The Survivor (Book #2)

Chapter 39

When I left the session, I was hopeful. I hadn't cried and I thought I had learned a lot about myself. Sometimes you left therapy thinking nothing about you had changed. Other times you left as a completely new person.

There was also a bit of a bounce in my step for another reason. Charlotte had told me that Dominic and Brooks were out with their girlfriends and that Damon and Caleb had gone out with some friends. It was just her and me at home.

I politely asked if I could have a friend over to work on a school project, and she elatedly accepted. She even told me she would make snacks.

I texted Asher and ran to the door an hour later when I heard him knock.

He was wearing a dark black T-shirt and long dark jeans, with his backpack casually slung over his right shoulder. He pulled off a pair of sunglasses as I opened the door and gave me a devilishly handsome smile.

"Hey, Anders." He said before his gaze was pulled to the interior of the house.

"Come in!" I said, swinging the large door open for him. He gaped at the house as he wandered through the doorway, and I smiled to myself.

"It's pretty cool, huh?" I asked, trying not to brag.

"It's amazing!" he exclaimed. Charlotte walked into the room shortly after, feigning surprise when she saw him.

"Oh, hello! You must be Maya's partner."

Asher froze and looked at me with a panicked expression. Charlotte laughed and elaborated.

"For your school project! Marine biology, right?" she asked, giving him a big smile.

"That's right, Mrs. Anders!" he said quickly, fumbling over his words but still carrying a coolness about him. "Thank you for having me at your home. It's really beautiful." He said, eyes flickering to me. I gave him an encouraging smile. Charlotte was the least threatening person I know. It was amusing to see him slightly flustered.

"It's our pleasure! And please, call me Charlotte. You're welcome anytime!" she said, giving him a warm grin. I felt flushed with pride at the woman who was going to be my mom. Yes, she was nice and amazing and kind, and she was mine.

I nodded my head towards the stairs, so we waved goodbye and headed up to my room. I shut the door behind us and watched as Asher went on a brief tour of my room. There wasn't much to see. I had no pictures to hang or knick-knacks on my dresser. On my mirror, I had a peeling Vans sticker and the ticket stub from our horror movie tucked into the frame. He spun to face me before sitting on my floor and smiling.

"I didn't know you were a horror movie kind of girl." He mused, guessing spot-on about me again.

"I'm not," I replied truthfully, with a rueful grin. He knew me too well, already. Wasn't I mysterious in any regard?

"Why'd you go to that one?" he pressed, as I sat beside him on the carpet and leaned against the foot of my bed.

"Brothers wanted to." I shrugged.

"Do you do everything they tell you to do?" he teased, laughing as I rolled my eyes.

"No!" I said as if it were obvious. He quirked an eyebrow up.

"Hey! You're here, aren't you?" I questioned.

"Ahh, so they don't know I'm here," he said with an appreciative nod.

"...Not technically."

He placed his hand on the carpet beside mine and I couldn't help but notice our hands were only about three inches apart. I twisted mine a little. Two inches.