Trusting Asher (on hold)

Chapter 4

(Raven's P.O.V)

       When we arrived back at my house after what seemed like an eternity of nail-biting tense silence, Willow was still asleep. Asher told me that it was best to not wake her up, so he gingerly carried her to a spare bedroom of mine as if he were cradling a baby. I clenched my teeth in aggravation as I paced my living room, waiting for Asher to come back from tucking Willow in bed. Why did he have to be so gentle with her like that? Why couldn't he do his job badly so I could continue being Willow's Protector? I cared for her, further than my duty as her guardian even required. In the years that she's been under my protection, I'd developed a sisterly love for her. Letting go of our friendship if I got reassigned would rip what was left of my heart to pieces.

        There was so much that I hadn't told Willow though, despite our unbreakable friendship. I knew she'd be questioning me about my secrets when she woke up because of the argument between Asher and I that she'd witnessed earlier. I was Willow's Protector; like a guardian angel, minus the wings and the holier-than-thou part. I'd been trained since I was just a kid by my mentor to one day grow up and protect people like Willow, who had a tragic home life or had put themselves in bad situations. My job was to stop certain things that could go wrong in her life from happening. Obviously I wasn't doing my job well because Asher had been sent to replace me. He was stronger than me, I had to admit that. He had put a very hysterical Willow to sleep with just a touch of his hand. Maybe Asher was what Willow needed in her life to keep her safe.....

         "She's going to have a lot of questions when she wakes up, Raven," Asher told me quietly. I already knew this; it was what I'd been stressing over before he even came into the room. Asher flopped onto my leather couch, making himself comfortable, but I could tell he was on edge like I was. That was how we were trained. You always had to be on your guard, even if you weren't in a dangerous place.

        I rolled my lip ring into my mouth nervously and said, "I'm not ready to answer her questions, and i know she isn't ready to face the truth. I don't know if i can regain her trust, though if I keep the truth from her." I rubbed my temples, trying to get rid of my pounding headache. I was so stressed. How would Willow respond to the truth? I knew she'd be angry because she was Willow, the stubborn girl who never accepted help from people. It made her feel weak. Willow was anything but weak in my mind, though.

         "I can erase her memory and make her think that you just took her here and she fell asleep. She doesn't have to know about the truth just yet," Asher suggested in a soft voice. I tried my best to keep my jaw from dropping in shock. I knew Asher was strong from his display of power earlier, but I hadn't know he was strong enough to alter someone's memory. Only the most elite of our kind could do something like that. It took years to train to train for powers that strong, and Asher only looked a couple years older than me. It made me wonder how much he was really capable of.

          I was extremely impressed with Asher, but I kept my face blank as I said, “That would be best for all of us, I think" Asher had a smug expression as he stretched his muscled arms behind him, though, as if he knew I was in awe about his strength.

          "Alright, tell me Willow's story so I know what I'm going to be up against. I was going to ask her about it tonight but she seemed upset," Asher said. It was my turn to be smug now. Asher was asking me for help when he seemed so sure about this job earlier. Obviously, he needed me.

I perched on the edge of my sofa to regard him with a serious expression. "Willow was taken from her real parents when she was very young because they weren't fit to take care of a child. They were young- in high school, and caught up in drugs. They didn't need a kid; they were too young and wild. When Willow was born, they didn't give her up for adoption like they should have. Instead they kept her, but they didn't take care of her. They left her at home alone when she was just a baby, and took her to wild parties when she was just a toddler. So, one day, DHR came knocking on their door and took Willow from them. She was put up for adoption when she was five, and finally got adopted by Gavin when she was ten. He was sweet at first, but he turned mean and started drinking and beating her. Then, when she became a teenager, he even sold her body so he could buy drugs. That's why she needs someone in her life like us to keep her safe from people like Gavin." Asher had sat up as I spoke, bowing his head against Willow's terrible story. Finally, he looked up at me with a somber expression.