In Your Arms (13 page)

              “It hasn't even been a year and you've already moved on, Ashton?” Still don't look at him. I knew he was glaring at me, the glare he used to give me when he was upset and didn't get his way.

              “You two know each other?” Callie asks.

              “I was her boyfriend up until school ended this year.” I could feel Callie's eyes on me, but I couldn't meet her gaze, I was embarrassed. My thigh was burning. “But it would seem that I don't know this person in front of me at all, the person who dropped out of college and has been disowned by her own family.”

              I looked up at him in anger. “This is all your fault. If anything, the reason I dumped you was because I didn't know who the person begging me to get the charges dropped was. I thought I could trust that person and I learned my lesson.”

              I could hear the room getting quiet as they focused on us. I knew it would be moments before Braxton found us.

              “I learned my lesson too, I will never defend a slut like you ever again.” Well, that was like a big slap in the face.

              I lunged at him, but someone held me back. I recognized the arms that have been holding me at night for the past few days and he placed me behind him.

              “Ashton.” He said my name and I looked into his Caspian Sea blue eyes.

              “Don't tell me this is the new guy.” Braxton looked at him.

              “I suggest you go.” Braxton says.

              “I hope you enjoy the slut in-” He didn't get to finish his sentence because Braxton punched him square in the face.

              “Braxton!” I reached for him, but Callie pulled me back.

              My mind went back to the night of the party a few months ago. Alex was on top of me, and Tanner came into the room. He pulled him off. I was screaming for Tanner to stop, but he just kept pounding Alex.

              I ran outside and threw up.

Chapter 21

Braxton Wright

              The guy went down with one punch to the face. I was seeing red, I heard what he said to Ashton and I saw the hurt and fear in her expression. Not only that, I also heard what Ashton said to him.

              She dropped some kind of charges for him? Who was she charging? This must've been what my PI was talking about, the sealed records. That guy didn't look like he had any power, other than strength. Did he beat her?

              We were quiet all the way up until we got to the penthouse. We dropped Callie off first, but Ashton looked like she was processing nothing. She looked numb, and I noticed her digging her nails into her thigh.

              I grabbed her hand and she came out of her trance. I squeezed her hand to reassure her that she was okay and that I was still here. She paused at her door and looked at me. I saw Ashton for who she really was, a scared and brave woman.

              “Why aren't you asking me what that was about?” Her eyes were wide and she looked like she was close to crying.

              “I don't want to upset you.”

              “I'm already upset.” It was close to midnight and I knew that she most likely wanted to forget about tonight.

              I kiss her softly. It's a comfort kiss. I didn't expect her to start crying, so I pulled away. She wiped her tears away.

              “I don't know why, but I can't hide this from you.” She hiccups.

              “You don't need to tell me anything.” She shakes her head.

              “You're sweet, but this can change how you see me. This will show you how broken I really am and I'm not sure you'll want to be here for my self destruction because that's all I do. I ruin everything that is good in my life.”

              “Ashton-” She dropped the bomb.

              “I was raped while I was at school.”

              “What?” Was it that Tanner guy? I will go back to that party and I will fucking kill him if that's what he did.

              “It wasn't Tanner, if that's what you're thinking.” She knew exactly what I was thinking. “It was this guy named Alex who was friends with him. He drugged me and...Tanner found us. He beat Alex into a pulp. It was about a week later, Tanner asked me to drop the charges because he was going to be kicked out of school. Alex's dad is a senator, and he knew that Tanner needed the scholarship to get drafted this year for football. I felt guilty because I was the cause of this whole mess. He suggested that we deal with it privately and Alex would drop the charges against Tanner.

              “I thought I was doing the right thing. I was trying to clean up my mess. My parents don't even know. Once I signed the papers, I knew it was the wrong choice. I couldn't go back to that school, so I dropped out.” She began sobbing and I pulled her into a hug.

              Ashton was vulnerable. She was even stronger. I admired her for that. I also felt like killing that Tanner guy. He was her boyfriend, and he should've protected her, but only cared for himself. I was kind of glad that I did get that punch in the face.

              “I know you don't want this, Brax. You don't want the drama or the girl who comes with baggage. I'll completely understand if you want nothing to do with me. ” I make her look at me and I look at those big gray eyes.

              “Listen.” She wiped some of her tears away before she looked at me. “I always thought it was what I wanted, that I didn't want the baggage. Truth is, everyone has baggage, including me. Especially me. If there's something I've learned recently it's that every once in a while, we need help with our baggage. I'm here to help you with yours.”

              She gives me a small smile.

              “Thank you.”

              I woke up early and began to cook breakfast for Ashton. She needed to be woken up with something good today. It was her birthday and I wanted today to be perfect. I cleared my schedule, today would be all about her.

              I made pancakes, it was something I knew I could cook, along with other breakfast foods. I learned when I was about seven. My sisters were older, and they were worried about their lives like most teenagers, and my mum was a mess. My dad had left her, I was happy because it meant he would no longer be around to beat her, but she was devastated.

