brother
Chapter 17: Asher
The second those gas disappear down the alley, the second the danger is technically gone, I turn hack in her—and the anger, the fury, the adrenaline that’s been barely held together inside me finally snaps loose.
She’s standing there, small and shaking and trying to look heaver than she feels, and something about it–something about her–makes the anger hit even handles,
“What the hell were you thinking?” I hark, stepping closer before I can stop myself, the words taw and sharp.
She flinches, just barely, but lifts her chin, trying to stand taller, trying to meet me head–on even though she’s trembling so hard I can see it in the tense lines of her body.
It only makes me angrier.
“You could’ve been hurt,” I snap, slamming my palm into the wall just over her head, the crack of impact echoing down the alley.
She gasps, shrinking back instinctively, and I lean in, every muscle in my body thrumming with barely contained rage.
“You could’ve been=” I break off, breathing hard, swallowing the word that almost slips out–killed–and clenching my tightly my knuckles ache.
my sides so fists at my
“You’re so stubborn,” I hiss, the words falling like punches. “You think you’re invincible? Because you can walk home alone for ten minutes and get lucky that no one-
She stares up at me, wide–eyed, shaking, her hands fisted at her sides, trying so hard to look defiant.
Trying and failing
“You’re a spoiled little princess who doesn’t have a clue how dangerous this world is,” I bite out, the words coming too fast, too sharp. fueled by something hotter and uglier than anything I’m ready to name. You think you can do whatever you want and nothing bad will happen because it hasn’t yet. But the world doesn’t work like that. People like you—*
I stop.
Because she’s trembling so hard now that her teeth are almost chattering, her lip quivering despite how hard she’s clearly trying to lock it down, to hold herself upright in front of me.
I slam my eyes shut for a second, breathing in through my nose, forcing the surge of rage back down into the pit of my stomach where it belongs.
Islam my hand harder into the brick wall one last time, the vibration crawling up my arm, grounding me.
When I open my eyes again, 1 step back, just slightly, just enough to give her air.
“You can’t be reckless with your safety,” I say, lower now, rough but controlled, dragging the words out slow and deliberate like they’re custer me something. “You can’t
She blinks up at me, tears spilling faster now, but she drags her sleeve across her face, forcing herself to stand straight.
‘I’m sorry,” she whispers, her voice cracking in the middle.
It twists something inside me.
Something deep and awful and protective in a way I don’t want to think too hard about.
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Chapter 17: Asher
|| exhale sharply and mutter, “Come on.
I start to turn, walking a few steps toward the mouth of the alley, but I hear the faint stumble of her feet behind me, the scrape of makers an uneven ground, and when I glance hack over my shoulder, the’s off halance, for hag slipping from her shoulder, her knees backling hurt. slightly
1 mme last, catching her by the elbows, steadying her.
The second my hand closes around her arm, she winces.
Not dramatically.
Not even audibly
Just the sharp little intake of breath, the quick stiffening of her muscles under my grip.
1 frown, looking down at where my fingers curl around the delicate curve of her arm–and that’s when I see it.
The bruise.
Already darkening
Already blooming red and blue in the faint shape of fingers along her pale skin.
Rage slams back into me so
me so fast I almost See red.
I let go instantly, stepping back like I’ve been burned.
“Let me see,” I say, low and rough.
She hesitates, wide–eyed and wary, like she thinks I’m going to yell at her again.
But after a second, she sighs and pushes the sleeve of her bolero down, revealing the full ugly shape of it.
It’s worse than I thought.
It’s not just a handprint.
It’s angry
It’s deep.
The asshole squeezed her so hard he left a mark she’ll probably still have days from now
My fists clench, the urge to find them and finish what I started burning bright and blinding through every inch of me.
Without thinking, I start walking toward the direction they ran.
I’m halfway there when I feel her.
Tiny hands grabbing at my forearm, trying to hold me back with all the strength she bes, which isn’t much, but it’s enough to make me stop.
“Asher,” she says, her voice shaking, her fingers tightening. “Don’t leave me.”
It guts me.
More than anything else tonight.
I turn slowly, looking down at her.
M
they way her hands cling to me like I’m the last solid thing left in world that’s falling apart.
At the way her eyes still glassy with tears–plead with me in a way that goes way deeper than just don’t fight them.
Don’t leave me alone.
Don’t make me stand here in the dark by myself again.
The rage drains out of me so fast it leaves me hollow, like a building gutted by fire.
I study her for a long second
And then I reach down, gently peeling her fingers off my arm without letting go of her entirely.
“Come on,” I say, voice low,
This time, she follows without question.
We walk back to my car together, her shoulder brushing against mine every few steps, her bag clutched tight against her chest like a shield.
en the passenger door for her again, and this time she gets in without a fight.
I open 1
1 circle around, climb behind the wheel, and crank the heat higher until the vents hum with warm air, trying to chase the cold from both of our skin.
I don’t look at her as 1 pull away from the curb, merging back onto the main road that leads toward home.
But out of the corner of my eye, I see her.
Still trembling slightly.
Still hugging her bag like it’s the only thing keeping her upright.
And it hits me all over again.
How close tonight came to ending differently.
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