Her Absolution

Chapter 5

“Autumn are you okay?”

    I thought it was Marcus because it was the voice of a guy but when I get up and turn around it was none other than Ashton Mercer who call me. No wonder the voice was different.

Shit.

Fuck.

Damn it.

    Why is he here? Did he heard when I was talking to Jen? Oh why? Why me? Have I done bad things for the universe to treat me this way? Here I am trying to keep my distance and he is standing just a few feet from me.

    To make things worse, I don’t respond him. I only stare at him and he stares back. Ashton is around 5’7” or 5’6” I don’t know, the color of his eyes are blue like the reflection of the sky in the ocean. Has a fit body, broad square shoulders. I can definitely see that he has abs. He has brown curly hair and ivory skin tone. Ashton is wearing a regular fit dark blue jean, a white muscle tee, and a black and white old skool Vans. I feel like I’m looking at a god or demi-god or something.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

 “Smoking. Are you sure you are, okay? I saw you on your knees.” As he mentions smoking, I see a cigarette on his fingers. I so, want a smoke right now.

“I’m fine, Ashton. You remember my name?”

“How could I not. Asher was your twin. I know who you are.”

    I keep looking at him trying to figure out if he heard my phone call but he doesn't mention it. I guess he didn't heard my conversation with Jen. We keep looking at the other without saying anything. He just looks at me and brings his right hand to his lips, taking the cigarette to his mouth inhaling the smoke and 5 seconds later exhaling it.

“Do you have another one?”

    It must have shock him because his eyes go saucers. If I wasn’t nervous right now, I would laugh my ass off. But I don’t, I just stare at him. I really want a cigarette, but I got rid of the package I bought two weeks ago. Then he starts laughing, the kind that you double over. This must really be hilarious to him. I’m not a smoker or anything but I do it sometimes to calm myself.

“Why are you laughing? I just ask you for a cigarette.”

“You want a cigarette?” He asks me this between laughs.

“Yes, I want one. That’s why I ask for one.”

“You are joking, right? Are you f*****g kidding me? I will not give you a cigarette.”

“Why the hell not?”

“For two reasons. Number one Asher would come back and kill me. Number two he will haunt me for the rest of my life. No, thank you.”

    Well, if he wasn’t going to give me one, fine by me. And just like that I step forward to leave when I stop right in front of him, determination in my face. I took a step closer to him, he was looking at me intensely trying to figure out what I was going to do. I lift my right hand to his right one and touching it. It gave me a warmth feeling, something I haven’t felt in a while now.

    Ashton and I are 5 or maybe 6 inches away from each other, real close, the distance kiss kind of way. I take his cigarette in my right hand and brought it to my own mouth. Ashton kept his eyes on me as I put the cigarette in my mouth, seeing me intensely. Maybe he was in shock or in a trance, but I take this opportunity and inhale, a few seconds later exhaling the smoke onto him. That’s when his face changes expression, I can’t see what it is.

    I lift my right hand, where the cigarette is, and bring it to his lips. Making him take it so it doesn’t fall to the floor. I take one more look at him and turn around going back to the cafeteria. Sarah and Marcus must be wondering where I am. I don’t turn to look at him, let him end his cigarette. This was a one-time thing; it is not going to happen again.

    I reenter the cafeteria and make way towards our table, Sarah seeing me. I sit down once again and I’m about to explain what happen when the doors of the entrance make a loud noise hitting the walls. Megan enters looking around the place. Then she starts moving around. I guess she is looking for someone. Her friends move to her, but she just brush them away. Then she stops walking finding her target, Ashton.

    When did he enter the cafeteria? Do not let it be another fight. But from the looks of Megan, it will certainly be one. Are this two always fighting? Or is it fore play or something? Megan takes another step towards Ashton. Ashton raises his head and looks at her dead in the eyes. Now they are having a staring competition, it’s nothing like when we were doing it. Their radiating weird and bad vibes, you can see that anyone that’s in the cafeteria is feeling uncomfortable. Every single person is looking at them waiting for one of them to break the staring contest or speak first, ending the misery. If a pin drops right now, everyone will hear it and not care about it, to engross in them, waiting for what’s to come.

“What f*****g s**t Ashton?” I guess Megan it is.

“Why would you f*****g do that? Answer me!”

“It’s like I told you this morning Megan, you will beg me for mercy. Nobody and not even you slut can mess with me. Welcome to hell.”

“What? Did you just call me a slut? What is wrong with you? Calling me slut when you are the manwhore.”

“Yes. I am a manwhore Megan but not when I’m in a relationship with someone. I at least have principles, manners, respect for the other. What do you have? Apart from what is in between your legs. Let’s be honest you don’t use your brain at all. That’s why I caught you having s*x in the parking lot this morning.”

    Megan’s face was scarlet red. Everyone was in shock from what Ashton just said to her. Not only to her face but in front of practically the entire student body, the school. I think even some teachers where here listening. I knew Megan was like Ashton, that they slept around, and I don’t care they can be whatever they want, not judging. But for her to cheat on Ashton that’s really new. Something that no one saw coming ever, maybe from Ashton but from her, don’t think so.

    What could Ashton have done to Megan for her to get this angry? I mean she is furiously red; she looks like those cartoons when they are angry. Almost like her head is about to explode, that’s how angry she is.

“You will pay for this Ashton, I swear.”

“Do what you want to do, but I’ll just make it worse.”

“We broke up. You didn’t have to do that.”

“So? You humiliate me not once but two times and slap me. This is only the beginning.”

    Megan storm out of the cafeteria without a glance back at the witnesses of their argument. Some of the teachers here leave not eve bothering to reprimand Ashton for his behavior or his choice of words. I guess money and power can do that, conections. Like I said I don’t ever want to be at his receiving end. Ashton goes back to talking to his friends and the rest of the students go back to their social lives making it seem that nothing happen here. I turn to Sarah and Marcus resuming our conversation.

“Where were you Auty?” That’s my nickname only family members and these two can call me that.

“Jen texted me and I went outside to call her because I got nervous. But she told me that something came up at work and she was leaving today and when I get back home, she probably wouldn’t be there.”

“Oh. You must have been worried from the text, right?”

“But you were gone for a long time, I was starting to get worried.”

“I was trying to calm myself. I didn’t want you two to worry about me.”

“Next time Auty tell us. I don’t want Sarah to worry and neither do I.”

“I will. Promise.”

    I will not tell them that I bump into Ashton or that I smoke his cigarette or that I smoke. Sarah will give me an earful and possibly tell on me to mama. And I don’t want that, mama has too much on her plate and she will kill me. The three of us keep talking about other things waiting for the bell. It rang informing the end of lunch hour.