Chapter Twenty Five; Not Edited

All day, Ashton and I talked about different things that involved our hardships. It was nice to be honest with someone for once and not feel like they will judge me for my issues. One thing that I hated about certain people is when they judge the person so quickly. It's not anyone's fault for having issues in their life, no one is perfect in this world we live in.

"Hey Ash?" I called out to the dirty blonde boy, who was currently making dinner. Some shuffling from the kitchen made me walk out of the room I was in and I made my way to the room to see Ashton stirring something on the stove.  I saw him turn and a unmanly squeal left his lips, making me cringe on how loud it was and then I had to bite my lip from laughing at him.

"Calum, you scared the hell out of me!" I watched him put his hand over his chest in exasperation. I couldn't hold it in anymore and I started to laugh uncontrollably, clutching my chest in the process as Ashton glared in my direction. "I'm sorry, but you should of saw your face." I continued to laugh, until I felt pain on my ribs, indicating that he slapped me with his spatula. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry Ashton." I bit my lip to calm myself down and I did after a couple of seconds.

"Anyway, I'm cooking spaghetti for the two of us." Ashton said, returning to the stove as I watched him stir around the noodles that where in the pan. It did smell good and I couldn't wait to try it out because I heard from Michael that Ashton was a good cook. "That sounds amazing." I said, pulling out three plates, but Ashton stopped me before I could set them down.  "Michael isn't joining us for dinner."

"Work, right?" I sighed when he nodded. After the incident with Luke, Michael has become distant with me and it's been bugging me to the point were I'm about to ask his stepbrother what's going on with him.  "Ashton. Where is Michael?" I asked, making him look up at me in confusion. "I know you're lying. He isn't at work because he would have told me himself."

"I don't think I'm the person who should be telling you this, Calum." Ashton said, freezing up when he saw me narrowing my eyes at him. "Seriously, don't be angry at me because of something I didn't do." I sighed because he was right. I shouldn't be angry at something that Ashton couldn't control himself.

"I'm sorry Ashton." I said, wiping my face with the back of my hand before giving a smile to the dirty blonde boy. "I'm just worried about Michael." I said with honestly and I watched Ashton place the food onto our plates. "I know what you mean." The boy said with a small smile and I sighed in relief because I was glad that I wasn't the only one feeling like this.

We went to sit at the kitchen table to eat in silence, not knowing what to talk about which each other, until I became curious on how Michael got his anger issues. "Ash? Can I ask you a question?" I waited for him to give me his full attention before continuing. "How did Michael get his anger issues?" I saw him tense up, but then he relaxed again.

"I knew you were going to ask this soon enough, but he got them when she happened." Ashton said, taking a bite out of his spaghetti and looking in my eye. "Sam was his name and he was his first boyfriend." My eyes widen because I've heard about his first boyfriend and how their relationship ended terribly.  "They were falling out of love and one day they decided to end it after he caught him cheating on him."

"Who was he cheating on him with?" I dreaded the answer, knowing who it might be, even if Ashton hasn't told me yet. "Do I even want to know?" I joked, but the dirty blonde boy scoffed at me in annoyance.

"This isn't funny, Calum. This hurt him and Luke was the one who he cheated on with." My eyes rose in shock and I suddenly felt bad for joking him. "So I'm guessing this is why Luke and Michael don't like each other now." I said out loud and Ashton nodded.

"That's not all of it though." He said and I sighed because this isn't going to end well, I know it. "It was the night he found her in Luke's house. Please remember this is when they were both in the same gang and they had a code that they followed." He explained, making me listen closely. "I can't say much because I swore a oath I wouldn't say anything more than you need to know, but Michael pulled a gun out on Luke in his own house."

"Sam was still there and was told to stay in his room while Michael and Luke talked out their problems like men." I bit my lip as I listened to the story, scared of what was going to happen next while Ashton explained. "Michael started to say how he loved Sam and he knew he could hear him. He said that she doesn't mean anything to him now and the relationship was over."

"Luke lost it because they both could hear the sobs coming from the room and that's when Michael exploded and started to beat up Luke in revenge. They didn't hear the door open when Michael pulled the trigger." I was shocked. "What happened next?" I asked, surprising myself on how strong I sounded. "The worst thing possible. Michael accidentally shot Sam and it wasn't good." My mouth flew open and I asked how she was doing and my heart dropped hearing the answer.

"Calum. He didn't make it."

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Intense, right? Lol. The book is almost complete, about 5 more chapters and a Epilogue.

- Kirsten & Claire.