Brand New Eyes

10. Catch Me When I Fall

10. CATCH ME WHEN I FALL

Asher’s POV

I watched her as she dozed off to sleep. She finally looked calm after tossing and turning and scrunching her forehead in deep thought - or was it agony? I didn’t know what happened. She was in pain - that much was evident. The way she screamed in utmost pain in the car and clutched her head as if she was going to tear it apart completely threw me off; I wasn’t prepared. I wanted so much to comfort her and take away the pain. I’d never felt this powerful urge to help someone so much before. It engulfed me this time. Of course it was in my nature to care and protect and I wanted to do so badly with Scarlett. But I didn’t know how.

I was glad to finally see her drift into a calm sleep.

I heard Slater creep up the stairs and I met him as he reached my room.

“Hey” he whispered as he glanced at her over my shoulder, “I got your message, is she alright?” he asked, concerned.

“I don’t know” I replied, following his eyes over to her. She looked beautifully calm, just lying there.

“What happened?” he asked and I shrugged.

“I don’t know, one minute she was okay, talking to me in the car and the next she was writhing in pain” I finished to meet Slater’s anxious eyes.

“Wait” he said, pausing, “you don’t think that she’s, she’s transitioning do you?” He asked aloud the same very thoughts I had.

“I don’t know” I half whispered back. I half wished it wasn’t true, as usual.

“What do we do if she is?” he asked.

“I don’t think that’s our big worry” I said, meeting Slater’s eyes with concern, “She knows about Michael”.

Slater’s eyes widened, “What? How?” he asked, shocked.

I pulled out the watch that she had found and showed it to him.

“She found this. Looks like we didn’t cover our trails properly”.

He examined the watch, “What do we do now?” he asked.

“I made up another story and she seemed to let it go” I said as I glanced at her as she stirred. “I can’t keep lying to her” I said in a hushed tone. And it was true. I was never a good liar but with Scarlett, it just came naturally – lie after lie – and I hated it. I wanted to be myself around her just like she was with her honesty. But that wasn’t possible.

“You won’t have to for much longer” Slater replied, handing the watch back to me.

I changed the subject for a moment.

"What did you do with Suzanne?” I asked.

“Oh god, that girl is persistent when she’s drunk.” I laughed. I’d told Slater that Scarlett and I had to talk so he should take the car and go for a drink with Suzanne, after all, she did want first dibs.

“Remind me to stay away from her next time” he snapped, walking out of the room silently and I followed, a smirk playing on my lips.

I laughed, “Surely she can’t be that bad” I said, grabbing a glass and filling it with water for when Scarlett woke.

“Oh you have no idea. But she is perceptive I’ll give her that” and I narrowed my eyes, “like really perceptive like a hawk. She went on about how she’d seen both of us take an interest in Scarlett and boy she wasn’t letting that go”.