Page 42 of Endless Anger
He launches into the wall across the hall, grunting at the impact.
Asher turns slowly back toward me, kicking the door shut with his heel. He reaches behind him, and I hear the lock slide into place, trapping me in the small break room with him.
It’s the first time we’ve been this close since my graduation, and then we barely spoke. I try not to focus on the sweat sprouting beneath my arms or the way my knee is bouncing again as the effects of the weed start to wear off.
“What a change in scenery, pup,” he says finally, sliding his large hand up the wall. Is it possible his fingers have gotten longer since I saw him last? “You can’t hang out, smoke pot, and get groped anywhere back in Aplana. I see why you had to come here so badly.”
Clenching my fists, I get to my feet, ignoring his glare in the low light. Lifting my chin, I smooth my hands down my short plaid skirt and head for the door.
He doesn’t move at first, and I think maybe he’ll let me through.
My fingers close around the doorknob, pinching to unlock it. Freedom is within my grasp, but as soon as colorful neon lights pour in through the crack, Asher’s palm slams into the wood surface right next to my head, closing us in once more.
His clean scent surrounds me, and I hate how comforting I find it. I’m so accustomed to his presence, even after so many months of his absence.
“Let me go,” I grind out, growing more irritated by the second.
“I can’t do that,” he says, his voice lowering as it caresses my ear. “What if he’s waiting to accost you right outside? What sort of friend would I be if I just let that happen?”
“Maybe Iwantedto be accosted.”
“Oh yeah?” With his free hand, he grabs my shoulder, spinning me around. My back collides with the door, and the air struggles to reach my lungs as he presses in closer, leaning his forearm next to my face.
His forehead grazes mine, and I swallow whatever emotion’s trembling in my stomach.
“Tell me what you wanted from him then,” Asher whispers. “I’ll do it for you instead.”
A laugh bubbles out of my throat. “I don’t fucking think so,pretty boy. That ship has sailed.”
“Aw. Off at college for a month, and she already thinks she knows everything.” He touches my chin, tilting my head up.
“I know a fuck of a lot more than you do. Always have.”
“True. Your problem has always been in the application of that knowledge.”
I’m not sure why, but that assessment stings more than anything else.
“Whatever. That’s not even the point. What are you doing? How did you know I was here?”
“Apparently Noelle is still a big enough fan of yours that she felt the need to intervene after months of us not speaking.” His jaw twitches, a slight crack in his formidable armor. “I didn’t know where she was taking me until we were past state lines.”
Pain slices through me, increasing the effects of the earlier stinging sensation. Some sick, desperate part of me—stuffed way down where I can never really hear her—had been hoping he’d come of his own volition.
After all this time and the start of the school year, I’d still been stupid enough to think maybe he’d change his mind.
Turning my head, I break eye and skin contact. He pulls back, though his gaze doesn’t leave my face, the heat of it searing into my cheekbones where I’m sure I’ll be able to feel it for the next week.
“Well, great,” I mutter. “Thank her for ruining my night, would you?”
I twist myself away from his hold, but he comes too, bracketing me in against the door once more.
“Wait a second.” Two of his fingers find my chin again, forcing me to look at him again. “Is that it? You don’t have anything else to say?”
Blinking slowly, I let myself linger on the harsh angles of his face, the warm brown hues of his irises. The sapphire stud in his nostril and the mostly impassive expression he wears.
A strand of inky hair pops out from the mess on top of his head, swinging into his eyebrow. My fingers twitch, eager to push it back, to grab the normalcy his presence provides.
Standing here with him is the first time I’ve felt like myself in months. The first time I’ve felt like I could breathe on my own and think clearly.
