Chapter 39: Asher
The storm was already bad when I stepped outside of my house a few minutes ago.
I just didn’t realize how imich worse it got until we were schully moving down the sidewalk..
Or trying in.
The rain doesn’t fall so much as it slices – cold, hand sheets that feel like tiny knives dragging arross any skin stupid enough to be exposed.
The wind his hand, relentless, shoving against me
If it’s tough for me –
It’s trying to knock me off balance,
six feet and a few inches tall, trained for worse, body braced against the elements
I can only imagine what it’s doing to her.
I turn to check.
And there she is
Penny, small and soaked, struggling to move forward.
The wind shoves her sideways, and she stumbles, nearly losing her footing.
Her hoodie’s plastered to her body, her legs barely making any progress against the invisible wall pushing back at her.
She’s fighting like hell, but it’s clear she’s losing
I double back, my boots slapping against the flooded sidewalk, and grab her forearm firmly,
Her hoodie is freezing cold under n
my hand.
I step in closer, sliding my other hand to the small of her back, steadying her, shielding her body with mine against the worst of the rain and wind.
“Come on,” I say, Ims and rough, bending toward her car so she can hear me over the storm.
She nods, teeth chattering too hard to speak, and leans into my touch without hesitation.
We move together now, her half sheltered by my body, her pace faster but still shaky.
Her clothes are soaked straight through–leggings/clinging to her legs like a second skin, hoodie dark with water, hair dripping around her fare in wet strands
I tighten my hold on her instinctively.
Her lips are starting to lose color.
It’s not just cold
it’s dangerous now.
1 pick up the pace, practically dragging her the last block
TM
Chapter 39. Asher
We reach the house and I shove the door open with my shoulder, pulling her inside after me, the wind trying to yark the door back on để my hàn
The second we’re in, warmth slaps against us — and so do my priests
to my God,” Mom gasps, tinhing forward, “Look at you!”
Dad’s right behind her, eyes wide.
Penny, wetheart, are you okay?”
They both hover, hands reaching out but not quite touching, like they don’t know where to start.
Now, with the merhead lights bright and steady, I get my first real look at her.
And it hits harder than it should.
She’s shivering violently, water pooling at her feet, hair hanging in dark ropes down her back and shoulders.
Without the tight bun she always wears, ber hair looks so much longer..
Her face is pale, almost translucent under the harsh lights, and her lips are definitely blue no
And there. Across her left check, a thin scratch, bright and angry against the frozen whiteness of her skin
“What happened?” Mom asks, voice high and worried.
Penny blinks at her, dased, then lifts a hand to her cheek like she only just remembered it.
T–I th
She frowns, trying to piece it together.
“I think something flew into me. Like a branch, maybe”
Dad wears under his breath, already moving toward the kitchen, probably looking for first aid stuff.
I step forward slightly, positioning myself between her and the door without even thinking.
“Her house is completely blacked out,” I say, voice clipped. No generator. No beat. She couldn’t stay there.”
Mom mods quickly, hands fluttering near Penny’s elbows like she wants to wrap her in a blanket made of pure mom energy-
“You absolutely did the right thing,” she says. “Thank you, Ash.”
Dad reappears with a towel,
el, tossing it over
Penny’s shoulders carefully.
“You need to get warm, sweetheart, Mom says gently. To upstates, take a hot shower.”
“And tea,” Dad adds, already filling the kettle. “We’ll fake you some.
Penny looks between them, overwhelmed and still shivering too hard to argue,
“You too,” she says firmly, pointing at me like she’s scolding a stray dog. “You’re soaked to the bone.”
I nod once, water dripping from my hair onto the hardwood floor.
Chapter 39: Asher
Penny hugs the towel tighter around herself and starts toward the italta.
I follow a few steps behind, þat to make sure the doesn‘“”) stumble or pollapse Julfway there,
The house creaks under the assalt of the strom, best inside it’s want
She reaches the landing and heads toward the bathroom at the end of the hall, puking the door open.
Then she stops, turning halfway around.
1, uh…”
She bites her lip, cheeks flushed from cold.
“I don’t have any clothes.”
For a second, she just stands there, dripping and shivering, towel clutched tight.
I’ll just grab some from Tyler’s room,” she says prickly, stepping back toward his door.
I shake my head, already seeing the disaster waiting behind It
“Not the best idea.”
She frowns at me but pushes the door open anyway.
I lean casually against the wall, armis crossed, waiting for it.
The door swings
And she freezes.
wide
Clothes are everywhere.
A battlefield of jeans, socks, hoodies, and what might be a half–eaten sandwich lying forgotten on the desk,
She doesn’t say anything for a long second.
Just stares like she’s trying to calculate whether it’s physically possible to find a clean item in that disaster zone
| smirk — just a
Tittle.
“Come on,” I say, pushing off the wall.
She shuts the door with a wrinkled nose and follows me down the hall.
I lead her to my com
cleaner, sharper, no mess except the rain soaked hoodie I peeled off earlier thrown over the back of a chair.
I open the top drawer of my dresser and pull out a plain black t–shirt and a pair of gray logging pants, tossing them toward her
She catches them awkwardly, holding the bundle against her chest.
“Thanks” she says, voice soft.
I just nod
She hurries back toward the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind her.
