⚜Guardian⚜

Chapter Thirty Three

SUNNY DAYS MOTEL, 26 HOURS LATER

No one knew where Asher was, or even if he was alright. The only answer Lacey could get when she asked was, “He’ll come back eventually”, as if this happened every day. The only person who seemed to be affected by Asher’s disappearance was Ari. She was ashen, and only spoke when absolutely necessary. It was weird seeing her so quiet, especially because it seemed like her life’s purpose was to hurt and ridicule Lacey. Aida had been kind enough to give Lacey her own room when they arrived at the hotel. Then again, that was another subject they didn’t speak much about. Almost as soon as Asher had been tortured, a huge hurricane ripped through town. A large tree split the Sanctuary in half, and they had been forced to move into the motel for the time being. They were offering free rooms and food for people who didn’t have anywhere else to go, but Aida had paid a big sum of money to be offered a room above all of the “hoodlums”.

Laying in bed that night, Lacey contemplated sleep. It was a good idea in theory, but in total, would only hurt her. She needed to stay awake in case Asher came back. She needed to stay awake in case the purple mist revisited her. She needed to stay awake because dreams were uncontrollable. She knew if she dreamt of Asher, it would only hurt more than it helped. Of course, these ideas could only come in handy if she actually could sleep. Confusion, fear, and pain ripped through her system consistently, so that she would probably never sleep again. Her window squeaked open, and Lacey’s breath caught in her chest. Hope canceled out the fear. She could handle a murderer, but if it wasn’t Asher, every happy bone left in her body would be completely defeated.

“Asher?” Lacey whispered, sitting up so quickly her head spun. Her voice was thicker and throatier than when they had last spoke, but that was probably because she had cried so much.

“It’s me,” he announced. Lacey felt her entire world brighten. She began to slide out of bed, but he let out a low laugh. Something was slightly off about his laugh, but she figured it was because he had gone through so much.

“Relax, Lace, I’ll come to you,” Asher teased. Lacey could hear the smile in his voice. He slid into bed beside her, and she reached to turn on the light. His hand moved blindingly fast and caught her wrist, stopping her. She could tell that his skin wasn’t touching hers. It was almost like he was wearing an oversized hoodie so that it would cover his skin.

“I…um…the light hurts my eyes. My body’s had to heal a lot, and I’m supposed to be sleeping,” Asher declared.

“Oh,” Lacey said, dropping her hand quickly. “That’s fine.” She reached out to hug him, and he inhaled a low breath.

“Oh! Sorry! Am I hurting you?” Lacey questioned. He moved slightly, like he was shaking his head before realizing she couldn’t see him in the dark.

“No.” He said quickly. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the slow rise and fall of his chest.

“I love you so much, Lacey. Don’t ever forget that,” Asher announced, kissing the top of her head quickly.

“I know,” Lacey assured him. “So what happened? No one gave me any straight answers,” Lacey announced. Asher took a long moment before answering, making Lacey slightly anxious. Was he hiding something? What could he possibly have to hide?

“Doesn’t matter. What matters now is that you’re okay, and you’re here.” Asher said. Lacey nodded, but something about the way he said this bothered her.

“Lacey, if I was to…die, you’d move on, right? Meet someone else and have kids and a family?” Asher questioned. Lacey’s head snapped upwards instantaneously.

“Asher! Don’t say that!” She hissed, more out of fear than anger. She couldn’t bear the thought of life without Asher. It was like living life without limbs, or internal organs.

“Seriously, Lacey. Just promise me that you would,” Asher begged.

“But why?” Lacey questioned, her voice trembling slightly. Normally, Asher would have touched her face comfortingly, but instead, he remained stone still.

“Please? For me?” He pleaded.

“I wouldn’t!” Lacey said, feeling tears build up in her system. He had just made it out of torture unscathed! Why would he want to speak about death and possible futures?

“Of course,” Asher sighed, a depressed chuckle leaving his mouth. It didn’t sound like his normal laugh, though, it sounded more like he was just laughing for her benefit. She felt anxiety strangle her heart.

“Are you hungry? I can go get you some food,” Asher offered. Lacey assented, figuring some time would allow her to get her thoughts together. He leaned down to press his lips to her forehead quickly, his lips staying on her forehead for only half of a second. His face was slightly scratchy, almost like he had grown a beard.

“I love you Lacey. More than anyone or anything else in the world. I’d never hurt you, you know that? Never,” Asher said as he rose from the bed.

“Yeah,” Lacey murmured, feeling slightly tired. He began walking away, and something inside of Lacey nagged at her. She heard the door swing open, and she sat up immediately.

“Asher?” She called. He stopped by the door, waiting for her to speak. She tried to say three words that she knew she had to say. Instead, it was like they got caught in her throat. She tried her hardest to say them, but she froze. Instead, she said something entirely different than what she had planned.

“Hurry back, okay?” Lacey urged, wishing she had had the guts to say what she wanted to say. He let out a small, choked, “Okay,” before leaving. Lacey flopped backwards against her pillow, wondering what was happening. It was like the entire world was just so wrong lately.