Ashton's POV
I twirl my finger around Emilia's soft brunette hair as she sleeps soundly by my side, finally getting rest after having to speak with the police for over two hours. As she spoke to them, not once did her demeanor change; she was triumphant and proud. She wasn't upset. She wasn't shaking with fear. She was stronger than I have ever seen her before. She won this battle that she had been fighting for several years and can now sleep peacefully at the thought of never having to face him again.
When she told us that she kicked him in the crotch, I couldn't have been more proud. That's my girl. She fought him off as hard as she could and I'm glad she had the strength to do so.
With all of our testimonies, there is no doubt that Jared is going to prison. From what Calum and the others had heard while speaking with a few of the officers, Jared is going to be charged with assault and will be seen in court where he will most likely be sentenced to prison; for how long, I don't know, but as long as he's away from Emilia and behind bars, I don't care at this point.
What I do care about though is that fact that I found out my dad gave him the address to my house after Jared called and told him that I wanted to work for Jared's uncle's firm. Dad is stupid for even falling for that lie. He was given a glimmer of hopeâhope that his son would follow in his footsteps like he wanted and he was reeled into the lie like a naïve child. As Emilia would say: idiot.
But even though all this shit happened, in a way, I'm happy. My cheek is swollen and hurts like hell and I hate that I sprained my wrist, but nonetheless, I'm happy. I don't have to worry about Jared fucking things up in our lives and can have a relationship with Emilia without any worries. She can finally feel completely safe. I may still have my battle to face, but hers is over.
One down, one more to go.
It's funny that even with all of our baggage, neither Emmie nor I have ever been driven away from each other. Any normal person would be running for the hills, but we just took each other's faults and embraced them, accepted them. We're definitely crazy.
The strands of hair that I have been playing with as I watch Emmie sleep slip through my fingers when Julia pops her head into my room. It really sucks not having a door right now. I'd like to enjoy this time with Emmie, but no door equals no privacy and there's nothing I can do about it until I can go to the hardware store and buy another one.
Julia beckons me to follow her before she turns around and heads back down the stairs. Slowly and carefully, I slide off the bed without waking Emmie and tiptoe out of my room and head downstairs into the kitchen where everyone is hanging out and sitting on the counters and bar stools. I look over to the microwave to check the time and am surprised that everyone is still up even though it's almost four in the morning.
"How's she doing?" Julia asks, sitting next to Calum on the island.
"She's fine," I say. "It didn't take her long to fall asleep. I don't think there's anything to worry about."
"How are you doing?" Luke asks, referring to my busted lip, bruised cheek, and the bandage wrapped around my wrist.
I lean against the counter by the sink and shrug. "I'm fine. A little sore, but I'm doing alright. I'd rather not have to get into another fight though."
Michael stretches out his arms as he yawns. "Yeah, we pretty much suck at fighting as you can tell by the way we were thrown around like we were in a mosh pit."
We all chuckle lightly knowing that he's right. Even though we're pretty strong and are taller than Jared, his adrenaline rush was too much for us to handle. With that much rage and determination, it can make a man twice as strong as he normally is so it's no wonder that he was able to fight us all off with ease.
"I would have rather been in a mosh pit," Luke scoffs and messes with the exact same bandage as mine that is wrapped around his left wrist. "Thank God I'm right handed."
"Yeah, lucky you," I mutter, holding up my injured right hand that I can't use for a couple of days. Thankfully both of our sprains are minor and they will heal on their own within a few days as long as we don't do any extraneous lifting (which I've already done by carrying Emmie downstairs earlier) and keep it immobile.
"Quit your whining, you'll live," Julia jokes, earning a small smile from me. "By the way, what did you talk to Em about after you made us leave you two alone?" She may be just as bad as the guys. They're so nosey.
