Bandage Love

Chapter 2

Ash was sweating and panting, he hardly opened his eyes as he gently rubbed it with his hands. His eyes rayed out by sunlight that entered the window near the balcony.

He flickered for a moment and covered the light. He lifted his body and now he was sitting on his bed as he left heavy tracks in his pillow, his fingers run to his hair and bite his lower lips. He wiped his sweat with his hands, he couldn't take off his mind after that blurred scenarios he just witnessed, he couldn't even remember the woman's face. He sighed wiggling his trying to forget what he had just dream off, after all, dreams are just dreams.

He just realized that he was lying at the soft surface and found himself touching the bed sheet... How did he get here? Did he just sleep at the study table last night? A thousand thoughts had run into his mind, he just buried his face in his palms for a moment. He glanced beside him staring at the clock. It was striking 7:15, the sun is clear and breeze blows in pleasant. He yawned and stretched his arms.

"Oh, Mr. Lewis, how thoughtful!" A voice of a woman exclaimed downstairs and laughter joined after her, he blinked for a moment staring at the door.

"Don't be so polite, Jenny, we're neighbors. Just call me by my name, also she's your best friend, remember?" His father referred to someone.

"Alright, I do remember that Danielle." She responded, Ash furrowed his eyebrows, it was still early in the morning, who might be this person would visit his father during these hours? He went towards the door and swing it open as he headed downstairs. His sight caught a lady and a woman. They were all sitting in the couch. The woman was having conversation with his father but the girl beside her was staring at him.

A girl with pale skin, straight midnight hair. She had a red glossy lips. The woman has the same features as her but the woman's hair was wavy and much more matured than a girl with a dress baby face and clear skin.

The woman's eyes landed on him and smiled at Danielle. "Is that what I think is is?"

"Oh Jenny, meet my son. Ash, come closer and greet our neighbor." Danielle commanded but Ash stared at them in silence. He never thought this would happen, he fixed his collar. His pupils are locked in the both of the female, but he restrain himself to stare at the girl.

"Sorry dad, I'm busy. Maybe later." Ash abnegation to his father made Jenny to smile faintly before Ash turned his back and went upstairs again. A silence of stare shifted in the three people as Danille opened his mouth while let out a sigh.

"I apologize for his rudeness, Jenny, gosh that kid,"

"Indeed a kid, but that's nothing. I don't mind at all." Jenny replied and grinned. While her daughter was just there staring at them in blank facial expression.

Ash closed the door behind him and room his eyes around room and sighed, he removed his clothes marched to the bathroom. For a while he stepped out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe and rubbing hair with a towel, as a moment later he decided to wear clothes. He was wearing a shade anthracite shirt and blue-jeans. Her grabbed his purse and took his backpack before leaving the room. His feet creaked on the stairs with moving downward, Ash in sighted his father gritting his teeth together with his eyes are blazing fire and his hands was balled into fist.

"How could you be so rude to our neighbors?! How dare you!" Danielle scolded and Ash's gaze was so cold, his face has no emotion and gripped tightly in his backpack handle. He pressed his lips and turned his look away.

"If you are mad at me or something you should have still show some respect! Mind your manners young man!" His father scolded and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. I will respect them." Ash stated in defeat, "Them, but not you. I'm off." He added while narrowing his eyes to Danielle and he took a step and he turned his back again.

"I'm still talking to you! Get back here, right now!" His father commanded while his hands was pointed in front of him.

"Blah, blah, blah, what a small chit chat from my father, bye," Ash uttered before turning the doorknob and slammed the door shut. Danielle sighed and facepalms, he stroke his hair roughly and sat on the couch.

While Ash passed on the houses in the side of the street, he was bitting his lips and even clenching his fist, he was shuffling, he sighed heavily as he keep continuing his pace in whatever he was going.

In a moment, he had reached his destination. He was already inside the school grounds reaching his way to his room, as he rotated his head and from the placed a found a boy nearby.

He has a brunette wavy hair, his height was about 6'5 and had a muscular body, he was surrounded by girls, he just flashes a smile as the girl couldn't help to scream as if they saw an artist, this guy is with his girl again, he thought.

"Dear, you don't have to scream... Save your voice for me, okay?" He stated and saw a girl with a long face and approach her. "Oh honey relax, you're so beautiful, don't let sadness ruined your beauty." He uttered and touched the girl's jaw gently.

Her eyes gleamed while having her cheeks blush at the moment. She was completed flattered, she gasped and collapse out of her felling.

Her friends catch her body, while Ash couldn't refrain himself to chuckle while wiggling his head before he decided to leave that place, he was walking in the hallway, but footsteps were followed from behind as he turned his head he found a familiar person.

"Oh it's you," Ash stated as the boy heard his pace and stood in front of him.

"Are you busy? Wanna lunch together?"

Ash nodded in response. "Not at all,"

"It's a deal then..."

The boy tapped his shoulder as they continue their pace, but both of them bumped to a girl out of the blue, the girl's butt landed on the ground in impact, she was wearing a short skirt and revealed her future in from of the two men.

"Miss, are you okay?" Ash questioned and the girl nodded and stood on her feet and bowed her head before running away.

"F*ck, I thought he was alone... That guy beside him... Damn!" She mumbled in herself.

"What's wrong with that person? We are not in the middle of the hallway but we bumped into her..." Ash enunciated watching the girls back as the guy beside him was left in silence, biting his lower lips.

