Ethan{8}

With a determination Like never before in my life, I solidified the decision of not giving up hope that he'll one day forgive me and if the fates smile at me he might just love me back as much as I do him... with a sigh of defeat I left the hospital room in silence not before glancing at him for a few moments...

Dejectedly I hung my head low as I received a rain of insults and harsh words from my parents... never have they ever raised their voices at me which only strengthened the realization of  just how much I had messed up with ashley

My mom knows how much I love Ashley. Yeah she kinda figured it out a few years ago at my sisters birthday party when I couldn't stop staring at him the whole time he was at my house

He always caught me staring at him but I just couldn't take my eyes off such a pretty little thing

What finally concluded my moms suspicions was when she caught me masturbating while I was staring at his picture and groaning his name in my bathroom.

seems like she called out to me a few times and when she didn't get a reply from me she panicked thinking something was wrong with me in the bathroom and she rushed in without knocking. albeit embarrassed at what she saw, she promised to not tell anyone anything till I decided it was the right time for me to come clean with how I truly felt about Ashley to him.

She would often threaten me with it when I refused to do what she wanted and I'd have no choice but to accept her conditions

Lost in thought at the memory I didn't realize my mother had been calling my name

ETHAN!!!

Huh? I stared at her dumbfounded not knowing what they had been talking about all this time

"did you say something?"

With a heavy frown and a disapproving look she scowled at me

"Yes, Ethan. I did say something but you clearly made it known to us that what we were talking about is absolute and absurd rubbish to you that's why you weren't paying attention because if you thought it was of utmost importance you wouldn't tally off into the dream land you call a mind...how do you even keep track of your day to day activities and school? When your head is clearly an ashen land of disrupted and unfocused thoughts of unimportant nonsense! Sometimes I wish you would pay more attention to the things and people who actually matter and I know you know what I mean by that!"

My mother said with an alarmingly calm voice with little to no expression displayed on her face

Fuck! I messed up again

I was panicking on the inside my mother only ever talks like that when she's about to blow up and have an outburst and then the most excruciating punishment ever 'the silent treatment'

You'd think she would falter along the line of her not talking to me and crack but that woman's resolve is as strong and hard as the grounds which the Himalayan mountains were birthed. she could go months on end and not even my mom could talk her out of it

"now Ethan don't you think it's time you finally told him? The boy deserves to know the truth of why you've been bullying him"

Shocked beyond words I and my mother stared at my mom but for different reasons

My mother stared at her because she didn't know I was bullying Ashley and I on the other hand was shocked at the revelation of my mom having knowledge of the horrid things I've been doing to him

"but h-how did you know I-i was bu-bullying Ashley?"

She scowled at me with a look of disgust and I couldn't bring myself to look into her eyes after knowing she had found out about my destructive ways of handling Ashley

"don't give me that look boy, I've heard Ashley and your sister crying themselves to sleep every time you did something to him! It was Ashley who did most of the crying while begging your sister to promise she wouldn't tell on you for such disgusting acts of the idiotic and repulsive reckless way you had been treating him and she only ever promised she wouldn't tell on you because she knows he loves you too much to watch you getting punished for everything you did to him! He even...."

and just like my mother had said I floated to the dreamland I call a mind once again but I was ecstatic about the fact that Ashley loved me... he actually loved me yet I did such horrible things to him, how much of a uselessly blind fog-horning idiot was I that I never noticed he had feelings for me? Come to think of it I had always caught him stealing glances of me and I had heard him murmur my name a few times in his sleep while he always sighed like he was happy which always earned him a beating from me

One time I even saw a pic of me on his phone under hidden files when I was snooping around his stuffs and the password wasn't really a hard crack seeing how much he adored my sister.

I knew for a fact the password would be my sisters birth-date

I angrily deleted it but not before taking a photo of it with my phone to ridicule him with later.

Little by little the pieces of the puzzle became clearer

How he was always excited to see me when we were still on good terms, giving me sweet treats, snacks, and candies and always wanted to spend whatever little free time he had with me

How much of a fool I am to have not realized this.

With a jump from my seat and the biggest most sincere smile I've ever displayed in my entire life I shouted "ASHLEY FUCKING LOVES ME! Woohoo yessssss uh-hun yeah yeah he loves me and I'll make sure I make him mine!"

After my little outburst I realized I hadn't heard a thing of what my parents were saying anymore and to be honest I didn't care anymore.

Running out of the house I shouted to my parents "I'm going to make it right, I'll make him mine!"

ASHLEY's POV

Releasing the breath I was holding in I relaxed my body into the hospital bed and winced from the sharp pain I felt from my ribs

What did I ever do to deserve such endless pain and hate from the one person my heart craves the most? Yes I might hate him now but deep down I know I can never stop loving him, not now, not ever.

Sleep was slowly taking a hold of my consciousness when the door burst open and lo and behold the one person I despised right now was standing there breathing heavily like he had run a marathon with bulls

Chest heaving heavy with deep short breaths, sweat trickling down his defined jaw, his thin pink lips parted slightly to aid his rapid breathing, hair looking disheveled like he had been running his hands through it all day long

Thin eyebrows sat perfectly on his skin like he recently visited the salon for a carving, short full lashes slightly hiding those beautiful eyes of his. God he looked heavenly ravishing and for a moment I forgot how much I hated him now

But then he blurted something I never expected from him

"I love you Ashley!"

Wait...what?