              My mum stayed mostly in bed, and my sisters bought mostly box foods. One day I just read the directions, I was tired of cereal, and I made horrible pancakes. Over the years, I've perfected them and I've learned not to confuse the sugar with the salt.

              The phone in the penthouse began to ring. I picked it up quickly, afraid to wake up Ashton, and I looked at the caller ID. Pennington.

              “Hello?” I answered.

              “Who are you?” It sounded like a young man.

              “Who is this?” I ask, only fair since he is the one who called here.

              “This is Ashton's brother, now tell me who you are and why you're at my sisters apartment at eight in the morning.” Demanding. Reminds me of his sister, and I haven't even properly met this guy, I chuckled.

              “I'm Braxton, your sisters friend. I'm making her breakfast for her birthday.” I hated calling myself her friend. We were more, we both knew that, but refused to admit it.

              I could hear someone over a large speaker in the background and the guy got quiet for a brief moment.

              “I need you to give the phone to my sister.”

              “She's sleeping, is there any way you can call back later?”

              “No. This is a family emergency.”

              “Give me one second.” I put him on hold and I walked into the bedroom. Ashton was awake, surprisingly, and she was checking her phone.

              “What the-” She looks up when she realizes I've come into the room.

              “Your brother is on the phone.” I give her the device and she presses the phone to her ear.

              “It's me, what's wrong?” I don't want to eavesdrop, so I start walking out.

              But I hear Ashton gasp slightly and I turn around. “He had a heart attack? Is he okay?...How long has he been in surgery?...And mom?...I'll be there as soon as I can...I don't care. I'll be there in a few hours.” She hangs up and looks at me.

Chapter 22

Ashton Pennington

              “My father had a heart attack and he went into surgery ten minutes ago.” I began thinking about everyone who I knew was here in New York and who had a private jet, I'm sure every airline is booked since it's New Years Day and people are traveling. Sarah came to mind, and I began dialing her number. “I-I-I need to get p-p-pa-packed.” My stutter, which I've worked on for years, began to come out. Stress made it worse, I haven't stuttered in years because I always worked extra hard to make sure no one knew. Now in the past twenty four hours, Braxton knew more about me than anyone else knew, and I was afraid.

              “You make that call, and I will get your bag started.” I nodded.

              I walked into the kitchen to find Braxton has made me breakfast. It was the smell of food that woke me up, then I heard my phone buzzing. Matty had been calling me for over an hour, and he's been texting me since I guess it happened, he asked around for the number of the penthouse, and finally got it.

              “Ashton?” I hear Sarah yawn. It was early. It was New Years Day, and I had just woken her up. “Is something wrong?”

              I took a deep breath, I needed her to understand me. “I have a family emergency, so I have to go back to Chicago right away. I need to borrow your jet.”

              “Um, the pilot needs an hours notice, but I'll call him right now. I'll text you all the information. Tell me when everything's calmed down.”

              “I will, thank you.”

              I swear it was one crisis after another in my life. I wanted to roll up into a little ball, and be in a dark room, and not have to get up for a while.

              I felt ill and I ran into the bathroom. I threw up whatever I had in my stomach. I thought about what my doctor told me yesterday.

              “Tests came back normal, nothing is out of order, you're a very healthy nineteen year old. Is there any recently added stress in your life?”

              “I'm not really on a talking basis with my family, so I moved out to New York, I'm caring for my sick grandmother, and I had to get a job. I've had a lot of stress lately.”

              “The brain is trying to cope with all of this, and stress is very harmful to our body. It can account for all your symptoms. I would suggest talking to a therapist or anyone, and I recommend yoga, it seems to help out with stress.”

              “Thanks, doctor.”

              My life was nothing but stress. I stood up and I brushed my teeth and I threw my hair into a ponytail. I wanted to be at the private airport as soon as possible, so when the pilot was ready, we could just go.

              I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked horrible. Maybe my doctor was right, I needed to relieve myself of all this stress. I needed to reconcile with my parents, that was a step. I could never tell them about the rape though, it would destroy them, and it would hurt me even more. I would talk to a therapist about it though, it was time.

              I walked into the room to Braxton trying to figure out what to put in my suitcase, and he looked at me when I walked in.

              “Thank you.” I say.

              “It's nothing.”

              “It's everything.” he pulls me into a hug, and I instantly feel more calmer even though my thoughts are still going a million miles a second.

              “Breakfast smelled good.” I mumbled into his neck.

              “I'll pack it up for you to eat on the plane.” As I start to protest, he cuts me off. “You need to eat, love. You'll need your strength.” He goes back to putting clothes in my small suitcase, and I stop him.

              “I have more clothes in Chicago.”

              “How long do you think you'll be there?” I shrug.

              “I'm not really sure. A week at the most. I'll try and make it back for your book release-” He stops me this time.

              “Don't even worry about that. Stay as long as you need to.” Braxton kisses my forehead and I get the text from Sarah. I need to get to the airport soon.