Breathe

fourteen

My ears were slowly but surely growing red, and I looked away. Kian was absolutely right, smoking was a new level of stupid. I should just quit already.

No, I had to quit. Asher would never approve if I kept doing it, and Asher was all that mattered at this point.

So I pulled out my phone to pass the time until Conan entered the room again after a few minutes.

"I'm back, hoes," he announced, walking straight over to the bed. "Surprised you haven't destroyed anything while I was gone."

Kian frowned. "You make it sound like we can't be trusted."

"That's because you can't be trusted, asswipe," Conan replied, pointing an accusing finger at his friend before glancing at me. "You let me down, kid. I'll remember that."

"I wanna quit, you know," I said, clearing my throat. "It's not good for me."

"It's not good for me," he mimicked, rolling his eyes. "You do things that aren't good for you every day, and you don't whine like a bitch about them."

"Like hanging out with you, for example," Kian muttered, not looking up from his cookie.

"Shut the fuck up or I'll kick you out, I swear. I've had enough of you."

"Very nice. So friendly," I said, standing up. "I'm gonna head back over now."

Conan raised a brow at me, his anger at his best friend having left as quickly as it had come. "You're not seriously pissed at me for calling you a whiny bitch now, are you."

I shook my head. "I don't care about that. But Anna said she was gonna cook lunch today, so I have to get back."

"You don't care about that," he repeated, leaning back to let his back meet the wall. "Whatever you say, kid. Have a nice day."

He pulled out his phone, not making another move, and I hesitated. He usually walked me out of the house when I left.

"You... too," I replied, glancing at Kian who just shrugged.

"He's mad when he doesn't get his way."

"Shut the fuck up, nobody wants to hear what you have to say," Conan said, obviously pissed as he tossed a pillow at his friend's head.

"Why are you always so aggressive?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Conan raised a brow at me before shaking his head.

"Didn't you want to leave?"

Kian laughed, and I just rolled my eyes as I hurried out of his room. Conan was one moody guy.

My own mood had dropped drastically once I walked through Michael's front door – not that it had ever been super extraordinary since I woke up. Things were being too complicated lately, and I didn't like it. I was sick of this life.

Yet the smell of fresh lasagna made the corners of my lips wander upwards. At least something here was good.

After lunch I left the house again. I had now memorized the way to the supermarket since I had walked it quite often already. Anna had given me a short grocery list, not that we needed much - simply for the sake of buying stuff.

Asher wasn't behind the cash register. Instead a young woman smiled at me when I brought my seven things to her.

"Welcome," she greeted, already starting to check my things.

"Hi. Isn't Asher here?"

She shook her head, still smiling. Her lips had a deep red color, something that didn't quite match with the faint green tone of her hair. "It's his day off. I'm Misty."