Chapter 54

After school, Ashton took me to one of the clinics in town so that they could X-ray my finger. They confirmed what the nurse had suspected: It was broken, and I'd have to wear a splint for the next three weeks. It wouldn't go with my dress for the dance in a few weeks. That was the least of my problems; I had to go home and try to come up with an elaborate lie about what happened to my finger at school. Then, pray the school didn't call Mom with the truth about what really happened. I knew I shouldn't care about telling her that Rhys broke my finger, but I didn't want any more drama, and he probably did get suspended from school for it.

Ashton asked me if my finger felt any better. I glanced down at the metal splint and the tape wrapped around it to hold it in place. I told him the throbbing wasn't as bad as before, but it still hurt a little bit. That's when I did the wrong thing and mentioned I didn't know what I would tell Mom about what happened to my finger. Ashton told me I needed to tell her the truth. Like a concerned parent, I knew she'd be marching into school demanding to know what happened. If she were so worried about my well-being, she wouldn't have left me alone so much. Ashton started mumbling something about Rhys, which let me know he was getting pissed again, and I didn't want him in a bad mood. I glanced out the corner of my eye as he gripped the steering wheel and motioned his hands back and forth. I reached over and touched his leg, hoping to help calm him down. Without taking his eyes off the road, he lowered his hand and placed it on mine. "Can we stop talking about Rhys and my finger for a little bit?"

"Of course." A faint smile appeared. "Are you still in the mood for some coffee? We can get it to go." He pulled into the Sweet Escape parking lot. "If not, say the word, and we'll leave right now." He circled the parking lot.

"Coffee sounds wonderful. Maybe a sweet treat, too?" I smiled, trying to bat my eyelashes at him. I knew I looked ridiculous, but it was too late to stop.

"Sweet treat?" His brow furrowed while a big smile appeared, letting me know I would get that snack. "I'll come help you out of the car." He was out of the car and walked around the back before I could respond. He opened the car door, offering me his hand. "Don't hit your finger."

"I'm fine." I grabbed his hand, swung my feet out of the car, and exited. "I appreciate you helping me though." I raised on my tiptoes and kissed him.

"Maybe...I should help you more often." He winked, pulling me to the side, and closed my door.

"Bitch! You got Rhys suspended!" Claudia screamed off in the distance.

"Just ignore her," Ashton whispered, pulling me closer to his side. "Maybe, a bird will shit on her head."

I hit myself in the mouth with the splint, trying to cover up my laughter. "Ow..." I rubbed my upper lip with my three fingers, trying not to hit it with the splint again.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, Bitch!"

My body spun around, my splint slamming into something, sending a jolt up my arm. I yanked my hand away and cradled it, unable to speak for a few seconds. When the throbbing subsided after a couple of minutes. "What the fuck!" I raised my head, glaring at Claudia. Her eyes were cold, showing no sympathy or compassion. "He got himself suspended. You're defending someone that hurts girls?" I raised an eyebrow, shocked that she would even consider defending a guy who abuses girls. She blinked her eyes a couple of times as the anger made way for confusion. The confused look in her eyes gave it away that she couldn't believe she was trying to stick up for him.

"When he comes back to school, make sure to stay away from him." She stepped to the side, bumping into my shoulder and knocking me back a couple of steps. She glanced over her shoulder, curled her lip in disgust, and disappeared around the corner of Sweet Escape. Right then and there, I decided I didn't want to go in there. Ashton gave me the key to his car and said he'd be back with coffee and cookies. I hurried back to the car before anyone else from school decided to harass me about Rhys getting suspended for breaking my finger.

"Here you go, an iced Toffee nut latte with oat milk." He handed me my drink through the driver's side window. I knew his hands would be full, so I put the window down, hoping no one would recognize me sitting in his car. "Where do you want to go?" He handed me the bag of two big chocolate chip cookies. I shrugged because I had no idea where I wanted to go. All I knew was that I didn't want to go home and explain my finger. Then again, she probably wouldn't see it until tomorrow morning. Ashton must've read my mind because he turned left and headed in the direction back home.

"What did you get?" I looked down at his drink next to mine in the cup holder.

"Same." He peeked at me and smiled. He reached across and placed his hand on my leg. I picked up the bag of cookies and felt their warmth through the bag. "Oh, they warmed them up. Nice." I smiled, closing the bag.

"I asked them if they could warm them up." I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. The straw brushed my top lip. I knew what he meant, but I didn't really want to know the answer. I couldn't get mad because we were a couple or just friends with kissing benefits. I didn't want to press the subject and ruin something before it started. Then again, I didn't want to think it was something, only to get my heart crushed again. He stood up for me to Rhys, something no guy had ever done before, so maybe this could be the real thing. I placed my cup back in the cupholder in the console.

We arrived at Ashton's driveway twenty minutes later, relieved to see my mom's vehicle missing. "I'm going to help you inside, run across the yard, and let Mom know I'm with you." He opened the driver's side door and was out before I could say anything. He opened my door, asking for my keys and my drink. He walked up the steps, unlocked the door, and disappeared inside while I got out of the car and started to grab my bookbag out of the backseat.

"What are you doing?"  He hollered, walking up behind me.

"Uhh...Getting my bag. I reached my right hand into the back seat.

"Give me that." He snatched it out of my hand. "You can carry the bag of cookies."

"Are you sure? I might hurt myself carrying them from the car to the kitchen." I raised an eyebrow, laughing.

"Funny..."

"I thought so..." I laughed.

"Lucky for you, you're cute." He set my book bag beside the front door next to the table. He turned, placed both hands on my face, leaned down, and kissed me. His lips were firm and gentle; my thighs felt like they were going up in flames from the mere touch of his lips on mine. "I'll be back in a few minutes. The drinks are in the living room." He kissed the tip of my nose, then ran out the door, down the steps, and across our yards. I closed the door and carried the bag of cookies into the living room. I grabbed the remote and started searching for a movie to watch, hoping we'd get occupied with kissing halfway through the movie. I took a couple of drinks of my iced latte and noticed his drink looked more watered down.

I set the remote on the table and walked to the front door. I opened the door and hit the edge of the porch, my foot dangling in mid-air as I was about to step onto the top step. My mouth was agape as my eyes stayed fixated on Ashton standing at the back of his car with his arms wrapped around Claudia. And that's when he kissed the top of her head. She raised up, and he let go of her. Her eyes met my gaze, and her mouth fell open. I was too stunned to say or do anything except let the tears flow down my cheeks. Claudia pointed in my direction, backing away from Ashton.

His head turned toward my house, his eyes wide. He was around the car and headed for the porch. "Gemma, it's not what you think."

"Not what I think?" I backed away from the edge. "Leave me alone!" I took another few steps backward. "Leave me alone!" I ran into the house.

"Gemma!" He ran in after me. "Listen to me!"

"No! Get out!" I ran upstairs.

"Gemma!" He grabbed my arm right as I ran into my room. "Not until you hear what I have to say. Please..."

"I trusted you. I thought you..." I wiped away the tears as they streamed down my cheeks.

"Gemma, I do. Trust me."

"Why were you hugging her?" I dabbed my eyes again. I walked over to my vanity and grabbed a tissue. "Don't tell me it was nothing because it looked like something."

"She was driving by and stopped when she saw me. She told me she was sorry for trying to defend Rhys. That's all." He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. I leaned back, wanting to believe him. "I don't want Claudia or any other girl."