Nolan's POV:

They're leaving.

What the hell? Are they really leaving because of what I did? They can't, it's not like them to run away from their problems. I need to go find one of the guys, I need to know what the hell is happening and why they're leaving all of a sudden.

I walked around the school looking for any of the guy or even Hazel and Paisley. There were still students roaming around even after school hours but I don't know if any of our friends are still here. The guys and I didn't have practice today so surely they're gone by now and the girls are probably gone as well, who the hell can I talk to?

"Damn it, cut it out, Julian!" I heard a voice sat from one of the classrooms.

Julian. That names sounds familiar, I feel like I've heard of it before and I feel like I should know.

Julian

Julian

Julian!

That's how I know the name, he's one of Ashley's friends.

I followed the direction of the voice and I saw a familiar face, that was definitely Julian, and he was with a girl. The girl was painting and he had his arms wrapped around her waist. They looked happy and they were laughing with each other. It made me miss Ashley and the thought of her leaving came rushing back and I remember the reason I was hear.

They didn't seem to notice me walk in so I made my presence known by clearing my throat. They both stopped what they were doing and looked at me. The girl had a confused look on her face and Julian looked pissed off. I don't know if it's because I disturbed him and the girl he was with or if it had something to do with what happened with Ashley and I, probably the later part.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked clearly annoyed, I sighed and stuck my hands in the pockets of my hoodie.

"I just wanted to ask something." I said, he looked at me wearily and he looked at the girl.

"Babe, can you give us some time? I promise I'll drop you home after this, alright?" He said to her, she nodded her head and grabbed her stuff, Julian gave her his car keys and she walked pass me without looking at me. Once she was out the room, Julian walked closer to me and looked me dead in the eye.

"What the hell do you want? Isn't hurting Ashley enough for you?" He asked, I looked down and took a deep breath.

"Is it true?" I asked him, he raised an eyebrow and I continued.

"Are they really leaving?" I asked again, his eyes softened and he sighed. He sat down on one of the desks and looked up at me.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this, but yeah, they're leaving in a few days." He said, I looked at him and I ran my fingers through my hair.

"But why? Is it because of what I did? Is that really why they're leaving?" I asked him, he scoffed and fake chuckled.

"Oh don't give yourself so much credit, their biological parents are going back home. A few weeks ago, they asked them if they wanted to go back with them and they gave them time to think. They were thinking of staying and to just visit them from time to time, but then this whole thing with you happened and that's what pushed them to leave." He explained with sorrow in his voice, I don't know what to do with the information I just received, but I know one thing's for sure. There is no way in hell I'm going to let Ashley leave.

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After talking to Julian, I ran back to my car and rushed to Ashley's house as fast as I could. They're leaving in a few days, how the hell could they just up and leave? Did they not plan on telling me sooner? Was Ashley so desperate to get away from me? I know that I hurt her pretty bad, but does she really have to leave, and so soon at that? I understand that she wants to spend time with her biological parents, but why didn't she tell me sooner?

I got to their house in 10 minutes and I quickly parked and got out of the car leaving my bag in the passenger seat. I quickly walked up the steps and rang the doorbell and knocked two times, I placed my hands in my pockets and looked around. I waited a few seconds before the door opened and revealed my brother, I raised my eyebrow at him and he glared at me. I haven't seen Dale since the incident happened, he's also mad at me if you couldn't already tell.

"Why are you here, Nolan?" He asked, I tried looking behind him to see if Ashley was in there but ended up not seeing anything because my view was blocked by Mr. Matthews. At this point, I knew I was dead meat.

"Dale, go back inside with Nathan. I'll handle this." He said and I internally gulped and I could feel my palms sweating inside my pockets.

Mr. Matthews and I have always had a good relationship with each other, he became like a second father to me in the past few years. In this case though, I know that I'm as good as dead.

"Nolan" He said, I looked up at him and I honestly did not know what to say.

"Mr. Matthews" I said back, he looked at me and I saw a figured walk behind him and I just knew it was Ashley. She saw me and looked at me, she stared for a few seconds and eventually looked away. Mr Matthews must've noticed me looking behind him because he walked out and closed the door behind him.

"Let's go for a walk, Nolan." He said and walked pass me, I quickly followed him and stayed a little bit behind.

We walked in silence for a few minutes until we reached the park, he walked over to a bench he sat down. I remained standing up for a few minutes and he looked at me.