"Don't mind her... Let's go." He stated as Ash glanced at him seeing him the first to take a step. Ash followed him too as both of them reached their destination.

"Bye," Ash waved his hands.

"Later then," Ash nodded before both of them separated and entered their room.

Ash and he meet during the lunch and accidentally saw the girl they had bumped while ago, he couldn't help to stare at her as Ash even noticed his eyes keeps darting to that girl.

"Do you know her?" Ash questioned and he glanced at him and shake his head and focused on their food.

Ash stared at him for a moment, he sighed and just focused to his food, and started to take a bite. The school had already come onto an end.

Ash went to the library to read as he used to while reading in a corner, "Why are you being close to him?"

He halted for a moment, it was a guy's voice that comes from the other side of the shelf.

"As if you care, we're over aren't we?"

Is he accidentally eavesdropping an ex-lovers quarrel? He pressed his lips together and flipping the other page of the book.

"Damn, Eve, leave him alone."

"What? He doesn't have to do with you! I like him!"

A plot twist of a story... It would be nice if it's part of a book but in reality, those words might bleed the guy's heart... Ash thought.

"Lower down your voice we're at the library,"

"So?"

There was a moment of paused as Ash closed the book and put it back where it came from, they were lucky if their voices weren't heard by the librarian, but if it did then, good luck for them.

"Are you gonna use him too?"

"Of course not! We're over, right? So please don't butt in my business."

Ash felt his heart bleed, that was quite a scene, he couldn't help to put his hands in his lips...

"And I care for him! I don't want you for him. You just keep using people like you did to me!"

"Both of you are not the same!"

"Yes, I know. I just can't understand why did you still cheated even if I gave you all I have and it' still never enough for you!"

"You're still aren't over with me, are you? We're done! Okay? WE'RE ALREADY DONE!"

He tried to look where those voices came from but he saw nothing but an empty section, he sighed and just decided to grab a book back again and continue to read it.

The day has almost ended, Ash was on a beach, strolling in the sand. It was nearly sunset. He decided to sit down and watch the shore. The water is touching the sand. His shadow was at his back. His pupils were focused on the reflection of the sun in the sea, glittering.

His eyelids are heavy, yet it is emotionless.

For a moment, his eyes started to wet. He hugged his knees and leaned his head. A droplet of water poured down on the sand. His feet shifted but his position stays still.

After a minute, he raised his head getting his purse in his pocket. He opened it. His feelings are too hard to express. He more feels like the world is too cruel to be live by the people. The look of his face is so uneasy, he sighed before putting the purse back again in his pocket.

That's all he had done until the night bites. He started to move out of the beach and saw the face of a familiar lady. That midnight and straight hair what different is she's wearing eyeglasses.

Out of sudden, they bumped into each other. Ash didn't stop on his tracks and did not face her. While she had turned her head on him, following his back. She stared down the ground and had her lips open and they separated ways.

Ash was so busy walking down the street.

The sky was dark. He passed on every street lamps he encounters. He was under the deep of his thoughts and not even paying attention to the other cars the sometimes passed by.

He was just like that all the time until then he stands still and moved his head to a landscape. He reached his house, he sighed and entered the lawn. Ash didn't really enter the house.

Instead, he decided to sit on the bench of their backyard. Watching his surroundings. Cars rarely pass at those hours. He hopes to see something nice. But what he only hears the cicadas and even the sudden howls of the wind. He's so out into his thoughts not until someone appeared in his sight.

What he saw was a lady, the lady whom he had bumped onto.

The girl entered the lawn of their neighbor's house which made him think in his mind that, maybe she was his neighbor, he suspected that. But he had his eyebrows furrowed. He looked at her carefully, the girl had a serious face as the girl unlocked the door of the house and slammed the door shut.

"What's wrong with girls today?" He whispered.

The next morning, the door bang as Ash opened his eyes out of his sleep. His eyes are still trying to recover from the blurry eyesight. He rubbed it for a moment and gazed at his head where the bang had come from.

The corner of his lips twitches his face. He removed the blanket and stood on his feet, walking towards the door. He opened the door. There was a man standing behind the door, a one and the only man he shared home with.

"What's the rush?" Ash questioned while he combed his hair in aggravation.

"Son, you see... Our neighbor's daughter is downstairs," Danielle replied.

"So what do you want me to do with it? She not my damn business." Ash responded and his father gave him a glare.

"There you are again with your stupid damn altitude! Pay some respect!" Danielle nagged.

"But this is your choice. And it's your fault, remember?" Ash said furiously and hissed. Danielle sighed deeply in making himself under control.

"If it has something to do with the past, forget it. Remember, I'm still you're a father. Now go downstairs and help her out on school kinds of stuff and accompany her, she's important to her. Our neighbor was her best friend years ago." Danielle illustrated to Ash.

He stood for a moment trying to shrink it in his thoughts. If the girl was special to her then so be it. "Fine, you win. It's just only because she's related to it. Now leave me alone."

Ash slammed the door shut without even seeing his father stepping away.

"What a manner, damn child," Danielle whispered behind the door and Ash just stood there staring at the door with an emotionless face.

"Damn you too," Ash answered between his breath. Before turning his back at the door and starting to prepare for school.

When Ash was about to grab his bag and stormed off he paused for a moment. He had brought something in his mind. "Where is that thing..."

He tried to search for the whole place. "I can't lose it..."

"My wallet... The picture..."

To Be Continued.