The New Boy

chapter 29

"You're the one that wants to know more about me, but okay." He smirked and paused to think for a moment. "Do you still like to paint?'

I remembered back to our friendship in third grade, when my favorite pastime was painting. I would force Asher to paint with me all the time, and even though he complained, he would always do it with me. I continued to paint for a few years after moving to Hawaii, but something had felt different about it. Eventually, I just stopped. My paint sets had been collecting dust under my bed since middle school.

"No, I haven't painted in years." Asher looked disappointed in my answer.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. After I moved here, I just didn't want to anymore." I answered, mostly honestly. Something kept tugging at the back of my mind, but I didn't want to say. Maybe the reason I stopped painting was because I missed my begrudging painting buddy.

Asher just shook his head at me, the same disappointed expression plastered across his face. "You were so talented."

"It was third grade. I was probably awful." I protested.

"No, you were amazing. Even for a nine year old."

Deciding to change the subject before my face could blush red from his compliment, I asked him a question. "Why did you move back to Maui?"

His jaw clenched for a split second before he shrugged. "I turned 18. I can do whatever I want now, so I decided to move back."

"Wait, your parents didn't move with you?" I asked, surprised. I had only a very faint memory of them from New York, so it was possible that I had never met them.

Asher peered at me with a confused expression before he finally shook his head. "No," he chuckled. "My parents did not move here with me."

Something about his casual expression seemed a little off, but he spoke up before I could ask about it.

"What about strawberries? Are they still your favorite?"

His question made me smile again; I had no idea how he remembered all these tiny details about me. "Of course!"

"Chocolate is better." Asher said as he playfully shook his head. We used to have this argument all the time.

Laughing, I denied it. "Chocolate's good, I'll give you that, but strawberries will always beat it."

"No way. You're so wrong."

"Fruit is healthier anyway. Maybe that's why you're so overweight." I teased him. He flexed his abs in response, proving yet again how fit he was.

"So why-" Asher began, but I cut him off.

"No way, it's my turn to ask a question."

"Ask away." He sighed.

Thinking for a moment, I came up with something to ask. "Why did you move to New York in the first place? You might have told me but I forgot." The day I met Asher for the first time was his first day at school in New York. He was a shy third grader whose tan was evidence that he had just moved from the tropical Hawaii.

"Why are you so obsessed with me moving?" Asher joked before growing silent. "Do you really not remember?"

Wracking my brain, I tried to think of everything I remembered from our first meeting, nine years ago. My memories had faded enough that I couldn't recall why Asher had actually moved 5,000 miles away from his home at such a young age.

Asher gazed at me intently, a hint of sadness taking over his eyes. I wasn't sure what it was from, but something in me longed to see it wiped away.

The jolting sound of a doorbell shocked us both.

"Who is that?" I whispered.

"I don't know. Stay here." Asher clenched his jaw and quickly headed down the stairs. The door creaked as he pulled it open, and I heard muffled voices float up. Unable to resist my curiosity, I poked my head out over the ledge to see what was going on. Asher's hand was clenched against the open door as he furiously whispered with a woman outside the door. Her face was shrouded in shadows, but I caught a glimpse of blond curls falling down her shoulders.

After a few moments of whispering that I was unable to decipher, Asher groaned and nodded his head. The woman seemed relieved as she stepped back to reveal something- or rather someone- from behind her back. The tiny girl had soft brown curls, the same color as Asher's, swirling around her shoulders, with almond-colored eyes to match. Her cheeks were pink and stained with tears that Asher quickly dried away with his thumb as he easily picked her up into his arms. Saying one final thing to the woman outside before shutting the door, Asher turned around and his eyes met mine.

He sighed when he saw me spying, but didn't seem surprised. "You can come down now."

I guiltily climbed down the stairs and followed after him as he strode down the hallway to the living room.

"What's going on?" I said, breaking the silence.

Turning to face me, Asher sighed. The girl poked her head out from Asher's shoulder to gaze at me shyly before hiding her face again.

Asher gulped. "This is my sister, Katie."

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