R O U N D T W E L V E ||
January 1st
6:12 a.m.
"It's too early to be awake," Seth groans, laying on the couch. I slap the back of his head.
"Up!" I yell louder than I need to. He only glares, his eyes barely open, but he obeys and stands. I said my goodbyes to the rest of my family yesterday, so now is the time where I need to say bye to Seth and Jules. I glance over my shoulder to see Jules giving Via a tight hug, with Via trying to refrain from pulling her off. I give Via a small smile and she only gives me a sleepy glare.
"Bye Fae!" Jules gives me a tight hug. Apparently I have been forgiven for my lunch transgressions.
I glance over Jules to see Via standing awkwardly next to Seth. I don't know who looks more awkward. He sticks out his hand, as if he's going to shake her hand, and at the same time she holds up her hand as if she's going to give him a high five.
Seth takes the hint and high fives her.
"Have fun, stray," he says tiredly and I frown.
Stray?
Then it clicks and I roll my eyes.
Jules lets go of me.
"I'll miss you," she says, too enthusiastically to be awake at six am.
"I'll miss you too." I give her a tight smile, then turn to Via and Seth. Seth glances over to me with a slight smile, then it drops. He lets out a sigh, walks forward, and pulls me into a hug. I tighten my arms around his neck as he squeezes right back. He ends up poking me in the side when I try to pull away. I jump back and punch him in the arm.
"Ow," he whines.
I roll my eyes and push his face to the side. "I'll see you, Seth," I say.
He gives me a smirk. "See you, Fae."
We leave the apartment and I shut the door.
Via only watches me. "The way you all say goodbye is weird."
I chuckle. "Not weirder than your goodbye to Seth."
She laughs. "Okay, you got me."
We make our way down to the car waiting for us. We hop in and it takes us to the airport. We get right through security, finding our way to our seats. I take the window seat, and Via settles next to me. I let out a breath.
"I can't believe we're already going back," I murmur.
"Hmm," Via only hums.
I grin and see her already falling asleep. We had quite the late night last night. It wasn't until late that everyone cleared out. And by that time, we had to clean up. So I barely got any sleep, so I am more surprised I'm not falling asleep right now.
Via leans her head on my shoulder, and I grin. I look out the window and watch as we take off. As soon as we are on the air, I feel myself falling asleep too.
My head rests against Via's and that's when I drift off to sleep.
12:12 p.m.
We make it back just in time for lunch.
As soon as we enter the castle, we are enroute to the dining area. Kay is already there, and we all embrace each other and give hugs. The King, Queen, Brylee, Kohen, and Asher are all at the table, waiting for us. Before anyone else can pass around hugs, Via and I take our seats. I glance around, looking for Maggie or Daya, but neither are present.
Casey smiles at all of us.
I go for a drink of water.
"Ladies, I hope you all had a pleasant holiday. We are glad you all have made it back safely." She glances at all of us individually. "Maggie and Daya were not invited back to the castle. Which leaves you three. You are now Asher's Elite."
I almost choke on my water.
My gaze immediately goes to Asher, who has a small smile on his face.
"You are all now sharing the same suite. All of your things have been moved to the Elite Suite. You each have your own rooms, with a sitting room to share. Via, you will have the Boho Themed Suite, Kay, the Ivy Garden Theme, and Fae, the Night Sky Theme."
I choke down my water without coughing like crazy.
"Another announcement," Casey says, although she doesn't look too pleased now. "There is going to be a special event this Friday evening. It is an Elite interview. Effie Paine-Teller is going to be sitting down with you girls and talking with you in front of a live audience." She tries for a smile, but I can tell this news isn't her favorite thing.
I try to ignore the knot that begins to form in my stomach.
"Now, I know it may seem intimidating, and I know you may not want to do it, but I am asking you to," she pauses, glances at Asher for a second, then turns back to us. "We are hoping that if Illea hears from you girls and your experiences with Asher, that it will help combat against everything nasty said about him."
That's when Asher dips his head, not meeting our gaze.
"All of the interview questions are from the people of Illea, and they are all trying to see how much they should trust their prince. People have already started to submit their questions.
"Via, will you do this interview? And if you do, you have to promise me you will be completely honest in your answers."
Via nods. "Yes, I will."
She repeats the same question to Kay.
Kay answers, "Of course."
Then she turns to me.
