ASHER POV
Her soft hair blows around her head as the wind attacks us. She opens her mouth mid-laugh but it sounds distant and far away. Her eyes are a deep blue, in a way opposite of mine, they are so secretive and I just want to unlock her like a treasure chest to see what she is hiding. There is something about the look she gives me that is pained and depressing.
She twirls around, holding her arms out to me. I reach to grab her hands and pull her into a hug and I can't help but want that hug more than anything, to hold her and know she is safe again. When my hand brushes her fingers she flinches and draws back, afraid. Her eyes look alone and innocent. What is it that she is hiding?
When I try to help her she looks betrayed "Monster!" She screams and tears fall down her cheeks like waterfalls.
"No! It's okay! No!" I stutter, walking towards her. Just then a cliff opens up behind her "NO! Stop! Be careful!" I yell to warn her but she doesn't hear.
Quick, she is falling, screaming my name. I drop to my stomach and reach down towards her, just wishing I could switch places with her. The sirens come now, bleeding out all of eternity with the sounds of their horendous wailing.
My head pounds as my alarm repeats it's terribly annoying sound to wake me up. I slam my hand into the hard plastic and jam it into the off stage. Trying to shake off the dream, I replay the events of last night. That girl looked so much like her. I try to forget it, not a good way of shaking off the dream.
I rip open my bedroom door and tromp into the bathroom to splash my face with ice cold water. When the cold liquid hits my face it is like I am finally awake. It helps me to dispurce the thoughts.
My fault.
Splash. Splash. Splash.
My responsibility
Splash again.
When I am done with the little morning ritual I was deprived of yesterday I go downstairs to see that my Dad is home, and sitting at the kitchen table. The smell of food spills over everything and I deeply inhale, too bad I'm not hungry.
"Asher," Dad's deep, and eerily calm voice booms, calling me to him. Dad is a great guy, and a fantastic catch, he just has terrible luck with women.
My mother, his first wife, left nearly six years ago, after the incident. Mandy's mom dated my dad a year later, but broke up with him, only to leave her two year old daughter on our doorstep late one night. We don't tell Mandy that she isn't actually related to any of us though, she isn't old enough to know that type of information just yet.
"Yeah, Dad?" I reply going over to him.
"So what happened yesterday?" He asks quietly, glancing over to Mandy who is doing the dishes.
"Long story," I say, nervous to let him know of my blunder.
I rub the back of my neck, my nervous habit as my dad says "I've got all the time in the world, you on the other hand, time is ticking for you."
Gulping I tell him the whole story from beginning to end, even adding in why she was alone because I know he came home while I was out at Books Galore.
"Mandy," My father says like he is sighing. He rubs underneath his eyes and I see that he has bags of sleepless nights resting under his eyes. "I don't know what to do with her sometimes. God told me, long ago, I wasn't meant to be the father of a girl, then he just throws this little monster girl on me and tells me to properly raise her. What kind of deal is that? How is my old butt suposed to deal with that?"
