brother
Chapter 109: Asher
She looks horrified.
Not visibly. Not to anyone else in the room. But I know the look in her eyes keeping a smile on her face.
And I know exactly why.
SPPNC
the one that means she’s calculating ten different exit strategies while
I remember when Tyler first brought up the trip. We were still living with her. Penny was standing in the kitchen, hair tied back, fingers wrapped around a mug like it was armor. He asked her in front of both of us some offhand comment about “getting away” for a week, spending time with their friends,
blowing off steam.
She didn’t even hesitate.
“I can’t. Rehearsals.”
He didn’t drop it. Not then. Not later. I heard them arguing about it down the hall that night. Soft voices. Sharp edges.
The next morning, when she left for school, I tore him a new one.
“In what world is your snow–trip retreat more important than her career?”
He got defensive. Said she needed to loosen up. Said she was “obsessed” with ballet.
“No,” I told him. “She’s committed. That’s different. You should try it sometime.”
Now she’s out of excuses.
No dancing for two weeks. Doctor’s orders. Her body’s benched and her calendar’s wide open. And Tyler’s been circling this moment like a wolf, waiting for the second she had no way out.
I hear him on the phone at home. Every day.
Talking about who’s going. What cabin everyone’s staying in. Which girls are packing “for vibes” and which ones are “down to party.” Half of them, I know, are the same girls Penny rolls her eyes at during school pickup. The ones who think leotards and classical music is for losers and, well, they really just mean that Penny is. Their words, not mine.
And she’s going to be stuck with them.
For seven days.
He’s already nodding beside her, encouraging her. Her parents are smiling like this is the best idea anyone’s ever had. My parents are adding to it – the snow, the view, the fresh air. All the same buzzwords people use when they’re trying to sell you something that’s already been decided.
Penny’s trying, gently, to back out.
“I just… I don’t know if-”
“Of course you do,” her mom interrupts, cheerful. “You’ll love it.”
“I’m not sure I should be around that many people.”
“You can stay in your own cabin.”
“It’s going to throw off my rhythm-”
“You’re not dancing for two weeks anyway,” Tyler says, all charm and zero tact.
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Chapter 109: Asher
She’s corneted.
Then my mom turns toward me
*Plus, if it helps to have another friendly face,” she says brightly. “Asher will go tes.
Aly head snap toward het.
Eyebrow lifts. One slow best
“Excuse me?”
She gives me that mom smile – the one that means it’s not a question
“You’ll love it. You’ve been cooped up in the house for weeks. And it’s beautiful up there. Snow–covered trees, no one around for miles except your It’s exactly the kind of quiet you love.”
“I’m good with not going.” I say flatly, sipping my coffee.
But I know the second I say it, it’s useless.
Penny’s parents jump in.
“Asher,” her dad says, “do you have medical training?”
I look at him. Then nod. “Some.”
“Good,” her mom says immediately. “That makes me feel so much better. If anything happens, she’ll have someone who knows what they’re doing”
“She’ll be surrounded by nineteen year–olds,” her dad adds. “None of them are going to know what to do if she gets dizzy again.”
Penny lets out a sound that’s somewhere between a groan and a breathless laugh.
“So you’re going to force both of us to go?”
Her voice is dry, but there’s something in it. Something sharp. I can’t quite place it.
All four parents nod at the same time. Smiling. Like they’ve orchestrated a goddamn symphony.
She looks at me.
1 look at her.
And we both sigh simultaneously like two people waiting for the guillotine to fall.
–
“Okay,” we say, at the exact same time.
And just like that-
“Yes!” Tyler pumps a fist. “It’s going to be great.”
The room lights up.
All four parents cheer like someone just won a prize. Mr. Hayes is clapping. My mom’s already listing the snacks she’ll send. Penny’s mom says something about packing wool socks and keeping hydrated. Penny makes a noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh.
Then Tyler leans in and kisses her temple./
“You’re gonna love it, babe,” he says, squeezing her hand. “Fresh air, fireplaces, no ballet. Just relax.”
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Chapter 109: Asher
She gives him a tired smile. Thin. Hollow at the earners.
She doesn’t want this, And no one else sees it
Isip what’s left of my coffer.
The warmth’s long gone.
“Asher,” my mom says, turning back toward me with a too bright grin. “Tell them about that soup you made the other night. The sprey one.
“Mom, it was ramen,” I say. “From a packet.”
“But you added things,” sh
insists. “Eggs. Mushrooms. Those little green onions.”
“That’s not cooking.” I mutter.
Penny’s mom jumps in. “Still more effort than I see from most people his age.”
“Do you cook much?” her dad asks.
“Enough to feed myself.”
“Don’t undersell yourself. You’d survive a blizzard,” Mr. Hayes jokes.
“Already have,” I say, and before anyone can ask – “Alaska. Training camp. No plumbing, no heat. Wouldn’t recommend.”
They laugh.
I nod.
They ask what kind of music I like. I say I don’t play it often, but I’ll listen to anything that doesn’t sound like an alarm. They ask if I’ve read any good books lately. I say no. They ask if I miss having a combat dog. I say always.
I answer everything. Polite. Brief.
But I’m not really listening.
Because she’s still curled up beside him, wrapped in that blanket, legs tucked under her. Her fingers are toying with the hem, slow and distracted. Her shoulders are drawn in. Her lips-
Soft. Pressed together. Slightly pouting.
Her eyes keep flicking down, away, as if she’s somewhere else already.
I know that look.
She doesn’t want to go.
But she doesn’t want to make it a thing either.
The parents keep talking never leaves her.
chatter about snow boots and cell service and whether there’s a hot tub on the property. I respond when I need to, but my focus
Because she’s going to be surrounded by people she barely tolerates.
And I’m going to be watching it all.
The way Tyler holds her. The way those girls talk to her. The way she always shrinks, just a little, when she doesn’t feel like she belongs.
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Chapter 109: Asher
And I’ll be there.
In a cabin.
In the woods.
With her.
And if they think I’m going to sit there like a ghost while she breaks into pieces-
They don’t know me at all.
Chapter Comments
Visitor
good it’s time they’re put in they’re place
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