Chapter 111: Penny
The last 48 hours have passed in a blur of packing, resting, and dodging the hundred “are you okay??” texts that poured in after the fat. Wat of th sweet. A few from people I haven’t spoken to since middle school. One girl sent me a DM just to say, “You always were dramat. I didn’t repor
Yesterday, Mila came over with strawberry Pocky, green grapes, and a bag of pretzel M&M’s she essentially ate all by herself. We sat in bed kick who were twelve, and she helped the fold clothes while we talked about everything but the fall. She wasn’t there when it happened, but the rehearsal was to angled perfectly towards Luc and me, apparently, and the whole thing was recorded. Mila saw it and spent hours crying, begging Madame Loretto la let her out of rehearsal so she could come hang out with me.
“I’m so mad I won’t be there,” she said, her eyes soft. “It’s gonna feel weird dancing without you.”
“You’ll kill it,” I told her, and I meant it. Mila’s got the grace of a swan and the heart of a lion. She’s the only person I trust to carry a foutine without apology, even if mistakes are made.
“Still.” She nudged my shoulder. “Come back soon. When you’re there I get to brag that I’m best friends with the lead dancer,”
It was nice. To talk. To eat salty–sweet snacks and let myself laugh without my ribs aching. To feel like me again, if only for a few hours.
But now she’s busy. School might be on break reading week, officially – but Mila’s still training. Everyone is. Everyone but me.
No ballet. No school. No Mila.
And Tyler would be gone too. Until this trip became not just his.
So… what else was I going to do with my week?
Still. I wasn’t excited. I’d packed reluctantly, hoodie sleeves too long, bruises still yellowing at the edge of my ribs. I’d triple–checked my prescriptions, my. fuzzy socks, the book I probably wouldn’t read. I filled my tote with water bottles, protein bars, band–aids, and three types of tea I wasn’t sure I’d want.
And now, it’s time.
“Penelope!” my mom yells from downstairs. “The boys are here!”
I pull my suitcase handle up with a soft click, adjust the tote on my shoulder, and glance back at my room
–
as if it’ll change in the next seven days.
Then I head down.
At the bottom of the stairs, my parents are waiting with warm smiles and worried eyes. I hug them both.
“Be safe,” my dad says. “Text us when you arrive.”
“Eat real food,” my mom adds. “Don’t let boys feed you nothing but chips and ramen.”
“I packed my own snacks,” I smile.
Then I push through the door.
The sky is a soft grey, the air sharp enough to sting the tip of my nose. Our driveway is slushed with puddles. Tyler’s car isn’t here.
But Asher’s is.
He’s just stepped out of the driver’s seat when I struggle to drag my suitcase across the front step. He glances back toward the car, mutters something under
his breath.
“Idiot,” I hear him say.
He turns to me, footsteps crunching softly.
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Chapter 111: Penny
“Hey
“Hey,” I say back, adjusting the tote on my shoulder.
He grabs the suitcase without asking, lifts it effortlessly, and hauls it toward the trunk. No noise. No strain.
“You okay?” I ask as I follow him.
“The drive from our place to yours is approximately five minutes,” he mutters. “And your boyfriend’s already driving me crazy.”
I blink. “Why?”
Asher just nods toward the car. “See for yourself.”
I walk toward the backseat door, fingers brushing the handle-
But he just shakes his head, once, firm.
I pause. Then walk to the passenger side instead, giving him a look as I reach for the door.
He nods, slow.
I get in.
The heat’s off. The air inside the car is cold, and I tuck my hands into my sleeves. I turn to see-
Tyler, stretched across the entire backseat like he’s in a private limo. Hood up. Legs across the cushions. He looks half–asleep already.
“Babyy,” he grins, voice heavy with fatigue. “You look so cute in that sweater.”
He kisses my cheek lazily, eyes already fluttering shut.
“What are you doing?” I ask, startled.
“Didn’t sleep at all last night,” he groans. “Hope you don’t mind sitting
up
front. I need to crash for a bit.”
“Um… I don’t mind,” I say, sitting awkwardly. “But is that even legal? You don’t even have a seatbelt on.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters. “Don’t worry.”
I giggle softly and turn forward to put my seatbelt on, but the motion makes my head go light – too fast, too sudden. I blink hard and grab the console with one hand, the door with the other, bracing.
“Shit,” I whisper.
“Easy,” Asher says quietly.
He’s suddenly there right next to me. Reaching across, one arm brushing my chest as he pulls the seatbelt into place and clicks it in.
He’s so close I can smell him
soap and cotton and something darker. His face is near mine. His hand lingers half a second longer than it should.
I turn my head slightly. His eyes are on mine.
And they are dark.
Unmoving.
Burning.
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Chapter 111: Penny
“Yo, Asher,” Tyley cells from the bark Two the heal y men f**!
Asher closes his eyes by a second te be’s praying for
Then pulls back, starts the phine, and re-
“Next time I’m driving stone”
We roll out of the driveway & minuts later.
