Dominions

Chapter 31: Asher

Asher stood in front of  Chantel's door frozen. He had stood there for the last seven minutes, willing his arms to reach up and collide against the iron door, but each time he stretched his hands up he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

Asher wasn't sure why he was so conflicted about coming over today. After his phone call with Chantel, it seemed that this conversation would go relatively well. She was worried about him. She wanted him to be safe, and while that might seem like the bare minimum, to Asher, that didn't matter. 

Maybe it was because the last time he saw her the Harpie attacked. Was there a monster lurking just around the corner of this hallway? Or worse, was there one already in there? Asher couldn't stay with Chantel at all times. He couldn't keep her safe. 

That worried him. 

He slowly lifted his arm to the door, but before he could even knock on the iron door it swung open. Chantel stood in purple sweatpants and a white v-neck at the entrance. She looked surprised as she saw Asher there. 

"How long had you been out there?" she asked confused. Asher noticed she looked tired. Dark circles sat under her eyes, and her hair was disheveled and messy wadded up into a tight bun. She grabbed his arm and led him inside her small studio apartment. The second the door closed she wrapped her arms around him. Asher could feel her heart beating in her chest as she held onto him for what seemed like dear life. 

"I just got here," Asher lied. He hoped that Chantel had not been looking through the peephole in the door. He imagined how stupid he looked just standing there with a concentrated look on his face. 

Jeez, I hope she doesn't talk to her neighbors. He thought to himself as she broke the hug apart and walked over to the bed. Chantel scooted to the top left corner pushed against the brick wall. She curled her legs up in a ball and wrapped her arms around them. 

This was not the girl that Asher knew. Something was wrong. 

"Chantel, what is going on?" Asher asked. He tried to sound nonchalant, but he couldn't help but feel a ball in his stomach had begun to form. 

"Asher," she said as her voice trailed off. "I...I haven't been able to sleep since everything happened," she said almost in a whisper. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she put her face in the pit between her two knees. "I keep seeing that thing."

Her voice had an edge of fear to it that Asher couldn't ignore. He wondered how Chantel would take everything given time to process the events of that day. The answer to his question was written all over her face. She was scared shitless. 

And it was his fault for bringing it to her. 

"I'm so sorry," said Asher as he crossed the room to the bed. He reached out to Chantel but she flinched and he instantly recoiled "I'm scary of you," he said shocked.

Chantel's face softened and she reached her hand out to touch Asher's. He felt his body relax upon her touch and she shook her head. "I'm not scared of you. That was just...a lot to process, Ash. One minute you were a guy that I drunkenly hooked up with from a club and the next you're some water God fighting a monster in my living room? How am I supposed to take that?"

Asher didn't have an answer. He of course knew how he wanted her to respond, but what he wanted and what was logical are two very different things. He wanted a scene from one of those movies. Where the girl sees that the guy has some extraordinary gift and they decide their relationship is worth the danger. 

Asher didn't see that happening. 

"I sleep with all the lights on now," said Chantel. "Every night I do my best to fall asleep but the moment I do I see those tentacle things reaching for me. I take a shower and I've had to learn how to wash my hair with my eyes open because I don't want them closed for that long. I failed all my classes, and my parents are threatening to pull the plug on my university funding."