Asher by Jo Raven Read Free Book Online

because I barely feel the antiseptic she dabs on the wound, cleaning it, and the gauze she uses to wipe the blood. She uses the small, colorful Band-Aids on the cut—red and yellow and blue. Her touch is gentle, but I can feel it all the way to my toes.
    Something is about to break inside my chest, I’m sure of it. It hurts. I hope I’m not having a heart attack. I’m too young.
    Then again, I’m too young to be my father’s caretaker and punching bag, and that hasn’t stopped it from happening.
    Her fingertips brush the top of my hand, where two faint scars crisscross. Her brows draw together, and I know she’s about to ask me about them.
    “Auds, I...” I bend forward, trying desperately to think of something else to talk about, to somehow distract her, and she looks up, her green eyes clear.
    My mind goes blank. All I can see, all that registers, are her lips, her smooth cheeks, the elegant curve of her throat leading down to the swell of her breasts. My mouth goes dry and my pulse pounds in my temples.
    I bend down and our lips brush—an electric touch that zings through my body, like a lightning bolt to my balls. Unable to stop myself, unable to think why I should, I put my hands on her face and lean in.
    A sound breaks through my hazy senses.
    Audrey pulls back and I blink, dizzy.
    The doorbell.
    “You expecting someone?” I ask, breathless.
    Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes wide. It’s only then I realized she has her hand on my chest, pressing me back. “No. Can you check who it is?”
    “Sure.” I get up, telling my body to calm the hell down. I try to gauge Audrey’s expression but can’t. Jesus, what the hell was I thinking?
    I wasn’t. Or rather, I was thinking with my dick. Fuck, I want her so much it scares me. Since our first kiss those years back, I’m losing control. What if she doesn’t tell me I should stop? What if I end up hurting her?
    Running my hands through my hair, I go to get the door. Through the peephole I see Tessa. I unlock and open.
    She gapes at me. “You?”
    I rub the back of my neck. “Uh, yeah. Audrey is in.”
    “Can I...?” She waves a hand back and forth. “Is she...?”
    I try to follow her line of thinking. “She sprained her ankle. I put an ice pack on it.”
    “Oh my god.” Tessa pushes past me and rushes inside.
    Don’t let me stop you , I think and shake my head, closing the door and following her inside. I hang back, though, because Tessa sits by Audrey’s side and is whispering something to her, their foreheads almost touching.
    Maybe it’s time to make myself scarce. I don’t want to go, but life is like that. Full of things you don’t want.
    I turn to go, and hear Tessa say, “But you hate the guy.”
    Right. Of course. I wait for a moment, though, hoping Audrey will deny it.
    When she doesn’t reply, I go ahead and let myself out.

    ***

    I wait for the bus in the cold night. I keep shoving my hands in my pockets, forgetting about the Band-Aids, so by the time the damn bus arrives, I’ve pulled half of them off.
    I can’t find it in me to care. She hates me. For a while I thought she didn’t anymore, but Tessa would know. She’s Audrey’s best friend, and Audrey told her...
    I don’t want to think about it. One foot in front of the other. My mind is blank. I board the bus and sit at the window, my brow pressed to the cold glass.
    What did you expect? I ask myself over and over again as we roll through the sleeping town. Why are you surprised?
    I’m not, not really. I’m hollow. I feel nothing. It’s one thing avoiding her and feeding the hope in my heart, and quite another seeing her, kissing her, and hearing the truth.
    She hates me.
    I get off the bus after an hour, trudge home, unlock the door, already starting to shrug off my jacket.
    And am met with a fist to my face.
    I drop, pain shooting through my jaw, my arms tangled in the jacket. Distantly I feel the impact of my skull hitting the floor, and I’m too dazed to