The Billion Dollar Girl

(Chapter 27)

Ͼ Ella Castillo Ͽ

A couple days passed in a similar fashion – us both arriving home, separately, him usually much later than me. Then we would do our separate things. I would eat like a normal human being, while he probably photosynthesized or something. I would then wash up and go into my room and sleep.

Ash was carefully avoiding me. I had no idea why, but I couldn’t deny I was hurt. It was agonizingly painful, the way we were so close, yet so far apart. I know it sounds so stupid, but I actually felt lonely without him. Once or twice, I’d been brushing my teeth, and my eyes would catch on his bottle of cologne. I couldn’t resist spritzing it onto myself a couple times, closing my eyes as I breathed in Ash’s smell. I’d always tried to put it back in the exact spot, but I had no idea if Ash realized or not. I hoped for my pride that he didn’t.

I guess he was playing another game. I was sick of his stupid games. Maybe Zack and Will were right. Maybe he was a stupid, manipulative douche. I ticked off days on the calendar I’d made during my depression at Christmas – the calendar that counted down to the day we were meant to divorce. Looking at it, I realized that our one month anniversary was coming up in over a week. I raised my eyebrow, and immediately dismissed the thought. Ash hadn’t said anything, and I guessed that the stupid, childish way he was acting now suggested he was hardly likely to.

Finally, Saturday came and with it brought relaxation and a late morning. It’d kind of been a tradition for me to stay in bed until midday on Saturdays – after all, I’d worked hard at my new lessons all week, and finally managed to catch up with the rest of the class. I deserved a little break.

“Get up!” Ash yelled, ripping my paltry dream into shreds.

I sat up, dazed. Rubbing at my eyes groggily, I glared at the boy in my room. I was fighting the ridiculous urge to both kill him for waking me up, and kiss him for finally talking to me. I settled for disgruntled.

“What time is it?” I snapped, my tone annoyed. I stretched, letting my covers drop – after all, I slept in a tank top, so it wasn’t really a big deal.

“Nine,” replied Ash, glancing at his Rolex. “And we’re late. Hurry up.”

“Nine?” I yelled, throwing my pillow at his head. He caught it easily. “That’s practically dawn! Where the hell are we meant to be going?”

“Brunch,” he answered, before disappearing into the hall. I stared at the place he’d last been, mentally groaning. Oh, God. I shoved my face into my other pillow, my scream masked by the fluffiness. You were kidding me, right?

***

ῼ Ash Castillo ῼ

I slammed the door closed, holding my hand over my chest. This really wasn’t natural. I was never like this. I was cool, calm, collected. Did Ella notice? Oh, God…

But even as I tried to push down my embarrassment, a smirk formed on my lips. It was definitely working, this seduction thing. I mentally thanked Serenity for reminding me of who I was. I was Ash Castillo, serial womanizer. I’ve dated more girls than Ella has talked to, and I knew how this game worked.

All girls need attention. That was a given fact. All girls needed to be constantly reassured, complimented and pampered. If you didn’t, they started to get clingy. They started to need you more. Then, after that – they’re totally dedicated.

It’s a move I’ve performed many times before. If it worked on the whole cheerleading team, why wouldn’t it work on someone as mediocre as Ella? Self-satisfied, I hurried to my room. I needed to get my tux on. It was time for Brunch.