Long Road Ahead (Chapter Thirteen)
Estelle Finley has been friends with Ashton Irwin and Luke Hemmings for three years. When the boys bring her along on a jam-packed road trip to Cape Cod with the rest of the band, their adventures are just beginning. Through long hours driving, exploring cities, and hidden secrets, something more is bound to happen on this journey. How will this road trip change Estelle’s friendship with the friends she’s come to love so dearly?
Word Count: 3,150
{Chapter One} {Chapter Two} {Chapter Three} {Chapter Four}{Chapter Five} {Chapter Six} {Chapter Seven} {Chapter Eight} {Chapter Nine} {Chapter Ten} {Chapter Eleven} {Chapter Twelve}
I adjusted the knotted white cardigan as I looked in the mirror. There was something about the pink crop top and high waisted shorts that just made me feel confident. There was quiet chatter from the kitchen as I walked in. It felt so right to just be in the same house as everyone instead of constantly having to drive to separate apartments and houses. My thoughts went to what an adjustment it would be to no longer have everyone so close. A slight sadness came over me as I imagined the silence that would happen once we were home. There was a part of me that wished I could just have Ashton or Calum move in with me so it wouldn’t have to happen, but I knew that wouldn’t be a possibility. They had their own lives that required their own space instead of moving in with me. As well as the fact that eventually, they would have to leave for tour again. I sighed as I poured a cup of coffee, catching Crystal’s attention.
“What’s the pout for?” she asked.
“Nothing. Sorry. What are we up to today?” I asked.
“Well, I think we are going to need some food in here so do you wanna go do a food shop with me?” she asked.
Crystal always had some way of making me cheer up a bit. The mention of food and shopping was just what I needed to bring the pep back in my step. I nodded happily.
“Great! Hey Mike, did the rental come this morning?”
“Already in the driveway!” he called back.
“Keys?”
It felt like I was intruding on a conversation as they continued talking without being right in front of each other. It made me think about if Luke and I did the same thing. Crystal took me out of my thoughts as she tossed me the keys.
“I’m driving?”
“Thought you’d appreciate the rental,” she said, throwing a wink over her shoulder as she led me outside.
My eyes widened as I stared at the navy blue G-Wagon that was parked in the driveway. If my memory was serving me correctly, this was an extremely expensive car. It almost felt like I was touching something that I wasn’t good enough for as I held the key in hand. I looked over to Crystal and she was laughing at me.
“You seriously want me to drive this?” I asked.
“That’s why I gave you the key,” she giggled.
I glared a little before I unlocked the car. Crystal gestured for me to join her in the car as she slid into the passenger seat. I cautiously walked over and climbed into the driver’s seat. The leather steering wheel felt smooth and the cushioned seat made it feel like I was sitting on a throne of some sort.
“Why the hell did you guys rent this?” I asked as I adjusted the seat and mirrors.
“Luke mentioned how much you loved them,” she said with a shrug.
Of course Luke had said something. We had driven by the Mercedes dealership multiple times and all of those times, I had said something about how beautiful the G-Wagons were. A small bit of the pain ebbed away as I reversed out of the driveway. He had put so much into this vacation to make it the best vacation for me and everyone else. It was the special touches though that had my heart skipping a beat. I was quiet for most of the GPS-guided drive as my thoughts were swirling around Luke.
“The top looks way better on you than it ever has on me,” Crystal commented as we got out of the car.
“Doubt it. My yellow one looks way better on you,” I argued.
Our laughs mixed in the air as she grabbed a cart. What was life going to be like without them around to have these silly arguments with on a daily basis?
“So what do we need?” I asked, noticing the list she had.
“Each of the boys made me a list of what they thought was necessary. There’s some crossover. Here,” she said.
I glanced over the list, surprised by how much healthy food was on it. My eyes looked up, ASH written on the top of it. My surprise faded as I turned the list over and saw all the junk food Calum and Michael had written down.
“No Luke recommendations?” I asked.
“He was confident that the other guys covered everything,” she said, shrugging again.
While she grabbed some apples and mangos, I read the list more carefully. Several of Luke’s favorite foods were missing including the mango juice he liked. Was I supposed to fill in the blanks here and just put his favorite stuff in the cart? We walked past the vegetables, Crystal grabbing some carrots and celery. I forced myself to grab the spinach leaves that I knew Luke liked in salads.
“That on the list?” she asked as I set in the cart.
“No,” I replied, voice trailing off.
“Es, you know you don’t have to prove yourself to him right?” she asked out of nowhere.
My eyes went wide from the question. I hadn’t grabbed the item to impress Luke, had I?
“He hates regular lettuce and refuses to eat it ninety percent of the time. He’s an idiot for not writing his own list, but I’m not going to torture him just because we aren’t currently speaking,” I blurted before I could stop myself.
Crystal laughed and stopped walking so she could face me.
