Until I Met You

Chapter 6: Asher

Here I am.

Asher Black.

Gang member. Asshole. 6 foot 2 inches. 190 pounds.

And I'm chasing some little girl like we're in kindergarten.

Things are looking up for me.

I think the worse part is that she looks like she's enjoying this. And I'm enjoying this. And people are watching. Now I can't have that, can I. The last thing I need is for people to think I, of all people, have fallen for some prissy little bitch like the princess herself.

I'm closing in on her. I know it. She knows it. Hell, this girl's fast but not nearly fast enough for me.

She ducks into the forest off the side of the road, probably hoping to lose me in the darkness. No matter. I chase after her blindly, listening to the crunch of her feet on the leaves and twigs.

For a moment I wonder why the hell I'm doing this. Why am I chasing this girl? To prove a point? What point? That I'm bigger than her, that's why. 

That she can't mess with me. 

But that I can mess with... a skinny little blonde girl? 

That sounds about right. 

Yeah, I've lost it. I've finally lost it. 

I stop running, ready to turn around like the pathetic idiot I am as I walk back to my car. But before I have time to react, I trip over the root of a tree, landing flat on my face. My nose takes the brunt of the fall, crunching as it hits the ground. There's dirt all over my face and mouth, and I'm embarrassed as shit. This couldn't have gone any worse. My face is pulsating in pain.

Someone's laughing.

"Oh-h my g-god. Did y-you seriously just trip and f-fall? I m-mean I knew you liked me, but I didn't think you'd fall this quickly!"

Of course she couldn't keep running. She had to witness this. Of all people, she had to witness this. I use my elbows to help me up, using slow, calculated movements. My head is throbbing as well and I don't want to give her the satisfaction of falling over or passing out.

As I finally gain my composure, I look over at her to find her squinting.

"Is that blood?" she asks, coming closer until she's inches away from my face.

Blood? Now that I think about, I can feel shit all over my face. I touch my chin, getting something sticky on my fingers. It's difficult to tell exactly what, though, since it's extremely dark where I am. It's probably just dirt or mud, but the pain in my nose makes me second guess myself.

"Black, I think you're bleeding," she's not laughing anymore, but she doesn't look too concerned either.

"No shi- Ah!" It hurts to move my mouth. It hurts to move anything on my face. I swear there's a heart beating pretty rapidly where my nose is supposed to be.

"I think you need a doctor. Come on." She doesn't even give me time to respond. She's already walking back through the forest toward the road.

I'm hesitant to follow. Half of me is urging myself not to go anywhere she goes. The other half just wants to get the hell out of here. Besides, my car is still parked on the street if it hasn't been towed by now. Might as well find out.

- - -

I ask myself for the third time just how the fuck I ended up in a hospital with a broken nose and a chick who I've sworn to hate. Next time I think about chasing after a girl, I'm gonna think about this moment and get the hell out of there. I already saw Blake's ex, Kori, when I came in. By tomorrow, the gang will know and I'm not gonna hear the end of this from the guys.