Heather
The next day, Andrew would not stop watching him. Aaron tried to cheer him up by asking him questions about school and his friends, and even though he meant well, the questions only pushed Ashton deeper into his misery.
—
Andrew couldn't take his eyes off his brother. He had been happy and suddenly his whole expression had changed. Andrew didn't know how to act, if it had been Aaron he would have simply pinned him against a wall and threatened him with his knife until he spoke. But he couldn't do that with his little brother, he wanted to earn his trust properly.
Ashton spent the day in his room.
"What can we do?" asked his twin.
-I'll talk to Bee. Maybe Ashton needs to go to the psychologist, we don't know what happened to him with Anthony or how he ended up on the list of problematic teenagers. It doesn't seem like he usually gets into trouble.
"You're right," Aaron said. Maybe the arrival of his little brother was bringing them together, they had already become softer in the last days. - Anthony is also our father. Do you think he knows that you and me...?
-No. I do not want to know anything about him. He is not part of our lives and he is not our family. Blood doesn't matter.- Andrew wanted to think as little as possible about his father. He was just another disappointment.
-
Andrew had always wanted a father when he was little. One that wasn’t like the ones he’d had in the system. An attentive father, who loved him and cared about him.
By the time they locked him up in jail, his hopes of a good father had already been dashed. All the grown men in his life had disappointed him.
Then came Nicky and Wymack, the two filling that space in his life, though Andrew would never refer to them as parental figures.
Aaron had also wished for a father. His mother's boyfriends had never paid much attention to him. They were all old and hideous-looking men. Most knew Tilda from her drug connection. Thin, with black teeth and a bad attitude. Some even beat him unconscious, others offered him drugs; his mother preferred to please these men rather than to protect her son.
Aaron sometimes imagined what he would have been like growing up with Andrew, a brother to protect him and vice versa. They would be real brothers and probably would have had a happier life.
As for Anthony, Aaron had been thinking about him a lot lately. He wondered how he treated Ashton, if Ashton ever told them that his father was bad, Aaron would kill him. No one would touch his little brother, he had already seen Andrew suffer and he refused to let history repeat itself. The three of them would stick together and protect each other.
-Ok. -Aaron didn't want to argue with his twin, the important thing now was Ashton.
—
Monday morning, when Ash got to class, he sat in his seat and he dropped his head on his desk. He had been with his eyes closed for a while, when a hand landed on his shoulder. Ash sat up with a start.
Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Liam smiled at him, he always seemed to be full of energy. - You look tired, are you okay?
Ash snorted. "Yes, everything is perfect." Ashton smiled, a very fake smile.
- Don't be fake. What's wrong?
- I don't want to bother you Liam, it's nothing, I'll get over it.
- You can tell me whatever you want. We are friends now, remember?
- Yes- Ash smiled, this time for real.- It's just that... I... miss my father.
- You don't live with him?
- No, I live with my brothers. My father is in jail. Drug traffic.
- Shit, man, that sucks. I'm sorry.
- Yes, it sucks.
- My brother is also in jail. He stole brand name clothes and sold them online.
Ash felt more relieved hearing this.
- Fuck, man.
- Yeah, fuck.
Liam's presence made him feel better.
—
That afternoon he had exy practice. Everyone had already changed and were out in the field. Ashton was the only one in the men's locker room, he was just finishing putting on his gear, when Emily walked in. Ashton had completely forgotten about her, they hadn't hooked up in weeks.
"Hey, do you want to meet up later?" the girl asked, she had already changed. She got closer and without asking her, helped him put on his protection.
-Aaa... I don't know... I have to be home soon.- Ash didn't know how to answer. He liked Emily, even though they didn't know much about each other, when they needed it they both used each other to distract themselves.
-Come on, we haven't been alone for a long time.- Emily finished putting the protection on him. She put her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him. Ash followed the kiss, he felt a part of his stress go away. Kissing someone felt good, even if it wasn't someone he wanted. Emily slipped her hands under his shirt and pulled his body closer to her’s.
-Ahem...- the two separated, Liam was at the door watching them with a dark look. - Training is going to start now, you are late.
- Yes, right.- Emily walked away and went to the door.- See you later. -And she left.
Ash bit his lip and he relocated his equipment and went to get his helmet. Liam moved to his side and looked into his face intently.
"Are you dating Emily?" His face was of disgust, Ash almost laughed when he saw him.
- Puff... no. Only sometimes... you know...
"Yeah, you could look for someone better." Liam seemed somewhat annoyed.
- What do you care? Emily is nice, a little cold but she's not my girlfriend.- Ashton didn't want Liam to get upset with him. "Are you angry because I didn't tell you about it?" He said, confused by his friend’s reaction.
-What? No. I'm not mad at you.- His face changed when he realized that Ash was worried. - It's not that. Forget it.- He smiled again and put an arm around his friend, going back to his normal attitude. - Come on, exy is more important than girls.
Ash smiled and they left the locker room.