"I just can't have a private relationship with you guys, can I?" I tease and they all shake their heads. Luke and Michael stare at me emotionless as if they already know what I'm going to say. "I told her," I say vaguely. Everyone except for Julia knows what I'm talking about and their expressions turn to shock because I told them that I would wait to tell her, yet twenty-four hours later, I confess anyway.
Julia's face contours into confusion and she looks to everyone for answers. "Told her what? What am I missing?"
"He told her that he loves her," Calum says and Julia's eyes go wide and the corners of her lips rise.
She squeals softly, trying to contain herself from being loud and waking up Emmie. "You love her?"
I nod sheepishly, finding the tile in the kitchen extremely interesting as I keep my eyes to the floor. How am I not supposed to feel embarrassed while I'm basically wearing my heart on my sleeve? I feel like I need to eat a steak or do some push-ups just so that I can gain some masculinity back and not feel like such a girl.
"Aw," she coos.
"How'd she take it?" Luke asks, his face and body relaxing. He knows his place now.
"I'm assuming well seeing that she didn't run away again," I say.
"Did she say anything back?" Julia asks.
I stare blankly at her for a few seconds before dropping my gaze. "If you're asking if she said anything to reciprocate, then the answer is no."
Silence fills the room, replicating the same silence I had to experience while telling Emilia that I love her. They each look to one another, trying to figure out what to say to me, but they come up short.
It hurts that Emmie didn't say anything back. I would have been alright with a simple 'okay' or some type of reaction, but there wasn't even a twitch of the muscle. I don't expect her to say it back right away, but I at least want to know what's going through her head instead of keeping me in the dark and letting negative thoughts eat at me.
She doesn't love you.
She's probably dreaming of ways to let you down easy.
How can you say that you love her when you still keep that stupid wedding invitation inside your desk drawer?
You said it too soon.
You should have waited.
"Did she say anything at all?" Michael asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"She said that she wants for me to meet her parents," I say.
"But they'reâ"
"Yeah, I know." I cut him off.
"She means their gravestones," Julia says.
"Isn't that a bit weird?" Calum says with an arched eyebrow.
Julia smacks his arm and I bite my tongue to keep from laughing as he rubs where she hit him. "They're the most important people to her," Julia says. "If your parents died, or your sister, or even one of these guys, wouldn't you still want to talk to them in some form or fashion? Wouldn't you want for them to know how your life is going? Wouldn't you want for them to meet the person who makes you happier than you've ever been?" I hear a couple's fight coming along.
"Well, yeah, butâ"
"No buts," she cuts him off mid-sentence and jumps off the island. "I think it's cute that she wants to take Ash to meet them. It sounds like something out of a Nicholas Sparks book or some other romance shit novel."
Please don't compare my love life to the shitty works of romance novelists.
"I didn't say it wasn't cute," Calum says. "I just didn't think of it in those terms."
"I don't have a problem with meeting them," I say, trying to break this little quarrel for Calum's sake. "I'm actually excited to. It may not be the usual way of being introduced to her parents, but it's the only way she can. It'll be a better introduction than what my dad gave her and at least it will be somewhat in person unlike when I have her meet my mum through a Skype call."
"He has a point," Luke says. "Make a good first impression." He winks at me and I shake my head in amusement. "Are you okay with her not saying anything back though? That's gotta be rough."
I scratch the back of my neck and sigh. "Honestly, it fucking sucks, but I had a feeling that she wouldn't say it back anyway so I'm not beating myself up about it."
"Why'd you think that she wouldn't say it?" Michael asks.
"Because technically we've been dating for only three weeks and not once has she ever said the word 'love' to me. Yeah, she seems happy and we've been dealing with our problems as best as we can, but I don't think the thought of loving me has ever crossed her mind. Has it, Julia?" I ask her since she and Emmie tell each other everything.
