Caleb didn't even give me the chance to say no. I sighed, clutching my phone as I turned back to Ashton. After a brief pause, I walked over to him.

Before I could say anything, Ashton spoke first. "I'm leaving the day after tomorrow," he said abruptly.

His words caught me off guard. "Leaving? Where to?"

Ashton kept walking, his tone calm but distant. "Back home."

Home? Did he mean Amaty? But hadn't he said he would stay here? He'd even ...