Ashley returned from the bathroom with a damp cloth. "Here." She sat next to Craig and pressed it against his jaw. "Feel any better?"
"No."
"I don't know what got into him." Ashley shook her head. "I guess he's that crazy about Ellie."
"Well you got the crazy part right," Craig mumbled.
"Well love makes you do some pretty strange things. So does the thought of losing that love." Ashley looked at Craig and knew she had struck a cord. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to imply…"
"No, no it's okay. You're right. Love does make you wacky." He sighed. "Maybe I'm more pissed at the fact that Ellie just ran out of here after him instead of staying with me. Or I'm afraid that she may still love him."
"Well, you know, it's really hard to let past relationships go. Actually, I don't even really think that you stop loving someone you cared about that much. You kinda just move on but a part of my heart will always belong to you." Ashley realized what she said and quickly corrected herself. "I mean, part of their heart will belong to…" She trailed off, knowing it was no use.
Craig shifted away from her. "Ash don't. Please. I'm still working on the moving on part. And I'd like to keep moving on because, well, when I don't, things tend to go badly."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. Or maybe I did. I don't know what I mean. All I know was that I think it was a mistake for me and Sean to have come here." She stood up. "And I should go. I'm sorry for all the trouble we've caused." She started towards the door.
"Wait. Ash don't leave like that." Craig stood up to stand in front of her. "I…I want things to end better than they did the last time we broke up. I don't know if we can be friends but, well, I want to be able to see you in the halls and not have to run the other way."
Ashley smiled. "Yeah. That sounds good."
Craig hesitantly took a step towards her and wrapped her in an awkward hug. "Okay, so I'll see you."
Ashley smiled at him tightly as she pulled away. "Right. See you." She left the room and shut the door gently behind herself. Then she paused and ran her fingers over the smooth wood. She felt a deep sadness at leaving him and something inside of her wanted to shove the door open and just stay in his arms forever. But no, she had to leave. She had someone else waiting for her at home.
Ellie hurried down the stairs and skidded to a stop in the lobby when she saw Sean sitting on a bench by the front doors with his face in his hands. She approached slowly, trying to figure out what to say. Part of her was angry at the way he was acting but she was mostly just confused.
"Sean," she said in a voice that was barely a whisper--somehow it was hard for her to get the singleword out. He still heard her and jerked his head up.
"Ellie, please, just leave me alone."
"I can't." Ellie sat down next to him.
"I'm sorry for making a scene like that." Sean was staring down at the floor. "Tell Craig I said I'm sorry for hitting him."
"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Ellie suggested gently. "After you tell me what's wrong."
"It's nothing. Nothing." He still wouldn't look at her.
"Is it your parents?"
Sean shook his head quickly. "No. They're fine."
"Are you sure?" Ellie pressed.
"It's not them." Sean finally turned to Ellie, his face grim. "It's me. I messed up, El. Really bad this time."
"What happened?"
"My friend…he was selling drugs. I wasn't going to do any but I went with him to meet some other guys who wanted to buy some. One of them was a cop. I'm due in court in a few weeks." He bit his lip. "My lawyer says that even though I swear I wasn't selling, I was still there and things don't look good for me. He says if I could wind up in juvenile prison."
Ellie felt her heart sink. "Oh, Sean…"
"My parents are furious of course and I just don't know what's going to happen. I got so angry before, because, I don't know, I thought that if I came back here, you would be waiting for me and make everything okay." He shook his head, looking back down at the floor. "Stupid."
Ellie didn't know what to say. This news had been completely unexpected and now she saw things differently. Sean needed her—how could she refuse him? "I will be here for you," she said quietly. "And I'll try my best to make things okay."
Sean looked up, hope glinting in his eyes. "You will?"
Ellie nodded. Sean's arms came around her in a warm embrace and she felt content. But there in her mind, as she sat there in Sean's arms, flashed a picture of Craig's face right before they had kissed.