Cody Christian, Theo Raeken, & Asher Adams Imagines

Part 8: I Love You, Too (Asher Adams' POV)

A week later

I rolled over to my side and slowly opened my eyes. Y/N's back was facing me. She was curled into a ball, cuddling with a pillow to her chest. Hearing her soft snores gave me comfort knowing she's finally sleeping and made it throughout the night without waking up from reliving the shooting scare she had.

Shortly after it happened, Y/N asked if I could sleep over as her aunt was out of town for work. She didn't want to be left alone, and I didn't want her to. She experienced something absolutely terrifying. Whether she had asked or not, I was gonna be there for her. I wanted to make sure she was okay and safe. I wanted her to know she had someone to talk to when she was ready.

Except, she wasn't and I didn't know when she would be. I've been staying with her for a week and it's been radio silence between us. She had trouble sleeping at the beginning. She woke up a couple of times screaming and in tears. She let me hold her until it passed or she fell back asleep. We'd wake up in the morning and go to school. By the time I got to her house after football practice, she had already eaten dinner and left me a plate. We wouldn't talk or interact with each other. It was awkward and I honestly didn't know why. A small part of me believed she was scared. Of what? I don't know, but I wanted answers.

I lifted my head and saw the time. It was a little past 9am. She's slept about 10 hours now. Without a doubt her body was exhausted and catching up on its sleep. This was probably the best sleep she's gotten in a while. She looked so comfortable and at peace. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her towards my chest, bury my nose in her hair, and fall asleep with her in my arms.

"I can feel you staring at me," she said, snapping me out of my trance. She squirmed a little before rolling over to her side to face me. She gave me a small weary smile, "Morning."

Gosh, she even looks more beautiful in the morning.

"Morning," I smiled back at her. "How'd did you sleep?"

"Pretty good. No nightmares of that day, and I didn't wake up once."

"I know," I reached for her forearm and rubbed small circles with my thumb. I swallowed hard as I looked down. "Before you know it, you'll be fine and won't need me anymore," I whispered.

"I'll always need you, Ash." I looked up and immediately locked my eyes with hers. She bit her bottom lip, a tactic she did when she wanted to stop herself from saying something. "I don't want you to go," she whispered.

"Baby, I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me to leave."

She swallowed hard and finally broke eye contact. "I think it's time we talk."

My heart dropped to my stomach. I didn't know what this meant and anytime someone says 'we need to talk', it's never a good thing. With everything going on between us and how we left things since the shooting, who knows where Y/N's head and heart was at.

"Okay," I sat up and leaned against the headboard.

She mirrored my actions. "I don't know what to do and I don't want to tell you what you should do for my selfish reasons, because if I wanted to be selfish, I'd tell you to break up with Lelia and be with me. I don't want to do that because I genuinely want you to be happy, even if that's not with me. I know I told you 'I love you' after the shooting, and I meant that, but I shouldn't have said that, especially with everything that happened between us before the shooting and you're still with Lelia. The last thing I want to do is hurt Lelia. I know this is going to sound so fucked up, but I don't want to hurt her like Olivia and you have been hurting her behind her back."