The Hidden Luna

Chapter Three

Asher stuck by his word. He never let Scarlett out of his sight, save for when he'd get them some food or to take a shower.

She had been in the hospital for a week. As a result, she couldn't go to Zoey's funeral but Asher made sure there were flowers delivered to her family on her behalf. During that time, Ash told Scarlett why he left, explaining his dad got into some risky business that caused him to go into hiding until he could find a solution. Although it was shocking to hear, she wasn't too surprised. Asher's dad was always smarmy in her opinion. He was the typical crooked businessman; it was only a matter of time before something went wrong. But luckily, Asher's dad was able to pay off the debt and let Ash come back to town on his own. After he finally told me what happened, they swapped stories of things that happened for the past couple of years, played cards, and watched cable on the television that hung in the corner of the hospital room.

As Scarlett was watching an episode of Dr. Phil, Asher burst into the room with a doctor trailing behind him.

Dr. Tallis gave her a smile. "I have some good news! You are being discharged today. I've prescribed you some medication to help you sleep, but I still want to see you in a week's time just to ensure there's no infection. But your wounds seemed to have healed beautifully so I doubt that will be the case."

The doctor looked over at Asher and back at her. "If there's any trouble, I trust your husband will bring you in, yes?"

Scarlett fought back a laugh and pointed to Asher with her thumb. "He's n-"

"Yes sir," Asher replied, nodding his head firmly. "Thank you for your help."

She narrowed her eyes at him, confused, but she brushed it off as a nurse brought in a wheelchair with a pile of her clothes folded neatly on it. Scarlett looked back at Asher and arched an eyebrow. "How did you get into the house?"

"Couldn't find the key, so I broke the living room window." He shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"Ash!" she gasped. "I can barely afford to pay the regular bills and now you're expecting me to replace a window on top of the hospital bills?"

He shot her a look, his hazel eyes nearly completely golden, reminding Scarlett of the wolf in the woods. "I took care of it."

Getting up from her bed and grabbing her clothes, Scarlett went to the bathroom and shut the door. As she threw on her oversized T-shirt and tied it into a knot so it didn't cover her denim shorts, she shook her head. "Took care of it my ass, I bet he just covered the damn thing with a piece of cardboard."

"I heard that," Asher called out from behind the door.

Scarlett swung the door open, only to be greeted by Asher's muscular chest in her face. She looked up at him and for some reason, she was at a loss for words. Were his eyes always so captivating? Did he always smell like her favourite scent, cinnamon? Or was she just completely losing her mind?

Scarlett was going to go with the latter.

Asher looked down at her and his smirk softened into a kind smile, his scar tugging on his upper lip. He lifted his right hands and glided his thumb across her cheek. "Are you ready to go home?"

Scarlett shook her head, a tear threatening to escape. "I'm not so sure."

Asher kissed the top of her head and mumbled, "I promise to stay by your side, Scar. I'm not leaving you ever again."

Flutters exploded inside of Scarlett's stomach and there was a voice in the back of her head that begged her to kiss him, but she fought it down. The last time they had kissed, the last time they had anything that resembled romance, he left. Scarlett knew it wasn't his fault now, but that sort of thing messes with a girl's head.

But still, she couldn't fight the defeated voice that asked while choking back tears, "Do you promise, promise?"

Asher wiped a tear that escaped, gently with his thumb. "I promise, promise. Now let's go home."

***

When they had gotten to her house, Asher would not let her get out of the car by herself. Instead, he flung open the door and scooped her up bridal style and walked her to the front door. Scarlett let out a small laugh. "You're taking the fake husband thing a little far, no?"

Asher shook his head as he chuckled. "Nope. Maybe I should get you a new Ring Pop engagement ring, seeing as you ate the last one."

She smacked his shoulder as she laughed. "We were ten and I was hungry."

"You broke my heart that day, Scar," Ash chuckled jokingly, but part of her could tell that there was a little truth to it.

Holding her with one hand and unlocking the door with the other, he skillfully and successfully got Scarlett across the threshold. Finally, he set her down.

The first thing she noticed, aside from the genuinely fixed window, was the few suitcases and boxes that were in the corner of the living room. Scarlett arched a brow, but before she could ask the question, Ash beat her with the answer. "I brought my stuff over 'cause I thought maybe you didn't want to be alone. And I'm all by myself back at my folk's place, so I thought maybe we can stay together until you get better?"

She looked up at Asher, going on her tiptoes she kissed his cheek. "You can stay here as long as you want. But you need to help me with groceries because if I recall correctly, your appetite does not fit my budget."

Asher chuckled one of those chuckles that just instantly fills the room. "Whatever you say, I shall obey."