Julia has moved to sit on one of the barstools next to Michael and away from Calum, still a little pissed off at him. She rests her chin on her clasped hands and raises her eyebrows. "In all the times that we've talked about you, she's never mentioned love." That makes me feel amazing. You could have sugarcoated it or something. "But she does notice the change in affection as you two have grown closer. She doesn't understand it. The only real love that she's received is from her parents and us, but that's completely different from actually being in love with someone and sometimes I think that she notices that difference. She just doesn't know how to act upon it."
"Has it seriously only been three weeks that you two have been dating? It seems like so much longer," Luke says.
"That's because they've practically been dating since a month after they met," Julia chuckles lightly and I silently agree with her. We might as well have been.
"She just needs time to figure everything out," I say. "Even though I wish she would, I'm in no rush to hear her say 'I love you' back."
"You've given her so much time," Michael says. "How are you so patient with her?"
I smile at the redhead, somewhat amused by his question. Time seems to be something that I've always given her. I let her learn things at her own pace and I still want her to. I want for her to experience what she's missed out on and go through each stage without being rushed. I didn't have to give her as much time as I have, but she's worth it.
"I don't think I can answer that without sounding like a girl," I say, causing everyone to laugh with me.
As soon as our laughter dies down, a short creaking sound comes from the stairwell, gaining our attention. I step out of the kitchen and find the source of the sound sitting at the bottom of the steps with her arms wrapped around her knees.
"What are you doing up?" I ask. "Does your head hurt?" I kneel down to Emmie's height and check the bandage on her temple, making sure that she isn't bleeding.
She rubs her eye with her fist, still groggy from waking up. "No, it doesn't hurt," she says, yawning.
"I'm surprised you were able to make it down the stairs so quietly while being this tired," I joke, earning a small smile from her.
"You underestimate me, Irwin," she says. "If you've forgotten, I have feet as light as a feather."
Oh, how can I forget? She likes to use these quiet feet of hers to sneak up on me from time to time and scare me half to death.
I chuckle at her tired speech. It kind of reminds me of the time she got drunk. "Yes you do," I say. "How long have you been down here?"
"A while." She yawns again.
Julia pops out from the kitchen and comes over to tend to her friend. "Are you okay?" she asks.
"Yup," Emmie answers.
"Did we wake you?"
"Yup, you should really work on your inside voice, Jules." Emmie laughs and Julia apologizes.
I place my hand on Emmie's shoulder and help her stand. "C'mon. Let's get you back to bed." She looks completely out of it and is fighting sleep.
"No." She pushes my arm away and wobbles from side to side from the force before grabbing onto the stairway railing to steady herself.
"What's going on?" Luke asks. He stands behind us with Michael and Calum.
"She woke up and refuses to go back to bed," I say and try to grab her arm, but she pulls away. "Are you sure you're okay?" I ask her.
"I'm fine," Emmie says firmly, slightly irritated. She climbs down the last few steps and walks past us, turning the corner over to the entryway.
I follow in her tracks and watch as she sits on the tile and struggles to put her shoes on. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to get these stupid shoes on," she says.
"It might help if you untie the laces," I say. There's no point in trying to stop her. She may be half conscious, but she's still as stubborn as ever. She does as told and finishes putting them on before standing up. The shirt that I let her wear after her sweater was ripped in half hangs down to her knees and her hair is a tangled mess on her head. I'm not sure how, but she still manages to look cute as hell. "Where are you going?"
She looks up at me with drowsy eyes. "We're going to Glendale," she says.
"Right now?" I ask.
"Yes, now get your shoes on," she orders.
"You do realize what time it is, right?"
"Yes, so we better get a move on it."
She's a pocket full of sunshine right now. I know she heard a lot of what we said about her, and I should be more worried about that, but I just want to know what possessed her to decide to go to Glendale at this hour.
"Ash," Michael calls. "What is going on?" He as well as the others look just as confused as me as they circle around us.
I glance over to Emmie as she grabs my shoes and drops the by my feet, urging me to hurry up. "I guess we're going to Glendale," I say, slipping my feet inside my boots before tying the laces. "Em, get your coat," I instruct and she heads over to the hall closet by the front door, careful to avoid stepping on any of the glass from the light bulb that is still shattered on the floor and pulls out both mine and her coat.
