Page 55 of The Stallion
“I… Who do they think is—was involved? Y-You don’t believe that he’s actually dead, do you?” I swallowed the ball of bile that had built in the back of my throat, trying my hardest to keep my breathing under control. “Are they looking at me?”
Asher furrowed her brows at me, twisting and pursing her lips as if she were offended at what I had just said—accusing her of trusting rumor and suspicion instead of hard facts.
“Do I believe that my best friend—cradle-to-fucking-grave—is a murderer?” Her sardonic huff was answer enough. “If you think that I’d side with his parents’ accusations over our long, drawn-out history, then you’ve already forgotten the strength of the bond you and I have built over the years.” Asher’s eyes drifted to the floor as she shook her head before huffing again, a sinister smile curling at the corner of her mouth. “They don’t understand you like I do…” She murmured with a glance from the corner of her eye.
The look she had given me was all but condemning.
I pressed my lips together as I stared at Asher, questioning whether this was the right time to open up about Dallas—to reveal the real reason why I was no longer living with her and why I had no choice but to leave.
And then, I started thinking about my last conversationwith Dallas.
I hadn’t thought about him once since arriving—Asher and the team had kept me more than occupied, with little to no time to myself. And now I was running out of time to decide on the matter at hand.
Was I going to go through with the test for him—for us?
Was there an us now?
“Well, would you look at the time…” Asher quickly changed the subject, peering down at her phone before standing from the table and picking it up. “We’ve got one more long day of practice before you head back to the City of Sin. We’d best get some sleep, yeah?”
“Umm… yeah…” I spoke under my breath, feeling entirely confused, as I followed Asher’s lead and headed out of the restaurant.
What did she mean by ‘they don’t understand you like I do’?…
What wasn’t Asher telling me…
Ourfinalfulldayof practice was bittersweet as I, once again, prepared for the long haul back to my new home—back to the man with whom I still hadn’t decided whether I would stay with or find some sad excuse to go into witness protection and change my identity.
I couldn’t do this long-term—the driving back and forth between cities and states.
At some point, I would need to make a choice—either find a way out of this marriage or quit the team entirely—the latter option seeming far less complicated.
“I’ll take good care of the team until next weekend. It won’t be much longer now. Regional qualifiers are almost here, and then all that’s left is nationals to wrap up our most brutal year to date.” Asher helped me load my suitcase into the back of my Jeep and gave me another sisterly hug, just as comforting as the one she had given me when I arrived.
This weekend had flown by, and between coaching the team and figuring out where I stood with Dallas, I had only achieved half of what I had initially planned.
Even though I was leaving in a better mood than when I’d arrived, the new information from Asher surrounding Connor and his parents had left me with even more questions than before.
“Ash, look… I—” I sighed, knowing deep down what the right decision would be at this juncture.
“Not another word out of you. I know what you’re about to say, and I’ll respond in counter. Take the team to Regionals. Win us that first-place ticket to nationals, and onlythenwill we discuss your position as Cheer Captain. Until then, you are exactly what this team needs in a leader—not me.” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I squeezed my hold even tighter. “And just so you’re aware. I’m not stupid. I know who that man was on the field a week ago—who you left with…”
My shoulders tensed as Asher continued, her voice lowering to a whisper in my ear so no one around us could hear.
“Whatever you’ve done—good for fucking you. It’s about damn time you stripped yourself of that good girl demeanor and lived a little.” Asher’s tone was all praise and compassion. There wasn’t asingle hint of the disappointment or hate I had initially expected from her after finding out.
Before we broke away from our last moment together, she pressed her forehead against mine with a smile that beamed from ear to ear.
“You relax and focus on yourself; I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Ash, I—”
“Ah, ah, ah. You’ve got a long drive ahead of you. Now get that perky little ass in that Jeep and go home to that smokeshow of a man—What was his name again?Dallas?” Asher winked as she sucked on her teeth, her cheeky grin widening.
I sighed heavily, chewing on my lower lip and nodding silently. I didn’t bother questioning how she knew.
Oftentimes, I think Asher knew me better than I even knew myself.
“I’m going to miss you…”
