Liar

23

I groaned, laying my head back into the pillows again as dad and Emmett continued bickering across the bed.

"Can you both stop? You're making my head hurt worse than it already is. I'm exhausted." They both rolled their eyes. "You can go home you know. You don't need to stay here. I'm in for observation. They said I'm fine. I don't need you here right now. I'm okay." A minor argument ensued where I practically begged them to leave. It was coming up to 4am and I really needed to sleep but I couldn't with the 3 of them all stood pacing like I was on my death bed. "Mum. Please. I'm fine. Go home."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I groaned again.

"Yes mum. They have run every single possible test. They have your numbers. If I suddenly need my appendix taking out, they will call. Go home and sleep. I will call you tomorrow when I'm being discharged and I'm waiting for Steve to come get me." Grumbling continued as they all kissed my head one at a time, venturing out slowly. As soon as the door closed, I settled back into the pillows, knowing for a fact I wouldn't be sleeping, not with the constant beeping of the machines and the chatter in the corridors and neighbouring rooms. I hated hospitals. Always made me feel uneasy.

I grabbed my phone from where dad had put it for me beside me on the bed. He'd sent Leon and Emmett to get my charger whilst they were waiting for me to wake up, making sure it was ready before I woke up as well as clothes to wear home tomorrow. I had texts from the girls, saying word had spread quickly about me collapsing and that it was being put down to drinking too much, which is exactly what my image needed right now. I was horribly hoping for some kind of nondeadly but serious illness that would explain it so I wouldn't just look like a drunk. They didn't need another reason to talk about me, they had enough as it was. I really didn't want to give them all more ammo.

2 quiet knocks on the door and I lifted my head, locking the phone and holding it in my lap.

"Everyone's gone."

"Except you apparently." He scratched the back of his neck. "Come in Asher. Don't just stand in the doorway, someone's going to think something's wrong." He barely entered the room, just enough to close the door behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just in for observation." He kept looking at all the wires and my monitor, like he was trying to work out what everything was.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Don't. It wasn't you. No one caused whatever it was. It just happened."

"What did they say?" I shrugged.

"Not much. There's no reason it could have happened. All the tests are showing nothing. I've just been told to be careful. If I feel like that again to sit down and take slow deep breathes. Given me a list of things to look out for."

"So, you're okay?"

"I'm fine." He seemed to breathe again, walking in and dropping his suit jacket to the bed, pulling his unfastened bowtie from around his neck and dropping it down on of the jacket now covering my feet.

"Good. Because we need to talk."

"Is that why you showed up?"

"No, I showed up with my dad. It was the first time he's been invited to one and he was surprisingly excited to see you again after you left us. Congratulations on the promotion by the way. Pretty shit I had to find out about it online." I rubbed my head, sighing as he crossed his arms beside the bed. "Not only have you fucking blocked me, but you're also ignoring my emails. I sent flowers and you turned them back around, sending them back. Who does that?"

"Me."

"Now's not the time for trying to be funny Tori. What the fuck did I do? For you to drop everything and block me out completely, I must have done something."

"You didn't."

"Then why are you treating me like I'm enemy number one? I've had to make up problems at work just to know you're still fucking alive. You were fine talking to me outside my dad's office. I mean not fine; you were off and I knew something was wrong but you were talking and being snarky. And then I turn around and you're getting in the lift and my dad says you just handed in your notice and won't be coming back to the office? What's that all about? Why didn't you mention that's why you were there? Did you do it because of us?" My monitor beeped and his eyes darted up quickly before groaning and turning around in a circle, running his hands through his hair. "You've had me worried fucking sick Tori."

"I'm sorry. I just- I told you. I told you I don't do it. I don't do more than once. I don't do getting attached I don't -" I sighed, trying to slow down the beeping that was going off in my ear. "I don't do feelings. Getting them or people getting them for me. You knew that. I told you beforehand and then you being Mark's son and working together and then the bathroom. I spent the entire weekend just thinking about how fucking stupid it was-"

"Breathe Tori." He walked over closer and I held my hands up to stop him. Having him touching me right now was not going to help the situation in the slightest.

"So, fucking stupid. This is why I have the rules. To stop things getting complicated and fucked up and to stop having people whispering my name like I'm some crazy person. The rules stop this happening. But you made me break them and then I kept breaking them and then they broke some more and you made it so fucking easy at the time and then I step back and I'm left in the fucking mess of all the broken rules I have to stop myself getting hurt so I rebuild my fucking defences and you just come back in and shatter them over and over again and it's not fair- it's not fair. I'm trying to stop both of us getting hurt and you just don't care." He sat down beside me on the bed, tears streaming down my face for what felt like the millionth time in the past 2 months I'd known Asher. I took in a deep breath when my head started feeling heavy again, taking another for good measure.

"You don't care that I told you to stop. You don't care that I'm telling you I don't want it and that I'm pushing you away and you just keep showing up and the more I try to avoid you, the more I see you but if I don't actively try to avoid you, you find me. Do you know what that's like? Not being able to go anywhere without the fear of bumping into you? Every single room I'm in I'm watching over my shoulder. I try to get myself back on track and some guys about to take me home and I just say thanks and go home alone. I've never done that but I do. I go home and I sit and I cry and I don't cry either but I don't know what you've done but you've fucking broken me and I don't know who this girl is but I don't like her and I don't want her-" He wrapped his arms around me carefully, pulling me into his chest. "Let me go!"

"You need a hug Tori."

"LET ME GO." I weakly pushed back on him, crying harder with every push until my lip was quivering and I couldn't feel a thing. "Let me go. Please let me go."

"I'm not letting you go Tori."

"Please." He held me tighter, pressing my head into him as his arms compressed me, like he was trying to hold me together. "Please."

"I'm not letting go. Let it out. I'm not going anywhere Tori. I'm right here. I'll hold you until it's all better."