I turn over to face the others while Emmie is occupied with that and sigh. "She basically heard our entire conversation, but I still don't know why she wants to leave right now," I tell them. "I don't know if it's something we said or if she's delusional and doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. You guys go get some rest. We'll be back in the morning."
"It's already the morning," Calum says and I roll my eyes.
"Later in the morning," I say. I walk over to the broken table by the door and pull open one of the drawers, grabbing the glasses case the sits inside. I take the frames from the case and place them on the bridge of my nose.
"You wear glasses?" Emmie says as she hands me my jacket and I pull my arms through the green sleeves.
"After being knocked around earlier, my contacts tore and I don't have any extras so I have to wear these for now," I say.
"I didn't know you wore contacts," she says softly.
"You learn something new every day."
"I've learned a lot of things today..." she trails off and I can only assume that she means what we were talking about in the kitchen.
I grab my keys and help Emmie over the broken glass and out the front door. Julia hollers for us to be safe and I nod, assuring her that we will before closing the door behind me and heading over to my car. I help Emmie inside before getting behind the wheel and taking off onto the dark, empty streets.
I continuously look out of the corner of my eye as I drive down the road, glancing at Emmie as she stares out the window. I place my hand on her thigh like I normally do while driving and she places hers on top of mine, still keeping her gaze out the window.
"What are you thinking?" I ask.
"How long have you loved me?" Emmie asks, not beating around the bush.
I turn my head slightly, catching a small glimpse of her before returning my gaze to the road ahead of me. "Well, I only just admitted it to myself recently, but it's been a while." That's not really a good answer, but it's the best I can come up with. I don't really keep track of the exact day and time of when I figure out that I love someone so that's about as accurate as I can get.
She hums in response and squeezes my hand forgetting that it's sprained, but my pathetic whimper jogs her memory and she apologizes quickly. She keeps quiet for the rest of the half hour drive to her hometown.
"Take a right," Emmie instructs when we finally reach a residential area in town. I turn the wheel and do as she says. "Pull over here." I bring the car to the curb and put it in park before killing the engine.
Through the windshield, I can faintly see the gated area that we have arrived at. She swiftly gets out of the car and I follow behind her down this unfamiliar trail. The fallen leaves from the trees surrounding us crunch beneath our feet as we head through the open gate and down one of the many rows of headstones. I lengthen my strides and catch up to her and grab her hand, swinging it lightly as she leads the way.
Emilia stops in her tracks once we reach a large, barren oak tree and turns to face the two marble stones that sit across from it. She brushes off the leaves that have fallen onto the headstones with her hand before pulling me over to sit against the tree.
Bennett and Grace Anderson.
It's so much more surreal sitting here in front of them than I had imagined. Even with them physically not here, it's just as nerve-wracking as it would be if they were.
"Mom, Dad, this is Ashton," Emilia says. "I told you about him last time I was here and that I would bring him over the next time I came. I know it's a bit early in the day, but I wanted him to meet you guys as soon as possible." She cranes her neck and looks up to me, waiting for me to say something to them.
"Um, hi, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson," I say hesitantly. I've never spoken to a piece of marble before. "It's nice to finally meet you. Emilia has told me a lot about you. It's unfortunate that I'm unable to meet you in person. I would have liked to have had that stern parental experience when meeting the parents of my girlfriend for the first time." I chuckle to myself and Emilia wraps her arm around mine, clinging to my body for warmth. "I hope that when she told you about me, she at least made me out to be a good person, but you can be the judge of that for yourselves."
"Seeing that you brought me here at five in the morning, I'm sure it's safe to say that they'll think you're a good person," she says, closing her eyes and resting her head against my shoulder.
