Chapter 180: Asher
I’m driving, but my hands are clenched so tight on the steering wheel my knuckles are bone–white.
Penny’s in the passenger seat, legs curled beneath her, hair still a bit wild from everything, her frame trembling just enough to gut me. I keep stealing glances at her. The corner of her mouth is twitching like she’s trying not to cry.
And 1-
I’m fuming.
I kept it together under the bleachers. Just barely. I let training take over. Calm. Calculated. Efficient.
But now? Now that she’s safe, out of Tyler’s hands, now that she’s here next to me and I can still smell the panic radiating off her skin-
One punch wasn’t enough.
Not even close.
Because I saw her. Her eyes glassy, her limbs going limp, her breath hitching. She was on the edge of passing out and he didn’t even see it. Too wrapped up in his tantrum. Too selfish to notice he was scaring the only person who ever cared about him that much.
I grit my teeth. My foot presses harder on the gas.
He’s lucky she was there. If she hadn’t-
“I’m okay,” she says softly, almost like she’s reading my mind. Her voice is hoarse but firm.
I don’t look at her. “You’re not okay.”
“I am,” she insists, her voice steadier now. “Let go of it, Ash.”
I bark a humorless laugh. “He kidnapped you.”
“He didn’t mean to hurt me.”
“He could have!” I snap. “He did. You were dizzy, you threw up, you couldn’t breathe and he still had his damn hand over your mouth–how is that not hurting you?!”
Silence fills the car, thick and painful.
Then her hand, small and warm, presses to my bicep.
“I’m okay,” she whispers again. “He was panicked. Confused. He made a huge mistake, but I don’t think he would’ve ever intentionally hurt me.”
1/4
Chapter 180: Asher
I stare straight ahead, trying to calm the fire in my chest. But her touch… it helps. Even when it shouldn’t.
We pull into her driveway, headlights washing over the porch.
Her parents are already outside, crying, pacing. The second we stop, they rush toward the car. I barely get out before her mom wraps Penny up in the tightest hug imaginable, her dad hovering like he wants to hold her too but isn’t sure he should crush her just yet.
Then her mom turns to me. Without a word, she pulls me into a hug, one of those full–body, grateful, motherly hugs that I haven’t had in years.
“Thank you,” she breathes. “Thank you, Asher.”
Her dad claps a hand on my shoulder. “Son. I don’t even know what to say.”
“She needs a hot shower,” her mom says, already steering Penny inside. “And some tea. And bed.”
Penny looks at me, her eyes searching mine.
“I’ll be upstairs,” she says quietly.
I nod.
She disappears up the stairs.
Her mom turns to me again. “Do you have somewhere to sleep tonight?”
“I could go home-”
“Do you want to?” her dad asks. “With… him there?”
I hesitate.
“No, sir. I don’t.”
“Then you’ll stay here,” her mom says. “There’s space in Penny’s room. We’ll blow up the air mattress.”
“That’s very kind. Thank you, ma’am.”
I leave my car here and walk back to my place, the cold air doing little to douse the rage simmering beneath my skin.
Inside, I hear the shouting before I’m even halfway up the driveway. They didn’t waste any time picking
him up.
My parents are ripping into Tyler.
“What the hell were you thinking?!”
“Do you know what her parents almost did?! They were going to call the police!”
“We don’t recognize you anymore, Tyler.”
I lean against the doorway, arms crossed.
My mom notices me first. “Asher,” she says. “Did you… did you hit your brother?”
I nod. “He was about to make Penny pass out.”
My dad turns to Tyler, face going slack. “What?”
“I didn’t-” Tyler starts, but the look they give him makes him shut up.
“Go upstairs, Asher,” Mom says. “You don’t need to hear this.”
I don’t argue. I head up, grab a small bag, toss in a change of clothes, Penny’s phone–which she must’ve forgotten–and come back down.
“I shouldn’t stay here tonight,” I say. “It’s better for everyone.”
“Where will you go?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Vale offered. Said I could stay with them.”
Tyler jumps up from the couch. “That’s not fair!”
Dad points at him. “Sit. Down.”
I meet my mom’s eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I walk out.
This time when I reach the Vales‘ house, the porch light is still on.
They welcome me like I’m their own. Her mom gives me a bottle of water and a small plate of sliced fruit. “You probably haven’t eaten,” she says. “And you’ve done more than enough tonight.”
“Thank you,” I say softly. And I mean it.
I head upstairs with the bag and knock softly before opening Penny’s door.
She’s already asleep.
Her hair is damp, spread across her pillow like a halo. Her cheeks still a little blotchy from crying, sne’s tucked under the blanket, curled up like she’s trying to make herself small.
I stare for a second.
Just… watch her breathe.
She’s okay.
Thank god.
I lower my bag to the floor near the air mattress, but instead of settling there, I walk to her bed. Gently, I slide my arms beneath her, lift her just enough to move her toward the wall, and slip under the blanket beside her.
She stirs, just slightly, pressing her face to my chest.
I hold her tight.
Kiss the crown of her head.
And for the first time since the second part of tonight began, I close my eyes.
I don’t let go of her.
Not even for a second.
4/4