“What else did he forget?” she asked.
“Mango juice, gummy worms, baked chips, and the whole milk he likes in his coffee,” I sighed.
Her laugh filled my ears again making me groan. I felt like a little kid being teased by someone on the playground. There was nothing wrong with my memory of Luke’s tastes. We were friends before any romantic feelings were brought to light. I figured that he’d do the same for me if I hadn’t made a list.
“Shut up,” I groaned and gently pushed her shoulder.
We continued walking throughout the grocery store, grabbing anything we wanted and what the boys wanted. It was nice being like this with Crystal. The whole thing felt like I was contributing to the house and the sadness from this morning came back. Who was I going to do this for when I moved into my house alone?
“So, I talked to Luke about the art gallery opening,” Crystal said.
My eyes widened yet again and I stopped walking. I heard the familiar sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears as my nerves kicked in.
“And?”
“He wants to go with you just like I said he would,” she said.
The way she spoke about it made it sound like it wasn’t that big of a deal. To me, it was the absolute biggest deal. With Luke and I not speaking, I had completely forgotten about the art gallery opening. I still really wanted to go, but that all came down to Luke actually taking me. Our fighting made me think that he wouldn’t be able to do it, but as Crystal’s words were processed by my brain, I became full of hope. I had gotten so lost in the hurt that Luke had caused that I forgot about why we couldn’t be together. Lost in thought, I still grabbed Luke’s mango juice and put it in the cart. It was time to talk to him.
➢➢➢
“Please tell me you haven’t worked out yet,” I said as I walked into Ashton’s room.
He looked up at me with a smile on his face, not at all surprised by the sudden intrusion.
“Not yet. Why?” he asked.
I noticed the way he was looking at me, like he knew I needed to do something other than sit in my thoughts.
“Because I want to go for a run and I don’t want to go alone,” I said.
It was half of the truth. The other half included Luke and my serious need to talk to someone about it so I could sort my thoughts before actually talking to him. Ashton looked down and finally noticed the workout shorts and tank top along with my running shoes.
“Give me like two minutes to change,” he said.
I quickly left and leaned against the wall by the door. Ashton was the first person I wanted to talk this out with and the increasing stress that was coming with it required a release. The only way I felt like it would happen was going on a run. Ashton opened the door wearing shorts and running shoes. His body was more toned under the shirt he was wearing. He led the way out of the house and waited for me to sync my headphones up.
“Remember, try to keep up,” he said, pressing play and taking off.
My feet fell into the beat of the song, glancing to check my watch. “Body” by Loud Luxury featuring Brando popped up. I focused on the bass, letting the song guide me through the Cape Cod streets as Ashton was only slightly ahead of me. We kept going until we found ourselves downtown. We slowed, needing a moment to catch our breaths. I took my headphones out and gave him a small smile.
“Wanna tell me the real reason you wanted to go for a run?” he asked while we started walking.
“Luke,” I said simply.
Ashton nodded before leading me into a small coffee shop. I waited patiently while he ordered us both a bottle of water. We sat at a table by the window and Ashton set his eyes on me.
“Lay it on me,” he said, crossing his fingers together.
“Crystal gave Luke tickets to an art gallery opening in Boston and he said he’d go with me and she had already talked to me about it before he kissed that other girl and now I completely forgot about why we can’t really be together and now I think I should talk to him about it, but I don’t know what I’d say,” I said, talking faster than I meant to.
It was like the words were exploding out of me. He laughed and let me take a drink of water.
“Well, what do you want the conversation to accomplish?” he asked.
I gave him a look of are you seriously asking me that before he pressed me to answer.
“I want it to end with us finally being on the same page again,” I said.
He took a moment, processing the information before looking at me again.
“You have to be open and honest with him, bugs. The only way you two are going to get past this is if you lay it all out there for him. You also can’t just jump down his throat at the first chance you get. I know what he did hurt you and that it has been stuck in your head, but he wants to move past it too,” he said, reaching out and taking my hand.
I looked up at him, seeing the genuine hope in his eyes. He squeezed my hand while waiting patiently for my response.
“What if my putting it all out there sends him away?” I asked, unable to meet his eye as I spoke.
“It won’t. He loves you so much and there’s not a thing you could do to change that,” he said.
I nodded again, going through possible conversations in my head. Ashton squeezed my hand again causing me to look at him. His hazel eyes had changed to showing his concern.
“Crystal said that you were a little sad this morning,” he said.
I sighed and pulled my hand away. The water cooled me down a little, but there was still a heavy tone to the conversation.
“I was a little sad this morning,” I admitted.
“Why?” he asked right away.
“When we leave here, we’re all going back to our separate homes. I’m moving into a completely new home by myself. That sense of family is going to be gone and it scares me,” I said.
Ashton sighed and took my hand again, this time pulling it from the water bottle I was playing with.