"I don't have that much luck when it comes to relationships and I never really planned to get into another one for a long time ever since my ex-fiancée cheated on me. But when I met Emilia, I don't know how, but she was able to change my ways of thinking. Did she tell you how we met?" She nods her head against my shoulder. "It's actually the worst way I could have met her, but if it didn't happen that way, I don't think I would have given her second glance. She would have been just another girl to me when she's anything but." Is it weird that it feels like her parents are actually sitting with us right now? No, I think that's how it's supposed to feel. It's comforting.
"Jared is gone," I continue. "You don't have to worry about him hurting her anymore. I haven't been able to keep her safe like I should and I'm sorry that I couldn't help her each time she needed me. I tried as best as I could. I put in so much effort to get to her; to keep him away, but I failed each time. I couldn't get to her at the party and she was assaulted. I wasn't there to stop him. I practically handed her to him. I let him lock her in my room because I wasn't strong enough to stop him."
"But he broke down the door to get to me," Emilia adds. "So he did help me this time."
"Yeah, that door was a bitch to get through." We chuckle together. "But like I said, Jared is gone and now I'm going to protect her. Even though I couldn't prove it in the past, I promise that I will keep her safe for you guys. She has me, and Julia, and all our friends back home to keep her safe and we will do anything to make sure that happens. We're her family now." The apples of her cheeks rise as she beams with happiness and shivers from the frigid weather and cuddles closer to me. We should have brought heavier jackets. We're idiots for coming out here in near freezing temperatures with such light coats.
"I guess I should make this quick so that your daughter doesn't get frostbite from being out here for too long. She's already been through a lot today and I don't think I would be a good boyfriend if I let that happen to her. I've let her slip through my fingers several times and she's gotten hurt because of that. The bandage on her head is proof enough. I'm really not making a good image for myself right now." I throw my head back and hit the hard bark of the tree. I keep my eyes locked on the two stones and stare at their epitaphs engraved on them. "I love your daughter. Whether you accept that or not, I'll never know, but I hope that you will. I'm still not sure how she feels just yet, but I'm hoping that she'll say it back one day."
I look down to the sleepy girl next to me and soak in the beautiful image of the moon shining down and brightening those grey eyes of hers.
"Now I hate to cut this meeting short, but I have to get Emilia to bedâwait, not like that! I mean she's getting cold and I have to warm her up. No, that's just as bad...shit."
Emmie bursts out laughing next to me. "Smooth one, Ash. You're just digging yourself a deeper hole. If they were actually here, you'd be getting your ass kicked by my dad and I'm pretty sure my mom would join in too." She stands up and brushes off the leaves on her jeans. "Please ignore Ash and his cheeky comments. He's a lovesick puppy and is probably more delusional than me right now. But he's a good person. And I may not be able to say it right now, and I hate that I'm making him wait like always, but I want to love him like he loves me because he deserves it just as much as I do."
I can't stop the smile from forming on my lips as I stand up next to her and wrap my arm over her shoulder, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Emilia," I whisper into her hair as I nuzzle my head in the crook of her neck.
"I know, Ash. I'll say it back soon, I promise." That's all a man can wish for.
"Thank you." I have no idea why I'm thanking her, but it seems appropriate after waiting for her to give me some type of reply. I'd kiss her now if it weren't for the fact that we are standing right in front of her parents' graves because even though they are not here, it would still be awkward.
"We should get going, you're freezing," I say, squeezing her cold fingers in my hand. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. I'll come back soon to visit you." I rest my hand on the cold stone and pay my respects before placing it on the small of her back and guiding her out of the cemetery.
"Hey, Ash?" Emmie says.
"Hmm?" I hum.
"Can we go to Dunkin' Donuts on our way home?" she asks in all seriousness.
I giggle at her request because no matter where we are or what situation we're in, food always seems to be the first thing on her mind. "Is there even one on the way?"
"Yes. Didn't you see it while driving?"
"If you've forgotten, I haven't had any sleep and I was using most of what little energy I have left focusing on the road."
