I just sat there, looking up at him, as if I did it long enough time would expand.
“Here you go.” Ashton started dressing me.
But when he went to put the shirt back on me my lower lip quivered.
“Do you want another shirt? Here, I’ve got a shirt. You can give it back to me when we next see you, okay?” Ashton’s voice had forced cheer to it.
Nodding, I let him pull a shirt over my head. While it didn’t expressly smell like him, it smelled like their house.
“Do you want a hoodie of mine, for the plane? Your hoodie is clean, but an oversized one might be really cozy. It’s a long flight, isn’t it?” Steven came in wearing only a towel. He went to the back of the bedroom door and took two hoodies off the hooks and held them up. “Zipper or no zipper?”
“No zipper.” I put my arms up in the air and let him pull it over me. Did the Aunties like jeans and hoodies on planes? Absolutely not. Did I care? Nope.
Ashton kissed my cheek. “Let me make you your grilled cheese. Coffee is ready. Steven, do you want a sandwich, too?”
“Please?” Steven asked as he pulled on shorts and a shirt. Pushing me down on the bed, He cuddled me as the scent of cooking food filled the room.
Finally, he picked me up and brought me into the dining area, then set me down at the small wooden table.
A cup of coffee and the bottle of creamer already sat there. I added creamer to my coffee and took a sip. Steven grabbed a cup and sat down next to me.
“Here you go.” Ashton put plates of grilled cheese sandwiches in front of me and Steven. They were perfectly golden.
He went back to the stove. I took a bite, letting the buttery, gooey, cheesiness explode over my tongue.
Steven got up and came back with a box. “I don’t want your stomach to hurt on the plane.”
“Thank you.” They’d gotten these in case I didn’t have any?
A sob welled up inside me. I choked it down, along with the pills and the water that had been next to the coffee.
Ashton sat back down with his sandwich. The three of us ate in silence. I should say something. But I didn’t know what to say.
I’m not sure any of us did.
Finally, we finished, and I brought my cups and dishes to the sink. Ashton came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“I guess I should go.” My chest heaved with too many emotions.
“Yeah, the aunties are texting.” Steven held up my phone.
We put on our shoes. I grabbed my mini backpack, and the clothes of mine that I wasn’t wearing. The three of us went down to Ashton’s truck. Steven sat in the back with me, and I texted the aunties that I was on the way.
The silence continued as music played.
Finally, Steven broke it.
“You’re going back to Auntie Kiki’s, right? Not the place you had with your ex?” Steven asked, still holding me tight.
“Yeah. It’ll be a little less convenient, but it’s more comfortable. It’s not an awful commute, but it’s still a commute. I’ll be safe there,” I assured.
Not living on campus would make it a little easier to avoid my ex and ex-friends until graduation, too.
“And you have your beautiful purple car to get back and forth,” Ashton added as he drove.
“I do. One of the uncles asked if I wanted him to sell it for me. That they’d get me another car of my choosing as an early graduation gift. But I said I wanted to be petty and drive it. So, they’ve been fixing it up for me all week.” It was a good car for what we’d paid. My uncle helped me pick it out.
The truck stopped in front of the hotel. Ashton got out and opened the door, taking my hand and helping me out.
