Intertwined

Chapter 11

I squeal unintentionally as Asher pulls the bike onto a gravel road. The wheels on the bike are unable to grip on to the soft soil immediately, resulting in a brief, yet terrifying, wheel spin. The gravel road is bumpier than the smooth surface of the county roads and it's making it harder for me to hold on. I'm pleased when Asher slows the bike down and pulls into a ditch and cuts off the engine.

I straighten, as Asher climbs off. My fingers ache from grasping onto Asher's shirt too tightly, my nose is running and I imagine that my hair looks like a haystack from having been thrashed around by the wind in every possible direction.

"Careful," Asher directs me, as I hop off the bike only to realize that the ride has thrown me off my balance. I momentarily loose my footing, but Asher's reflects are quick and before any of us can process what's happening Asher has wraps his hand around my wrist to stabilize me. He drops it again as soon as he realizes his mistake. I try my best to ignore the way my skin burns from his touch.

Gazing around I realize that we're parked in the ditch of the same dirt road we were on the day Asher brought me to The Pit. I shiver at the memory and pray that I'm not in for another repetition of that day.

I watch Asher as he ensures that our stolen ride is well hidden behind bushes to keep it out of sight from the gravel road. When he is satisfied with the hiding spot he turns his attention towards me, his grey eyes meeting my blue ones, shooting a course of electricity through the entirety of my body. Suddenly his gaze drops from mine to dirt road beneath us, and I can't help but wonder if he feels the electric current between us too.

"This way," he gestures behind him, as he stuffs his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, his eyes not bothering to meet with mine again. I let out a breath I hadn't known that I had been holding in, as we head in the opposite direction of The Pit.

I'm the first one to break the silence between us, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he mumbles a little while later, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

Neither of us talk for the remainder of our miniature hike. I glance down at my feet when the tip of my shoes catches on a tree branch. I wish I had worn better shoes.

Walking along side Asher in silence seems strangely comfortable and I realize that it's the first time in his presence that I feel at ease. I have a strange feeling that it might have something to do with the way he claimed my lips with his on Saturday, a memory that still haunts me. He hasn't mentioned it yet and I have a sense that he might not ever. I don't want to be the one to bring it up either; that would be equivalent to admitting that his lips on mine had actually had an affect on me.

The trees thin out as we near a clearing in the forest. Asher comes to a halt a few feet from it and I mimic his actions, careful not to bump into him upon his abrupt stop.

He turns around and his eyes find mine almost immediately. "I want to show you something," he tells me for the second time today, but his cocky demeanor from earlier has shifted. He looks smaller now and less confident as he stands before me, it's a shift so unlike Asher. "It's kind of personal," he adds, digging his hands further into his pockets.

"What is it?" I ask, my voice brimming with caution. I'm afraid that any wrong move will send him back spiraling into his usual cocky self; as much as his shy demeanor troubles me, the idea of getting another glimpse into the messiness that is Asher is too appealing for me to give up.

Asher nods stiffly and steps aside to allow me to pass. I take a few steps into the clearing and gasp at the sight in front of me. A small patch of knee-high grass leads to a cluster of rocks, situation alongside a small creek. Bright green algae grow on the bottom of the rocks, right where they meet the muddy bank of the creek. A path of trembled grass reveals that someone has been here lately. Asher maybe.