“Malia, I am not leaving you to suffer this hell alone. The guys would do the same thing for you. Let’s just get this night over with, yeah?” he told me as he leaned over the center console of the car to kiss my cheek.
Getting out of the car, I felt my hands start to tremble. Bringing Asher with me into the house wasn’t anything I had ever done before. Nobody had ever been in any of the houses I had ever lived in with dad. I just hoped that Asher realized the amount of trust I was putting in him. We got to the door and I put my shaking hand on the handle.
Usually, I have a mask on that never slips but tonight I just didn’t have the energy to pretend that everything was okay. Asher came up behind me and gave me a reassuring hug from behind.
Well, here goes nothing.
Asher followed me in the house and as I walked in down the hallway, that had just plain beige paint on the walls and no pictures, I smelled alcohol so strong as if it was right under my nose. Walking past the living room I saw my dad snoring away on the couch as usual. The bottle of Jack was on the floor next to him, empty of course, but it was there nonetheless.
I turned to make sure Asher was there and he gave me a sad smile. To the right of the living room was a hallway with two doors on the right. One bedroom was my dads and the other was mine. When we walked into my room, Asher just stood there and looked around.
Not like there was much to see anyways. I had plain black sheets on a full-size bed with a black and gray comforter. The pillows were shit since they were a luxury I couldn’t afford. There weren’t any pictures in my room just like the hallway. Plain and simple, since we didn’t have much.
There was my closet that had some clothes that consisted of the same colors as my bed linen. Since my bed was pushed up against the wall, I only had one nightstand. Asher finally got moving and put his bag with clothes for tomorrow on the floor in front of the bed. After that, he started to pull his clothes off.
“Asher, what the fuck are you doing? Don’t you have, like sleep clothes or something?” I whispered to him. When he was done he got onto my bed on the outside and patted the side next to him. Well, he wanted to play that game I could play too.
Locking my door, I started to strip just like he did. I may not be the prettiest but I knew I had a nice body.
My boobs were medium-sized and my belly was flat. My hips were slim but not too slim. I also thought I had a nice ass but that was just me. Getting down to my underwear and bra, I looked over at Asher and he was staring at me with an intensity that scared me because my body was reacting when I didn’t really want it to considering our location. Getting into bed, I tried to not let his skin touch mine.
“Asher, you awake?” I asked, about half an hour later.
“Yeah, I am. You okay?” he murmured. Swallowing the emotions down that threatened to bubble up, I looked over at him and noticed the way the moon shines into the room. The glow put a perfect light on his face. His blue eyes sparkled even more in the moonlight.
“Thank you for everything tonight. I hate that it had to come to this. I honestly didn’t even want anyone knowing where I live. There is just so much going on, it’s all overwhelming.”
Asher sighed and looked at me, “There isn’t anything to thank me for. I have learned from the shit that I go through at home that it is easier to bear the burden if you have someone to share it with. We are all going to be here for you, Malia. Always remember that.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into him. Putting his arm over my waist, I cuddled into his chest. I didn’t remember falling asleep but I got woken up to the sound of banging on the door.
10.
Shiver
Asher
I woke up to a noise that sounded like someone banging on the door. At first, I was a little disoriented because I didn't recognize the room. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I noticed Malia was looking at me with wide eyes.
“What’s wrong babe?” I whispered to her.
“I think my dad is banging on my door,” she said to me in a small voice. She threw on my shirt and opened the door.
“Malia, why are there two guys outside my house asking for you?”
Damn it! Ryder and Grayson were too damn impatient.
“Thanks, dad. I will be right out,” she muttered to him.
“Asher! Did you give them my address? For fuck’s sake! I didn’t want them here! Not yet!” she yelled as she slammed her door and stalked towards me.
“Malia, we all share our locations with each other. It’s something we have done since Ryder got drunk and wandered off with someone, nearly getting lost in the process. I am sorry. I didn’t think anything of it last night.” I told her while I got up to get my clothes out of my bag for school today.
“Just calm down. They aren’t going to think any differently of you. Let’s just get dressed and go see what they are doing here, yeah?” This seemed to calm her down for now. Apparently, I said the right words because she came and wrapped her arms around my waist. This took me by surprise and I fell back on the bed.
Sighing, I just laid there content for a minute. Dropping my hands to her hips, I found out too late, that
