Asher by Effy Vaughn Read Free Book Online

He had to face her now. This had to end. “And neither can Steel.”
                  “Steel loves me,” she said as her voice cracked.
                  “Of course he does. Anyone that gets a chance to know you loves you. You’re… you, Dix. You’re you,” I was going to say too much. I stopped talking and clenched my teeth as Steel parked his truck and climbed out.
                  He looked pale. Like he’d been sick. He had to be stronger than this. Facing this shit was something no one should ever go through. But we had to, thanks to the man who we had once thought hung the moon. He’d left behind a legacy of lies. One that would leave me soulless for the rest of my life.
                  “Steel, what’s wrong?” the concern in her voice made me jealous. I was ridiculous. Dixie was my sister and I was still jealous over her. This disgusting twisted life we had been thrown into was unfair. So fucking unfair.
                  I could feel Steel looking to me to help him. I couldn’t do this for him. He had to end it. He had to send her away. “Remember what I said,” I told him hoping that he understood I wanted him to hold her when she broke.
                  “I can’t,” he said shaking his head.
                  I wasn’t sure what he meant. What was it that he couldn’t do? He couldn’t stay with her. That was a fact. What was he needing from me?
                  “Dixie, you’re our sister.” The words fell from his lips before I could register in my head what he meant. He just said it. He just told her.
                  I heard her gasp and as if in slow motion, I watched as confusion filled her eyes and she looked back at me. I had to fix this. He couldn’t do this. Not to Dixie. She’d never recover. He was going to ruin her too. She’d be as empty as I was and I couldn’t stand that.
                  “Your mom — ”
                  “ No! ” I yelled, stopping my brother from saying anything else. Why had I trusted him? What the fuck had I been thinking? I had given him the power to hurt my Dixie. “Don’t do this,” I told him as I moved toward him.
                  “She had an affair with our dad.”
                  Those words were the last thing he got out of his mouth before my fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him back against his truck. If it had been anyone other than my brother, I would have continued to pummel him until he blacked out. Until I knew he couldn’t speak again. But Steel was mine to protect too.
                  I stood over him as he grabbed his jaw and glared up at me. “She deserved to know,” he said with a slur.
                  “She didn’t deserve this. No one deserves this,” I told him.
                  “Asher?” her soft voice came from behind me and I tensed hating the fact I had to face her now.
                  “Fucking tell her. She knows now. Finish it,” Steel said as he stayed on the ground holding his face.
                  A hand touched my arm softly and I winced. I didn’t want her to touch me. I couldn’t stand the memory of that. When she grabbed me before, I had felt her anger and that was okay, but her gentle touch was unbearable. “You don’t want to hear this, Dixie,” I said, unable to turn around and face her.
                  “Yes, I do,” she replied.
                  “Don’t, Dix. Just leave. Run like hell and don’t come near us again. Go home to that house up there and let your daddy hold you tight. Remind yourself you’re loved and you deserve a fucking fairytale. Not what you’ll get down here. We can’t give you… anything,” I backed away from her and Steel not wanting to look in her eyes.
                  “Is he telling the truth? Did your… am