Ashton mumbled something about it
happening soon.
Everyone started teasing him.
<
I turned to leave.
The door opened. Our old class president,
Ben, beamed at me.
“El! We were just talking about you! And your best buddy Ashton is here too!”
“If he’s here, I’m leaving. Something came up.”
I walked away.
Footsteps behind me.
I ducked into an alley. Ashton ran past, calling
my name.
<
“El! Come out! Why are you hiding?”
“You’ve been avoiding me for three months!
Why won’t you see me?!”
“El, please!”
He saw a woman in a similar coat, mistook
her for me, and grabbed her.
She slapped him. A crowd gathered,
threatening to call the police.
I slipped out of the alley and walked away.
Ashton saw me and yelled.
<
“El, wait! Don’t go!”
He tried to follow, but the crowd held him
back.
I didn’t look back.
My mom complained that I’d been out every night since I got home.
I hugged her, promising to have dinner with
her tomorrow.
The next day, there was an extra place setting at the table.
“Mom, who’s this for?”
<
“Mrs. Peterson said Ashton is back in town.
She hasn’t seen him in a while, so she asked
him over for dinner, to check on him.”
I frowned, picked at my food, said I wasn’t
hungry, and left.
I ran into Ashton outside.
I hid in the park, and overheard him arguing
with Layla.
“Ashton, why are you ignoring me? Because
of El? After all the times you messed with her,
no one would blame her for not forgiving
you!”
Achton’s face twisted
く
swear…”
Layla laughed.
“Now you’re scared? Where was this fear when you were begging me…?”
“It’s too late, Ashton! El knows everything. That’s why she disappeared. She cut you off completely.”
Ashton slapped Layla. She fell. She lunged at him, clawing at his clothes.
Passersby pulled them apart.
Ashton mumbled something, straightened his
Join the bookshelf
<
Ashton mumbled something, straightened nis
clothes, picked up his gift basket, and walked
toward my house.
After that, I was hypervigilant.
I avoided any place Ashton might be.
Even on New Year’s Eve, I made an excuse to leave when I heard he was coming over.
I didn’t care if it was New Year’s. I wouldn’t see him.
My mom said he’d cried, apologized, and promised to leave me alone.
I scoffed. Told her not to worry about it.
く
I scoffed. Told her not to worry about it.
After the holidays, I moved.
As I boarded the train, I saw Mrs. Peterson.
She looked older, more frail, her hair streaked
with gray.
She didn’t say much. She knew what had happened.
She just touched my forehead.
“He doesn’t deserve you, El. You did the right
thing.”
<
“He doesn’t deserve you, El. You did the right
thing.”
I whispered, “Take care of yourself.”
I didn’t ask about Ashton. I didn’t care.
Years later, I heard from Chloe that he’d
bought my old apartment.
And that he sometimes spent entire days at the courthouse marriage license office.
Too little, too late.
The copyright of this content belongs to
