Chapter 8: Scared To Death

ADDY

At five fifty-five on the dot, I’m standing outside Asher’s house, decked out in my workout gear, waiting for him with a sense of impatience.

I can’t believe I’m doing this. I despise early mornings more than anything. If I could sleep until noon every day, I’d do it in a heartbeat, maybe even sleep in longer.

Once, my mom resorted to splashing ice-cold water on my face because I refused to accompany her to some boring business event, preferring to stay in bed.

What was I supposed to do at those things, anyway? To me, parties and events and all that fancy stuff are all the same. You spend a fortune on a dress you’ll wear once and cake on a ton of makeup.

Just for one freaking day!

I give a pebble on Asher’s porch a hard kick, trying to hide my annoyance. Crush or not, this is too much.

~You’re doing this for other reasons, dummy!~

I groan. He’s got those damn videos. That’s why I’m standing here at six in the morning.

One thing I still can’t wrap my head around is ~why~ he has my videos. They were taken before the day I kissed him.

Have I been wrong this whole time? Did Asher notice me? He filmed me. Maybe he’s done more than just notice me…

~No, no, no.~

I quickly push those thoughts away and glance at my wristwatch again.

He’s still not here.

It’s already six o’clock and my patience is wearing thin. I slowly climb the steps to his door and am about to knock when it suddenly swings open. I notice he’s a minute late but decide not to mention it.

Asher steps out looking absolutely delicious.

~No, no, you can’t look at him like that, Addy! You have to stop staring!~

I resist the urge to pounce on his arrogant ass when he gives me a brief glance before walking past me without uttering a word.

“Hey!” I call out, causing him to turn around and look at me.

~First he’s late, then he ignores me…~

“What?” he asks casually before turning around to continue walking. I mutter a few curses under my breath before following him.

“Does he expect me to follow him like a lost puppy or something?” I grumble to myself, not expecting him to hear me.

“Yes, I expect nothing less. Besides, it’s not like you have anything against it.”

Asher lifts a hand to brush away the strands of hair that keep falling into his eyes. His biceps flex, and my eyes are drawn to his every movement.

I swallow hard before his words sink in, and my eyes widen in surprise.

“Wh-what do you mean? Of course I’m not doing this willingly. I would never!” I laugh nervously, stuttering a bit. I fall a couple of steps behind him, not really in the mood to keep up with him right now.

“So, you’re saying that you don’t follow me around whenever you have the chance?” he says with a smug grin.

“What?” I shriek. My fingers start to tremble, and I stare at his retreating back in shock.

~He knows?~

~Just kill me now, please…~

~Calm down, Addy, just pretend that you have no idea what he’s talking about.~

“Why would I do that? Ha. That’s ridiculous!” I wheeze, catching up with him again.

Asher turns his head in my direction, raising an eyebrow.

“So that day you fell from the tree…” he begins, but I cut him off.

“I was looking for Kaylee. I didn’t even see you. Ha-ha!”

Asher chuckles at my outburst, but nods.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s why I decided to ask you,” he says after a while.

I look up at him, confused. “Huh? What do you mean?”

He bites his lip and my eyes dart up to stare for a second before I look away.

“I decided to ask you to find out who kissed me at the party because you seem good at spying.” His eyes sparkle with amusement.

“What?” I burst out laughing.

Asher nods. “I’m serious. I mean, you looked kind of funny up there spying on me.”

“I WAS NOT SPYING ON YOU!” I squeal, my cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

~Damn... I can always deny it till the very end.~

Asher laughs out loud. “Okay, fine, I believe you!”

“Good,” I mutter, biting my lip hard to keep myself from grinning.

~So, Asher King notices the weird things I do.~ I jump up in excitement, and Asher raises an eyebrow at me but doesn’t say anything.

We continue walking, and suddenly I realize that we’re in a different neighborhood.

“Why are we here?” I ask after a while.

“We’re going to jog around the lake,” he says, giving me a genuine smile.

~Swoon.~

There’s no one around, and for some reason, it feels peaceful. Birds are chirping sweetly, everything is green and fresh. The sky has a beautiful orange glow to it.

~How did I not notice this before?~

~You were too busy ogling Asher to appreciate the nature, dummy!~

True. Maybe I should start waking up early just to see this as well.

“Breathtaking,” I whisper to myself.

“Yes, breathtaking…” Asher mumbles, and I turn to look at him, but he’s not looking at the sky, he’s looking at me.

My heart rate speeds up, and I swallow hard.

Asher catches me looking at him and quickly turns his gaze toward the sky.

“The sky, I mean.” He coughs slightly.

I frown in disappointment but quickly shake off the feeling.

“Indeed it is. Should we get going?” I ask, bending down to tie my loose shoelaces.

“Yes, let’s go.” He takes off, and I follow him quietly.

We jog for what feels like a long time, and I take in the scenery as we go. The lake is beautiful, sparkling in the sunlight.

Asher seems deep in thought, and I pull out my earbuds, ready to lose myself in some music. I'm convinced it's the only thing that can keep me from passing out. My legs are starting to feel like jelly.

I'm jogging and scrolling through my playlist when I suddenly slam into a firm, solid chest.

~What the—?~

Two hands steady me, and I look up in surprise.

“Ash—Asher, what the hell?” I stammer, my brows furrowing as I try to catch my breath.

~Great, he stopped. Now it’s going to be even harder to start running again.~

“What are you doing?” He's eyeing the phone in my hand, and I raise my eyebrows.

“Trying to listen to music.”

I flash him a smile, but he just scoffs and turns to walk away. I follow him, catching him muttering about how he invited me to jog with him, not to listen to stupid music.

Oddly, I don’t get irritated. Instead, I just grin.

“I'm trying to keep myself sane.”

“Huh?” He turns to look at me, and I close the distance between us.

“I don’t really feel like jogging, and my legs were about to give out. You seemed lost in your thoughts, and I figured music would keep me from wanting to stop.”

His eyes widen. Behind him, I can see the spot where we stretched.

“Why didn’t you just tell me? We could have taken a break.”

I shrug in response. Asher gives me a strange look, and I smirk at him.

“What?” he asks.

“Race you to our starting spot!” I shout, taking off with a laugh.

“Addalynn!” he bellows, likely chasing after me.

I reach our starting spot and cheer, “I won, I won! Take that, Asher!”

I spin around, expecting to see Asher, but there's nothing but trees.

“Asher?” I call out, but there's no answer. Panic starts to creep in, but I quickly push it down and call his name again. Still no answer.

~God, Asher, where are you? Don’t tell me you left me here, please, please.~

The trees seem to be mocking me, and I fight back the urge to cry.

“ASHER?” My voice is tinged with panic now, but I can’t help it. Being alone in an unfamiliar place is terrifying.

~Except there, with her.~

This situation is different.

“Asher, please?”

Silence. My ears seem to pick up every tiny sound around me, and my eyes dart around in fear.

“Asher, I swear to God I will rip your beautiful hair out if you don’t show yourself now,” I manage to say.

Tears start to fall when there's still no response.

~He left me here.~

I look around, but everything looks the same.

~Where did we come from, again?~

~This is what you get for always staying in your house or at your dance studio!~

I push away the voice in my head and decide to just walk. ~I'm bound to run into someone who can show me the way out.~ I keep repeating in my head, walking further.

But I don’t get far because a hand suddenly grabs me.

My heart starts pounding, fear consumes me, and before I have the chance to see who it is, everything goes black.