"What the hell are you doing standing there? Sit down." He said, I quickly sat down not wanting to make him angrier. We sat in silence for a few more minutes until he spoke up again.

"Why'd you do it?" He asked the question I dreaded the most, I sighed and looked down at my lap.

"I didn't mean to do it, I was caught up in the moment and I didn't really know what I was doing. I lost control and before I knew it, it happened and I saw Ashley run out bawling her eyes out." I briefly explained my side and didn't bother looking at him because I was way too ashamed of what I did to his daughter.

"Do you have feelings for this Sophie girl?" He asked, I looked at him and he looked back at me with an intense gaze.

"Of course I don't, I barely know the girl. She means nothing to me now, I love Ashley with all my heart. You know that Mr Matthews." I said, he looked away and sighed.

"Ashley said this wasn't the first time you both fought about this girl." He said not even sparing me a glance, I looked back down at my lap and started playing with my thumbs.

"Yeah, we had a fight about this a few weeks back and that was when Sophie was still new to town." I said, I looked at him and he nodded his head.

"What was the reason for that fight?" He asked, I would've thought that either Ashley or Ashton already explained this to him but I guess not.

"She was jealous of Sophie because I was spending too much time with her." I said and he looked back at me again.

"Is that all?" He asked again

"No, Sophie was really clingy and she stuck by my side all the time and she was being all touchy and I didn't do anything about it and that really messed things up with me and Ashley." I said

"Do you know why Ashley was so upset about all this?" He asked looking me dead in the eye

"Well no, not really. But she did say it was because she just didn't want to lose me to Sophie, but I guess that didn't age well." I said, he continued to stare at me and he looked straight ahead.

"She was upset because there was another girl clinging onto you and showing you affection, yet you didn't do anything and you just accepted it. You made her feel like she couldn't trust you, you made her feel like she had a competition with Sophie, you made her feel like she didn't mean anything to you, you made her feel like she was just another one of your toys, and most of all you didn't make her feel loved. What you did with Sophie a few days ago made her break and that was the last straw for her. You hurt my daughter, you know that?" He said, I looked at him and he was already looking at me. I saw the disappointment in his eyes and I just know that he's really disappointed in me, even I'm disappointed in myself.

"I know, I hurt her. I want to fix this though, I really do. I want her back, I can't lose her. You know how much she means to me, right?" I said, he nodded his head and looked me in the eye again.

"Tell me, Nolan. How exactly do you plan on taking her back? Do you think it's just that easy to win her back again after you repeatedly crushed it? Do you think it's easy for me to see my daughter in so much pain? It pains me too see her in that situation because I swore to never let her go through this much pain because as her father, I want to protect her. Do you think I'll let you take her again just to break her all over again? Nolan, I don't think you understand how much pain you put her through. I don't want to see her go through all that pain all over again just because of your stupid actions." He said in a stern tone

I really fucked up, it seems as if I didn't only hurt Ashley too, I hurt everyone else in the process. Ashley and I's situation not only affects the both of us but everyone around us too. Our family and friends are affected in this too and I was the cause of all this pain and sorrow.

"But, I do know that you love her and I'm willing to take the chance because I know that you genuinely make my daughter happy. You have to earn her trust back and you have to stay true to her, you have to make her feel that you can trust you even with other girls roaming around. She needs to feel safe and secured, she needs to feel your love. Please don't fuck this up, Nolan. This is the last chance I'm giving you, make things right with her but remember that the choice is all up to her." He said, I looked at him and he had a small smile on his face.

"I know you're a good kid, Nolan. Just don't mess this up and make things right with Ashton too, you two are best friends." He said, I nodded my head and let out a small smile. We both stood up and he walked closer to me and gave me a fatherly hug, he patted my back and pulled away.

"Thanks Mr Matthews" I said, he pulled away and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Who you calling Mr Matthews?" He asked teasingly, I softly chuckled and shook my head.

"Sorry Pa" I said, he smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Alright, let's get back to the house." He said, I nodded my head and we both walked away from the bench and continued our way back to their house.

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Well...this was a longer chapter than usual, hahaha i hope you guys enjoyed that. I actually cried writing the stuff that Christian said because damn, lmao couldn't happen with me. I don't know what to write with this author's note but I do get to tell you yall that the next chapter would be the last and then there will be a epilogue after that, ahhhhh im so excited for this!! I love you guys so much and thank you for your support!

Word count: 2153