"Maybe I should drive then. It's no wonder you started babbling sexual innuendos to my parents." She laughs, grabbing the keys from my coat pocket.
I groan loudly, embarrassed that I actually said something like that to her parents unintentionally. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
"Nope," she skips ahead of me to the car and not-so-gracefully climbs into the driver's seat.
I follow her actions and sit in the passenger seat. It feels so weird not being the one driving, but at least I can relax a bit. Emmie starts the engine and puts the heater on full blast, warming us up slowly as the moon begins to fall and the sun starts to rise.
"Emilia?" I say.
She quickly turns to face me, her cheeks and nose still prominently red from the chilly air outside. I lean over the center console and place my left hand at the back of her neck, pulling her close to me until I can feel her chapped lips against mine. I ignore the pain coming from the cut on my lip and enjoy this time. She tilts her head, allowing for me to deepen the kiss as she fists the fabric of my shirt. Her hand travel up my chest, bypassing my shoulders altogether, and run through my hair, tugging gently. I can't stop the throaty moan that leaves my mouth from the pleasurable sensation. God, I love it when she does that. She smirks against my lips, satisfied with my reaction.
Oh, she wants to play that game.
I detach myself from her and leave sloppy wet kisses from her jaw, down her neck and to her shoulder. When I come across the bite mark that is scarred into her skin, I peck it softly before pressing firmly against it, sucking harshly on the skin below and earning a breathless gasp followed by my name from Emilia. If she said my name like that all the time, I don't think I would be able to keep my hands off her. I swirl my tongue around the fresh, warm mark and then blow cool air onto it, alleviating the stinging pain for her.
Not a trace of her scar shows through the red love bite that is sure to leave a nice looking bruise on her pale skin. "That's better," I breathe.
With her mouth still parted from my handy work, she glances down to the forming bruise and traces her fingers around it, wincing when she accidentally touches it. "I never liked that scar anyways," she smiles. "But you do realize that once this heals, it's still going to be there," she says, shooting me down with logic.
I shush her. "Then I guess I'm just going to have to try harder to make it fade away," I smirk, pressing my forehead against hers. "I love you," I profess again. Her eyes flicker between mine as she smiles widely and gives me one last lingering kiss before pulling away, putting her seatbelt on and switching the gear into drive.
She keeps her hand on the gearshift as she focuses on the road and I place mine on hers before removing her hand from the gearshift and entwining it with mine. It's not like this car is a manual, so she doesn't need to keep it there. I rest back against the seat and close my eyes, feeling the overwhelming heaviness of sleep take over. As long as I can touch her, feel her skin against mine even if it's just our hands touching, it's enough to let me slip into unconsciousness with her thumb rubbing against my skin; a comforting habit of hers that I love tremendously.
___________
A/N:
I can't even...
I am so cheesy, but they are so cute. Where is my Ashton?
Anyway, I wasn't planning to write a chapter for PYW this week, but I did anyway and I wrote it in two days! I absolutely love this chapter even though it's so cheesy. I don't even know what to say right now. At least now I can work on Ashlia's relationship for the remainder of the book :)
I hope you guys pick up on some of the small details that I have put in this chapter because they are important!!
Thank you guys so much for 32.5k reads and 2.1k votes! I know I said I wanted at least 30 comments before I updated again, but I said screw that and did it anyway. Please continue to vote, comment, and share! I'm still freaking out that PYW hits 30k. Thank you for all your continued support!
Also, please vote for PYW in the 5sos Watty Awards! I'd appreciate it so much if you did :)
Love you guys!! âRebecca xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
P.S. I have decided to name the sequel Painting Flowers (yes, after another ATL song, but it fits with the theme).
And I found the song that encompasses the entire story for PYW. It is Only One In Color by Trapt. You can thank my best friend for showing me this song since it is the song that she's going to be walking down the aisle to at her wedding in November. I love it so much and I felt like it fit perfectly so listen to it when you get a chance! :)