“I am still your family when we aren’t living in the same house,” he said firmly.
“I know that. Believe me I do, but this whole vacation has made me love creating an environment that has everyone always around and with it ending, that whole thing is going away,” I said, trailing off.
“We can come over all the time,” he said.
“That isn’t the same. It’ll be fine,” I said, brushing him off and pulling my hand away.
I finished my water bottle and got up to recycle it. We walked back out into the bustle of downtown, the flags flying around in the breeze. Ashton paused as I started walking towards the way we came in.
“Are you sure that isn’t bothering you more than you’re letting on?” he asked.
My feet stopped as I looked up at him. He was full of concern and there was some tension in his shoulders.
“Yes because it’s something I’m going to have to get over anyways.”
➢➢➢
I tied my hair into a braid and I pulled on the outfit from this morning after my shower. Again, it brought me some extra confidence as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The cloud of sadness had dissipated from this morning, my determination to just be in the present taking over. I stepped out of the bathroom, carrying the things I had brought with me back to my room. As I opened the door, Luke was sitting on one of the couches.
“Hey,” I said cautiously.
I tossed my workout clothes into the hamper that was in the closet. My nerves were kicking in as we occupied the same space. He stood from the couch and looked at the ocean from the sliding door.
“Hi,” he said, his tone just as unsure as mine.
My palms were sweating as I walked over to stand next to him. The tension between us was thick and I wished that it hadn’t even been there in the first place.
“Crystal gave me tickets to an art gallery opening tomorrow,” he said.
This was an interesting way to start the conversation, but I got the feeling he didn’t want to talk about the other stuff.
“That was nice of her,” I said.
“She said that we should go together,” he said even more carefully.
The way he was talking made it sound like he was purposefully picking his words to have a certain meaning.
“Do you want to go together?” I asked.
“I was going to ask you that,” he said, the smallest of smiles coming over his face.
I laughed a little before finally looking over at him. He was still facing the water, but the sun was casting a glow behind him that made him look like an angel.
“I would like to go with you,” I said.
“Great. I’ll um, I’ll go finalize that then,” he said, quickly turning to walk away.
As I was about to call his name, the door closed behind him. Was he avoiding me now? I thought more about the art gallery opening and then it dawned on me that there would be a lot of press there. Before I was able to stop myself, the dial tone of my phone was in my ear.
“Yes Estelle?” my father asked upon answering.
“I was invited to an art gallery opening with Luke and I would really like to go but you said I wasn’t able to be seen with him again,” I said quickly.
There was a sigh on the other end and I sensed him rolling his eyes.
“Fine, but any press that asks you questions, you are required to talk about my upcoming project and not to mention under any circumstances your teaching career,” he said firmly.
“Understood. Anything else?” I asked, careful to keep my tone from sounding like I was annoyed.
“Don’t make it look like you’re with him and if you do, you know what’ll happen Estelle,” he said before hanging up.
My heart stopped a little as his words echoed through my head. How was I supposed to go to the opening and not tell Luke about my father’s threats. It wouldn’t be possible anymore. I had to fess up to him. As I was about to head to Luke’s room, my phone rang again.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Estelle! It’s Junie from the realtors!” she said cheerfully.
“Oh hi! How’s everything going?” I asked.
This was it. The call about the house I was attempting to purchase. It was like the world stopped spinning as I waited for her to tell me the news.
“Well you have a beautiful new home to move into on August first!” she cheered.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Relief flooded my senses as I felt excitement start thrumming through me.
“That’s amazing! Thank you so much!” I said.
“Of course. We’ll go over more details once you get the keys. Any interior designers can come and give quotes sometime next week, but I understand that you’re on vacation so don’t worry about that right now. We’ll be in touch soon!” she said.
“Absolutely!” I barely got out before she was hanging up.
I tucked my phone into the back pocket of my shorts and ran down the stairs. My eyes searched for Ashton, finding him out on the walkway to the beach. I took off towards him, my footsteps thudding against the wood. He turned and cocked his head as he watched me run to him. Before I was able to slow down, he picked me up and spun me around.
“What’s got you so happy bugs?” he asked.
My feet touched the ground and I felt the excitement buzzing around me.
“I got the house!” I said.
Ashton’s face lit up before he was hugging me again, lifting me off the ground slightly. Once he set me back down, he stared at me.
“I’m proud of you,” he said happily.
“I just can’t believe I got the house,” I said.
“I can. You deserve this,” he said.
I smiled up at him unable to stop the giant grin on my face. He reciprocated it before it changed to one that looked like he was thinking really hard.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I asked.
When he met my eyes, there was a glint of mischief in them before a smile came over his face.
“Want a roommate?”
A.N.: I hope you guys liked this chapter! I promise there is some great stuff coming. You’re not ready for it.
tag loves: @thruheavenandhighwater @bbycal @emptysanity @floraldawg @tommossoccer @cakesunflower