Chapter 208: Sisters
After a few minutes Ashton asked, “So... tell me? How are you doing? Do you have a mate yet?”
“No, I actually don’t,” Ariel shrugged. “But guess what, Ava did. That too very recently”!
“Really? Who is it?” Ashton folded his hand as if he was about to interrogate.
“This guy... name is Ian” Ava shrugged.
“This guy? He is your sister’s mate and all you know is his name? What happened to taking care of her in my absence”? Ashton raised her eyebrows.
“Hey, she is not a baby alright. She can take care of herself” Ariel scowled.
“I know” Ashton laughed lightly. “I was just teasing you” Ariel simply pouted in response to Ashton. “You know what, you are right, teasing your siblings is actually fun” at this point Ariel was simply shooting glares at her brother.
.....
Before their conversation could continue a running Ava came rushing through the door. “It’s true, you are really here” She breathed out loud as she looked at Ashton.
“Ava” Ashton smiled. Suddenly, once more he was engulfed in a hug by his sister. “Ouch!” Before he could say anything else he received a series of punches from his enraged sister directed right at his shoulder and his arm. If he was a human, he might have ended up with a dislocated shoulder by now.
“How...dare...you...abandon...us...like... that...! I am... going... to ... kill.. You”! She declared between her punches.
Even if he had the power to stop her he didn’t. He simply looked at Ariel in a plea of help. But all Ariel did was shrug and let her brother get beaten up like that.
“Let go of me” Finally Ashton begged his sister.
“NO”! She shouted at Ashton while her eyes were filled with tears. “You deserve this you jerk”!
“You are right,” Ashton sighed. “But it hurts. Can you please?” He begged. After a few more punches she finally let him go. “Who told you?”
“I did,” Ariel smirked. “I would have called mom too but unfortunately she is away.
“Where is she?” Ashton asked.
“Mrs Wrisberg dragged her to her parents house. According to Mrs Wrisberg she needed a change of scenario.” Ava shrugged.
“So, they are like friends now?” Ashton asked.
“Yepp”! Ariel shrugged. “Thanks to your abrupt disappearance they bonded with each other quite a lot.”
“I am glad,” Ashton smiled. “So, who is Ian?” Ashton folded his arms.
Ava’s eyes widened and she looked at Ariel. “I cannot believe you told him.”!
Ariel simply shrugged in response. “I told you he is here, it’s only fair he gets something in return”. She received glares from both of her siblings so she simply pursed her lips and maintained quiet.
Ashton’s glare softened soon as he stared at his siblings with a poignant smile. Last time they were two teenagers who were trying to figure out their life. But today, they are grown women. Frankly speaking they all seemed of the same age now, which was perfect given that their age difference was probably not much.
“So how is life for you? What are you guys up to these days?” He asked.
“Well, I am selected as an editor for this company in Moscow. I don’t need to live there, we have a local branch here. So I will work there after I graduate.” Ava informed. “I am also kind of stuck between my apparent mate who is a stranger to me, and my boyfriend who is the most amazing person on this planet”.
“Wow...” Ashton gulped. “So you are juggling between two guys. Great” Ashton nodded awkwardly.
“I am not juggling! I am simply confused, okay!” She shouted at her brother. “It’s a little messy right now. I need to figure things out.” Ava groaned.
“Sounds... colorful” Ashton nodded. “What about you?” Ashton turned to Ariel.
“I am currently majoring in Psychology. After I graduate I wanna work around to spread mental health awareness” she declared.
“That’s... great,” Ashton nodded. “You mentioned about some meds earlier? Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I am having little insomnia lately so I am getting treated for that”. She assured him. “I’m fine. I’m sure it’s just the stress.
“Okay...” Ashton mumbled quite unconvinced. But he decided not to say anything further.
“What about you?” Ava asked. Ashton explained his situation to her in detail which led her to hug Ashton. “I am sorry for hitting you earlier” She mumbled.
“No... I am glad you did. I am glad you were angry. I know you missed me” Ashton smiled.
“So, now that you are here, what do you want to do?” Asked Ava.
“I don’t know. I guess I want to catch up for now,”he mumbled. “I still don’t know what is same and what changed over the past few years.
“Well,” Ava thought for a while. “I am sure you will catch on eventually. But get some rest for now. It’s getting late. I am here for another week, so is she. Let’s hang out?” Ava asked.
“Sounds great?” Ashton smiled.
The next day he woke up later than usual which meant that he had already missed breakfast for the day. He saw a different phone on the nightstand and realised that Caleb got him a new one since he had lost every possession he had when he went for his trip.
It only had one number saved and a ton of messages from the same number giving him the contact info of everyone. After he was done showering he decided to head but a knock from the door distracted him. Upon opening it, he saw a man who seemed to be in his late forties. He had never seen this man but it seemed like he was a worker here so he simply stared at him.
“Allow me to introduce myself, but I am Mr Gibson. Mister Wrisberg had advised me to take care of you since he went to pick up his son” He declared.
Ashton frowned as a lot of things didn’t make sense in the sentence. Why will Mr. Wrisberg need to pick up Caleb, where was he? “I am sorry, pick up from where?” Ashton asked once more.
“The school, Mr. Parker” He declared.
“Wait what?” Ashton halted in his path abruptly, “Wait, which Mr Wrsiberg are you talking about”? Ashton asked.
“Master Caleb Wrisberg” Mr Gibson notified him.
“Caleb has a son?” Ashton whispered as the shock hit him.
“Yes, his name is Connor. He is a seven year old.” Mr Gibson notified. Ashton froze in his spot as he failed to wrap his head around this information. The age seemed highly uncanny. And given the duration of Ashton’s disappearance it was possible that the kid was... related to him.
If that were true that means he didn’t just abandon Caleb, but he gave him a huge responsibility before he left. What he also failed to comprehend was why Caleb hid this fact from him. Of all the thing Caleb told him about, why didn’t he mention his son.
Before he could rack his brains further he noticed a child running towards him who stopped abruptly as soon as he noticed Ashton. He stared at Ashton with a blank gaze before taking a few steps back. Ashton realised who this kid was as soon as he ran to Caleb and hid behind him, “Dad” he mumbled.
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