“All right.” Dad’s eyes stayed on his screen. “I’ll be with you in a few.”
As she moved toward the door, I darted down the hall to their bedroom. She slowed when she spotted me. “Kaia. What’s wrong?”
I should’ve stayed quiet, but the words burned on my tongue. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering despite my hoodie and sweats. “You’re hismother. You should know he’d never hurt anyone for no reason. When his dad died, he didn’t need therapy. He needed you. Instead, you dragged him to a country he hated to live with people he didn’t know. And now you’d rather believe someone whose idea of caring about their child is forcing her to see a therapist she doesn’t trust.”
Sharon stared at me, as if she couldn’t believe I’d dared to call her out, but she recovered quickly. “Life isn’t always so black and white, Kaia. I know my son better than you do. What Asher did is, unfortunately, very much like him. I only hope his reckless actions don’t cost him his future. Good night.”
She patted my forearm and brushed past. When her door shut behind her, I slipped back to my room.
A stack of textbooks glared from the nightstand. I couldn’t focus, but I grabbed my math book anyway and headed downstairs. Better to try reading than sit there unraveling while I waited for Asher to come home.
***
Asher parked his bike in the driveway around midnight. He froze when he spotted me on the porch steps. “Kaia?”
In a few strides, he was in front of me. “What the hell are you doing up? You’ve got an exam tomorrow.”
A bruise spread across his cheek, ugly and swollen. My eyes burned. Was he serious? What else could I have been doing except worrying myself sick?
“I’ve been waiting for you.” The words scraped out. “We need to talk. In the backyard.”
I led him to the bench by the fountain and sat. Asher stayed standing, arms crossed. “What happened?”
“What happened?” I flung the textbook aside. “Have you looked at your face?”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing. I’m sure Ethan’s looks like a Picasso. Well fucking deserved.”
“Why did you do it, Ash?” My voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re not a violent guy. So why?”
“Maybe I am.” His frown cut deep as he turned to the bare trees. “I told you to go to bed. Your exam matters a million times more than me. So please, go to bed. I’m fine, see?” He opened his arms as if to prove it, casual enough to make me want to scream.
I’d never seen him like this. Cold. Detached.
“Not until you tell me why you hit him.”
His gaze fell to his sneakers. “I’m hot-tempered. A law maker.”
Lies. He was neither.
“Stop it.” My fists clenched as I shot to my feet. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll ask Ethan myself.”
His head snapped up, his eyes so dark they pulled me under. “No, you won’t.” He stepped closer until our sneakers touched. “Promise me you won’t. I don’t want you near him. Ever.”
“Then tell me why.”
He groaned, raking both hands through his hair. “Kaia, please.” His voice cracked, his armor slipping.
“Please, what?” I pushed. “Can’t you see I worry? You said you were fine, but you’re not. I don’t care what our parents think. You’re not my father, so stop treating me like a kid and tell me the truth. Why did you beat him up?”
“Because he disrespected you!” Asher’s voice snapped like a whip. “And he deserved every punch. If you’re looking for regret, sorry to disappoint. I don’t have any.”
“Disrespected me?”
He nodded once. “Yeah. So please, go to bed now.”
I’d only seen Ethan twice, and both times he’d been a jerk. Whatever he said about me must’ve been vile.
My insides iced over. Asher cared too much about racing to risk sanctions—and now he would, because of me. Sharon had said the fight could cost him his future. What the hell had he been thinking?
