Chapter 290

Chapter 290: Adult Now

“Sorry mom, I had to crash like this”. Ashton mumbled apologetically to his mother, who was, on the contrary, thrilled to see her son there. Caleb didn’t bother to stay there as he had work to do so he left Ashton on the doorstep as soon as Mrs Parker had opened the door. Turns out, she was home so Caleb didn’t need to use the spare key.

“Is everything alright? Caleb mentioned you have been going through something.” Mrs Parker recalled. “Are you getting the wedding jitters?”

“Not yet, no”. Ashton shook his head. “But... There is something going on with me. I dunno what’s happening with me.” He mumbled.

“Well, rest assured I will help you if you need me. But don’t worry, I know you are an adult. I won’t smother you with my forced help”. Mrs Parker shrugged.

“Where did that come from”? Ashton frowned, who had never asked his mother to back off, always seeking advice from the woman.

“The girls told me I need to back off when I tried to help Ava with Ian and Ben.” Mrs Parker rolled her eyes.

“Who?” Ashton frowned.

.....

“Well, if I am getting this right, Ben was Ava’s boyfriend and Ian is his mate.” Mrs Parker recalled. “On the other hand your sister Ariel is completely single.”

“Why do you sound so disappointed?” Ashton mused. “Isn’t it every mother’s dream to keep their little girls to them as long as they can”.

Mrs Parker shot him a glare, “I am growing old young man. I just don’t want her to be alone forever. That’s all.” She mumbled.

“She is not alone.” Ashton pointed out. “I mean, yeah, she doesn’t have a mate but she is a very friendly girl and as far as I know, she has people in her life she can count on.”

“I know. But it’s not the same as having a mate”. Mrs Parker sighed.

“Yes, the bond between mates is great. But having a mate forced upon you is not.” Ashton shrugged. “If Ariel ended up having a mate just for the sake of it, she wouldn’t be happy. I know, because I can never accept any other mate apart from Caleb.” Ashton shook his head. “I think it’s cool she is willing to wait it out”.

“Too bad Ariel isn’t here right now, or she would give you a tight hug” Mrs Parker snorted. “Anyways, I am getting caught up in my own drama. What about you? What’s going on with you?”

“I am having blackouts.” Ashton declared. “But, it’s a little more complicated than that.” Mrs Parker waited, and Ashton proceeded with explaining as much as he could.

“Imma kill Caleb! He lied to me about my own son”! Mrs Parker was a bit furious.

“Hey, he was just trying to not make you worry.” Ashton defended his mate. “He found me, didn’t he?”

“You almost disappeared! He should have told me”. Mrs Parker huffed.

“And made you worry for no reason”? Ashton raised an eyebrow. “I am starting to see why Caleb didn’t tell you anything about it”.

“Excuse me?” Mrs Parker raised an eyebrow.

“Come on mom! We are adults, we got this.” Ashton declared after which he blinked, “Wow, I sound like the twins don’t I?”

“Yes, yes you do.” Declared Mrs Parker. “I am sorry. I am so used to worrying about my kids, especially you... I don’t know how not to worry.” She mumbled.

“You used to worry about me”? Ashton was a bit taken aback.

“Of course. I knew you had a rough childhood. You don’t talk about it, but I know very well how hard it was to survive what you did. In fact I leaned on you when things got hard, and you were just a teenager back then.” She sighed. “I never underestimated your efforts, Ashton. I really appreciate everything you have endured for all of us. When I adopted you, I was worried if we would qualify to be your real family or not. But you have shown us that it’s not the case.

“Of course you are my real family. I mean, you invited me in when everyone else shunned me.” Ashton noted.

“Well, I know that for sure.” Mrs Parker smiled. “Listen, I am here if you need anything okay? And stay here for as long as you like. It’s been getting really lonely for me, I am sure I would enjoy your company a little bit.” Mrs Parker smirked.

“Thanks mom.” With that Ashton settled down for the time being. Luckily he didn’t unpack much, so he didn’t need to go to bigger lengths to repack and unpack. Not that he brought his case with him, since Caleb dropped him off here on a very short notice, he simply drove him here . Caleb promised him that after his shift is over, he would bring his stuff home along with the case files.

Meanwhile, Ashton freshened up, getting out of that ridiculous outfit that he got in the police station, showered and decided to wear one of the loose shirts of Caleb that were available in that room. Since Caleb was much hunkier than earlier, his shirts fit him perfectly.

The texture of that shirt felt so comfortable that he immediately collapsed on the bed and drifted off to sleep. He didn’t know for how long he was passed out for, but when he woke up, it was pitch dark. It was for certain that he definitely slept through the entire afternoon. He didn’t have lunch, or breakfast and frankly, the growling sound in his stomach was proof of how hungry he was.

He got up, washed up a bit and headed back to the living room. “Good, lord. I see you are finally awake.” Mrs Parker chuckled.

“Mom...” Ashton said groggily. Before he could say anything further, his stomach released another loud growl earning a chuckle from his mother.

“I’ll reheat the lunch you missed.” Mrs Parker offered.

“You should have called me for lunch.” Ashton accused his mom.

His mom raised a suggestive eyebrow towards him, “You don’t think I tried?”

“You did”? Ashton was taken aback by surprise. “Well, I suppose I slept really deep then.”

“Like dead.” Mrs Parker scoffed. There was a doorbell which alerted Mrs Parker. “Eat up, I will check who that is.”