Page 162 of The Sidekick

“It’s perfect for you,” Asher says in his set-in-stone voice. “Would you regret doing any of it?”

“No,” I whisper. “I’ve done stuff like this before.”

“If you did anything more, would you regret it?”

I nod sadly. I’m just not that type. South would go in with a wrecking ball or just attack them outright. I’m pathetic.

“Then it’s enough. Get Shade’s revenge for him and leave him in the clear.” Satan nods firmly with a grim expression.

I glance at Satan with trembling lips. “It won’t take his pain away.”

“That’s for him to do,” Asher says firmly. “No son of ours is going to fail at that.”

I giggle with a sniffle and nod.

“Excuse me?” Max says indignantly. “Your son?”

“Besides, you’ll help him through,” Asher continues like he isn’t talking.

I firm my lips and pop my knuckles to get started.

“It’s all so simple and terrifying at the same time. You can do all of that?” Max focuses back on what I’m doing as I pull up site after site.

“Yup. Is it ok if I use your printer? I’ll replace the ink and paper I use,” I reassure Satan as I ask.

“Of course you can, and you’re not buying replacements,” he frowns and tries to give me his demanding ‘do what I say’ look. With Asher behind me it’s a lot easier for me to brush it off. I smirk with pleasure. Satan does not like it.

“Do I need to start counting for you too?” His grin is wide and evil as he taunts me.

Maybe it’s more effective than I thought. My eyes drop, and I swallow hard, face sobering as unease slithers through me. My anxiety did not need the help.

“You can count, but I’m the one who has the final say on punishments,” Asher stares at Satan with an intense look that makes him scowl.

“What are you thinking here?” Max interrupts the tension as he looks at the stills of all the bodyguards in various yelling poses.

“I’m going to print out a whole bunch of these and frame them to hang all over their place. So they can see that they’re jerks every day.”

“You never punished us like this,” he comments quietly.

“I was a little busy,” I look down at my hands with a tense frown. He’s about to ask me hard questions, and I’m not sure if I should answer. The walls that Asher seems to slip through so easily begin to harden in preparation. The Shade mask slides into place as Asher’s hands tighten on my shoulders.

“Where did you go when you left?” Max’s voice is hushed enough that I don’t know if anyone else heard him. Ever since I came back he’s kept his questions locked up. Now that he’s near his boyfriend I guess he feels comfortable enough to ask. That makes one of us.

“I went about three states over to a little town.” I try to keep it short and sweet as my shoulders get more tense.

“What did you do there?” Satan stands to pick up the poorly made photos as they come out.

I shrug, “Work, sleep, work. The same as here. And therapy.”

“Therapy?” He turns to me sharply in surprise. “Why the fuck would you need therapy?”

I lean back at his reaction, part defensive and part bewildered. I thought Max would have told him about this part. I also didn’t think I had done a good job of hiding my melting brain problems. Why is everyone so surprised? Have I been wasting my time learning Shade’s emotionless mask thing? Apparently, I had a good camouflage going on my own. Or he didn’t notice because he didn’t care.

“I had a mental breakdown,” I say slowly because I’m not sure how he’s going to react. “I was… not right for a while. I got help.”

He stares at me like I’ve just crept up and stabbed him in the back. I can’t look him in the eyes to see what his expression is, so I focus on the laptop.

“You didn’t tell me it was that bad,” Max protests shakily.

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