Ashton

The shore was surrounded by the fluttering seagulls and the overall image of the beach was beautiful. My feet touched the warm summer water while it covered Jane till her waist. She was far away from me, no longer running, but instead, her eyes were set on the shells; she carefully picked up the carved shells and cleaned the mud off with her delicate fingers. From the sight of her, she seemed lost in deep thoughts and I did not want to interrupt her. She bent down again to pick another one while I kept staring at how her damp clothes defined each curve on her body.

What is about this girl that is driving me insane?

"Hi, Ashton Anderson." My gaze diverted by the voice of a girl who had a super-slim frame and a visible rib cage, wearing a tropical printed green bikini. She flashed a huge smile as she wrapped her arms around me, leaving me in shock. I stood rooted to my position, without moving an inch.

Shit, shit, shit, what the hell is Ashley doing here? It took a long time for me to finally get rid of her.

"I asked you to leave me alone, guess it wasn't so clear? " Confusion and disgust written all over my face as I gave her a dead stare.

I dated Ashley around two years back when I was in high school and honestly, I regret it to this day. She was the typical high school girl, the one who had venom running all over her body, the kind who had a vengeful personality and would spread rumors about innocent people. Ashley and her friends used to poke fun at insecure girls and do boys on the mattress, obviously. The only reason I left her was, she spread a rumor out of jealousy; it was about my lab partner having crabs, the poor girl was a virgin. Ever since that day, Ashley has been trying to get back with me but my feelings for her are filled with hatred. Even though I was a little piece of shit at that time, I would have never thought of doing something like that to anyone.

"Relax babe, I just came to say hi," she said in a fake accent, trying to act seductive but miserably failing at it.

"Why are you still here?"

"Chill, I am leaving asshole...but wanna hook up later? Old times sake, baby?"

I rolled my eyes at her and landed my sight on Jane again, before I could respond to Ashley, my eyes widened with shock as I realized that the waves were blanketing Hope and she was not alone; the boy with her was about five to six years old, he was crying for help, but Jane had her arms around him. The current was strong, it was drifting in the direction of the deep sea, taking them away.

Ignoring Ashley, I rushed towards them and lifted the boy by clasping him in my hand, Jane supported herself by sliding her hand on my bare arm, she managed to get back on her feet as I returned the boy to his sister, who was standing at the seaboard, worried. I took a few steps back, which caused Jane to lose her balance; she was on the shore, once again. I chuckled as she gave me a sullen look, our eyes locked with one another. I offered her my hand and felt the softness of her moist skin against mine, it was soothing. Jane pushed herself upwards as my arms supported her, she tried to free herself from the weight of her wet clothes which was restlessly pushing her to the ground.

"Enjoying yourself there, huh?" I smiled again.

Without uttering another word, I kept my hands on her waist even though I knew it was wrong. Her eyes were focused on the ground. She was not looking up at me, maybe because she felt weak just like before. In that very moment, I felt like I was meeting her vulnerable side again, the one which was broken. I slid my finger under her chin and smoothed her messy hair back from her forehead. Jane's breath came in startled gulps and she licked her swollen lips, the one's I desperately wanted to kiss. Jealousy was lingering all over me. The girl in my arms was not perfect, she had her flaws and secrets, perhaps trust issues too. Her hands slid over my shoulder, tracing the muscles on my bare chest. As I stared at her, I felt like our connection was deepening and it made me deliriously happy. My fingers laced her arms, too afraid to even let her go since I knew this moment would not last for too long. It took a second or two for my thoughts to drift away as she choked back a breath; she wrenched herself out of my arms and started walking way.

"Fuck, what did I do now?" I cursed under my slurry breath.

"Jane, wait, what is wrong?"

I shouted as her pace increased. I knew on the inside that she would go towards my car only and wait for me so I rushed towards the place where we were sitting by earlier today, grabbed my guitar case and slid down my shirt. When I reached towards the parking area, I was chagrined to see that Jane was opening the door of a cab, she looked back at me and waved her hand to show me that she would be alright. I was shocked, but I did not show it on my face, I just nodded at her and walked in the direction of my car. I felt like throwing my fist on the drywall, confusion was lashed onto me; I was not aware of the reason why she preferred taking a cab over riding with me, but I knew that she felt something for sure; the way she was breathing and running her hands over my chest, it was obvious. Or maybe not, but I was not letting her go without an explanation this time.

I sped down the road while my tires made a screeching sound. I stopped outside the hotel and rushed inside towards Jane's room.

I was just in time to see that she was unlocking the door.

"Wait, what was all that about?" I stood above her, waiting for an answer.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I am talking about, Jane," I cleared my throat, trying to catch my rapid breaths caused by running after her.

She looked down and nodded.

The silence between us had a weight, pressing on my chest. It was frustrating and the air in the lobby seemed oppressively thick.

"A while back you were fine and now you would not even look at me. You can't isolate yourself like this, Hope, it isn't healthy or good for you," I said while breaking the wall of silence.

"What do you know about what is good for me and what is not? You know nothing except my name or where I'm from," her tone was harsh.

"I am just trying to help you. When my mom got cancer, I isolated myself and I went through the phases of anger and frustration, I became dead on the inside-"

She nodded again without opening her mouth to speak.

"And honestly, I don't know what you are going through but you need to let it out, it helps. There is hope outside the small bubble." I added.

"Hope? Don't start with that again Ashton. I have had enough of you trying to come out of the blue and acting like my savior. Like when you wrapped your arms around me-"

"What about that?" I smirked, leaning in closer to her. She flinched as her back was pressed against the wall, she was sucking her breath as a dazed look spread over her face.

"Just leave me alone, Ashton," she whispered after a few seconds, our eyes were interlocked.

"I am sorry," I moved away from her and buried my hands in my pocket.

"I don't want to talk to you anymore," she said while slamming her door on me.

Once again, I am left with no answers. Wonderful.

While I certainly didn't expect her to react this way, I still blamed myself for everything that happened. I wanted to be friends with her and it ended up in a harsh manner, leaving us in the same position as we were before. I walked towards my room with a frown on my face, defeat was overcoming me. As I entered my room, I heard my phone ringing with a text. It was Ashley.

Ashley: Need help. I am in trouble. Please.

***

Note: Okay, so Conflicts is divided into 2 chapters!

Short chapter cause I am sick, I will probably update the next one on Sunday! Don't forget to vote and comment. <3

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