and take the bowl away, eying Xander suspiciously. "Were you given permission to leave your room?" She asks as she eyes his hospital bracelet. Xander shrugs. "I was lonely, she's lonely, we're keeping each other company," he says simply. The nurse narrows her eyes at him before leaving and he chuckles.

"You think you'll get in trouble?" I question. Xander shrugs. "If I do, it'll be worth it," he says with a sincere smile. His flirtatious smirk has since disappeared and I'm suddenly overwhelmed by how sweet he is. My cheeks heat up and I duck my head to avoid him seeing, but judging by the way he laughs and coos I'm guessing he saw anyway.

"So really, what's up with your family? They don't seem like the type to just leave you all alone in a big scary hospital," Xander says.

I let out a sigh. "Ashton and my mom got in a fight earlier over something ridiculously stupid and now I guess they're acting like five year olds about it," I huff.

Xander laughs, "That's one way to put it, but yeah, that sucks. Sorry."

I shrug, "I mean, I guess we all have our breaking points. Anyway, what about your parents?"

Xander rolls his eyes. "They're still being stupid, like usual. Adults are really stupid sometimes." I laugh and agree, suddenly noticing how sparkly Xander's eyes are. Have they always looked like that? Has he always been this cute? My thoughts are interrupted by another nurse standing in my doorway.

"Xander, you're not supposed to be in here," she says. Xander sighs and gets up as the nurse leads him away. He waves goodbye and suddenly, the woman smiles. "Don't worry, I'll let him come back soon," she whispers. I smile back and watch the two leave, leaving me alone again. I miss him already.

• ° • ° • ° •

A/N - hmmm, what's up with Ashton and Anne? Thoughts on Bailey and Xander?

I just went out to Denny's with my neighbors and I swear he almost killed us all, just thought I'd update on my crazy neighbors next door.😂

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful night. I'll most likely be updating again tomorrow, so yay!

Xoxo - Em:)