I couldn't say I was unbothered by the fact that I hadn't heard from Ashton in about forty-eight hours because I was extremely bothered by it. We had exchanged numbers over breakfast, plus he followed me on Twitter, so I didn't see what the issue was. I hated to feel like I was something for the time being to pass time away and I hated to feel like I was being intentionally ignored. And as much as I tried not to think about it, I still thought about it and let it bother me.
I wasn't the best at distracting myself. I could only manage to keep my mind off things for an hour or two then I'd start worrying again and creating fake scenarios and possibilities in my head to make me feel worse or convince myself to hate Ashton. I sketched out a few designs but couldn't finish them since I was so distracted by the worse possible outcome. I made about three trips to the 76 gas station off PCH because I felt like I needed more cigarettes. And with each stick I lit, I knew I needed to kick the habit.
The rational part of me also reminded myself that he was likely busy with the band and was most certainly having issues getting away from Sarah therefore I couldn't be that upset with him. In the time that had gone by, I had seen Luke twice and every time I was on the verge of asking him what Ashton was up to, I'd bite my tongue, not ready to answer the millions of questions that Luke was going to ask out of suspicion.
Xander and I spent a typical Friday night together. Pizza night. Mom and dad went out for dinner per usual.
"I can already tell you that USC is going to win." Xander rolled his eyes referring to the college football bowl game we were watching. He loved USC more than he loved working out. He finished high school early so he could start classes at USC early and he just recently graduated.
"I don't know...Nebraska looks promising."
The sound of the doorbell filled the house, causing Xander and I to look at each other with skeptical looks.
"Were you expecting Sofia?" I questioned as I stood up, smoothing out my over-sized sweater over my frame.
"She's working...?" His eyebrows knitted together with confusion. It could be a package one of us forgot we had ordered.
I carefully padded to the door, bringing the sleeves of my sweater over my cold hands.
"Ashton?" I took a step back to see if it was really him. His head was hanging down as he leaned against the house with one arm. His curls sprawled out randomly. He wore all black, the ensemble topped with a leather jacket that looked like it was more for fashion than for warmth. Which was bold of him to do in Malibu during January. There were overwhelming feelings that hit as soon as I pulled Ashton into the house.
He lifted his head, revealing blood dripping from his nose. Some of it made its way to his hand as he probably tried to wipe it away. My heart sank.
"What happened?" I closed the door behind me, grabbing a few tissues that were by the front door because my mom believed in having tissues at every corner of the house just in case.
"I went to," He removed his hand from his nose and cautiously took the tissues from me. "Sarah's...And - I don't know..."
I sighed. "You can tell me after the bleeding has stopped." I grabbed his arm and led him to my bathroom.
Ashton took a seat on the toilet after he put down the lid. He continued to try cleaning the mess from his nose. For a second, I could see his eyes fill with tears and his jaw clenched as he held them back, uncomfortable crying in front of a stranger.
"I'll be right back."
This was a random situation that I never thought would happen to me. I wanted to be prepared for something like this to happen, but I panicked on the inside. Xander would know what to do. He used to get bloody noses in high school all the time when he played basketball, so I considered him a pro with these kinds of things.
