Chapter 153: Asher
The second I close the done in the rain, I’m hit by a wave of too many emotions.
Rage Worry. Briiet
Bage that I had to hurt a woll to save a bunch of chirless blinds. That I got scratched tip because they mullet follow the dimples of nder Meter Chat PE S least had the persence of mind to tell Max to look after Penny. And a weird kind of anger that it felt better to ank Mix to watch her than it would have
But the second laid eyes on Penny, everything else faded into a single, all–consuming panic.
She’s shaking. Not just her hands, but her whole body, trembling from head to toe, like she’s just been throw into ice water. Har pes are red, har cherki flushed, and she’s still breathing too fast.
I have to know what happened.
I’m still holding her against me, one hand splayed across her back, the other on the back of her head. She’s small, in focking small, and fragile, and he this wild, desperate urge to wrap her up in my arms and never let her go
I need to know what happened.
I step back just enough to look at her face, and then, without another word, I bend down, grab her by the waist, and lift her into my arms. Her lega instinctively wrap around my hips, her arms around my neck, and she lets out a thy, startled breath as I carry her to one of the beda
I set her down, but keep my hands on her, one on her waist, the other brushing her hair back from her face. Her wide, green eyes are fixed on mine, and she’s still shaking, still struggling to breathe
1 sink to my knees between her legs, my hands sliding down to rest on her thighs, spreading them just a bit.
“Penny,” I say, my voice low, rough, “I need you to tell me what my brother did to you.”
She blinks, her lips parting, and for a second, she just stares at me like the’s not sure if she heard me right.
“it’s… at’s hard to say,” she whispers, her voice trembling,
I rub my thumbs over her thighs, grounding her “Try, princess“,
She takes a shody breath, then another, her eyes dropping to my hands on her legs. Lean see the way her chest heaven, her pulse fluttering at her throat
ays, her voice breaking on the last wond
“There was a video,” she finally says,
Every muscle in my body tenses. A video? What the fuck kind of video?
She’s shaking harder now, her hands gripping the edge of the bed so tight her knuckles have gone white. I force myself to stay calm, to keep my touch gentle, even though my own heart is racing, my pulse touring in my van.
“What video?* 1 ask, my voice still low, but a little sharper now.
She swallows, her throat working hard, and I can see the tears welling up in her eyes again.
It was… the video of my fall,” she whispers, her voice cracking.
I feel a different kind of rage flare in my chest, hot and vicious. Someone filmed her fall? They filmed that? Her hitting the ground, Weeding, unconscious!
What kind of sick fuck down that?
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Chapter 153: Asher
tighten my grip on her thigh, pot for a second, and the whimpen, her eyes going even wider 1 force myself to loosen wice steady.
“Who the fuck showed you
I grind out, my teeth clenched in hard my jaw nchen.
the shakes her head, fresh tears milling met her cheeks. “That’s not that’s not the worst part
Deel a cold, twisting sensation in my
“What’s the worst part?” I whisper, my hands sliding up in grip her waist, her trembling ribs beneath my palajk
She struggles to catch her herath, her whole body thaking now, her eyes wide and unfocused.
“In the video,” she says, her voice breaking completely. “You can see whose phone it was. The one that rang. The one that distracted ac
My heart stops.
She looks up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips trembling.
“It was Zoe,” the chokes out, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Zor.
Zee?
The pieces fall into place in my mind, sharp and jagged and horrifying Zoe. The girl who’s been hanging all over my brother. The girl who’s been going Penny death glares since the moment we put here. The girl who Tyler’s been acting so fucking weird about.
Penny’s small hands are gripping my shit now, her tears soaking into the fabric, and 1 can feel her shaking under my touch
“What else?” I say, my voice low, tight, barely controlled. “What else happened?”
She hesitates, her gaze flicking away from mine, läke she’s afraid to say it.
“Penny,” I growl, my hands tightening on her waist. “And what?”
She lets out a shuddering breath, her shoulders heaving, and then, in a broken, trembling voice, she whispers, “I ran to his room to tell him or because I
I was just so… and then…”
Her tears fall faster, her whole body trembling in my grasp, and I can feel the rage building inside me, hot and dark and uncontrollable
“And?” I press, my voice a low, dangerous growl.
She squeezes her eyes shut, a sob escaping her throat.
“He was
was. He was kissing her,” she whispers.
My blood turn to ice.
Every muscle in my body locks up, my vision going white around the edges. I stand up so lay the bed raka under her, and I take a step back, my firi clenching at my sides.
I have to go.
I have to find him
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Chapter 153: Asher
I have to make him regret every single decision be’s made the last few monthu..
But before I can move, Penny scrambles off the bed, her small hands grabbing my arm, her tear–streaked face coming up to me, her eyes wide and depre
“Please don’t,” she begs, her spice breaking “Tlease don’t leave
“Penny,” I grit nut, my jne so tight I can feel my teeth grinding together. “The needs to be put in his fucking place.”
“No,” she whispers, her hands tightening on my arm. “Please. Max already punched him.”
Good, I think, but it’s not enough.
I look down at her, at the way she’s looking up at me, like I’m the only thing holding her together, and something shifts in my chest, something I can’t even
“I’m done, Asher,” she whispers, her voice row, shaky. I’m done. He cheated on me. He knew about the ringtone. He neglected me for weeks. I don’t want 10 see him again. I don’t want him near me. He’s not my boyfriend anymore,”
She looks up at me, reyes shining, her cheeks flashed, her lips trembling, and I feel something crack open in my chest.
She’s not with Tyler anymore.
She’s not with my brother anymore.
And I’m holding her. I’m the one she ran to, the one she’s clinging to, the one she’s trusting to keep her together.
How the hell am I supposed to say no to that?
So I let out a long, rough breath, step back from the door, and reach down to scoop her up into my arms again, her legs wrapping around my waist, her arms around my neck, her small body curling into mine. I sit back on the bed, holding her as close as I can, my hands splayed across her back, my lips brushing her temple.
“I’ve got you, princess,” I murmur, my voice rough, my heart thundering in my chest. “I’ve got you, I’m not going anywhere.”
And I mean it
God, I mean it.