The question is repeated.
I see Asher has lifted his head, glancing at all of us.
"Yes. You'll have complete honesty," I answer.
She gives us the biggest grin. "Thank you. Remember, it is not your job to redeem Asher; your job is only to tell the truth."
Once lunch has finished, we are excused to our new rooms.
We all head up the stairs together. Kay and Via chat a little, but I keep quiet. I know that this interview will be forever in my mind until after it happens, but it's not as prominent now when we reach our rooms. It doesn't take us long for each of us to find the one for us. I step in, seeing the dark blue and black walls, covered with stars. It's very dark and cozy, and it's completed with all of my plants spread everywhere. I peek into Via and Kay's rooms, and they are both beautifully decorated. Now if Brylee asks me if I like my room, I can say yes without lying.
The evening is spent in our rooms, as well as dinner. We eat dinner together in the sitting room, sharing our holiday stories. It's a good distraction. We all laugh, eat, and share more stories until it's late. Eventually we all head inside our rooms. I gladly crawl under my covers, clutch my pillow tightly, and fall asleep.
January 7th
5:23 p.m.
Via perks herself up on the chair, leaning over the armrest, holding the blush brush. I try to stay as still as I possibly can, but Kay is twisting part of my hair back to pull into bobby pins, making it difficult. Via gently clutches my chin, stopping me from moving, and I see her eyes narrow as she finishes with the blush, then moving onto my eyelashes. But before she can, I grab the container, and put that on myself.
Not that I don't trust her, but when my brothers were younger, they broke into my mom's makeup bag and decided to put makeup on me. Seth handled eye liner, Davey eye shadow, and Remy handled the mascara. And now I don't let anyone put mascara on me. Too many memories of the brush going right into my eye as Remy attempted to put it on me.
Mom wasn't too happy when I came to her with a red eye.
For the boy's punishment, Mom let me put makeup on them. I was a lot better than them, even if I was seven, but they still got a few eyes poked.
Via disappears into her room to get dressed. Kay does the same.
I walk into my room, grab the dress that I settled on and carefully put it on. It's a floor length dress, black, but covered in sequins. The thin spaghetti straps look like they could snap any second, but they don't as I tighten them as far as I need them to be. I find the heels Brooke left me and begrudgingly put them on.
So far, this day was spent finding the perfect outfit for tonight. It was fun, spending time with Via and Kay, but thinking about tonight made me want to puke. It's one thing speaking in front of an audience you can see, but also to be recorded for the whole of Illea to see and hear that twists my stomach into knots. I tried not to think about it this whole week, but it settled in the back of my mind, and I knew it was there. I knew this was coming, and I wish I could say I feel prepared.
Every morning I spent my time in the gym, punching, sparring with Asher, and even he seemed like he would have rather not talked about this event. I was very quiet and distant when we were sparring, and I even felt that. Asher didn't say anything.
Tonight I'm going to need a few hours on the punching bag after what is happening.
Via walks in, dress on, hair and makeup done. She grins when she sees my outfit, wagging her brows at me. "Stunning. I'm surprised you settled on the most glitzy dress you could find," she teases, fingering the sequins.
I frown. "I settled more for the color."
"I figured."
Once it gets around six-thirty, we all head down to the castle foyer. Everyone is already there, chatting amongst themselves. Brylee looks a little too excited to see us in our dresses, and she comments on all three of them. Kohen stands behind her, smiling, but not looking too interested in participating in this certain conversation. But he surprises me, leaning forward, grinning, "All of you ladies look beautiful."
"Why, thank you," I say sarcastically, even though I know he wasn't joking.
But he catches my drift and chuckles softly.
I glance over to the king and queen, where Asher is standing silently beside them. I meet his gaze, producing a stiff smile, which he returns with equal stiffness.
Glad to know we are both looking forward to this event.
Creed turns to all of us. "I just want to say thank you girls for being willing to participate tonight." He gives us all a big smile, looking a lot more relaxed than anyone. "Just remember you only have to be honest."
That won't be hard, not really.
"And I have asked your maid to pack a change of clothes for each of you. We are going out for dessert after the event, making it easier instead of wearing these fancy clothes." Creed chuckles quietly, and I can't help but agree with him.
Since everyone is ready, we all head to the car.
—
As soon as we reach our destination, Angeles Concert Hall, we are ushered backstage. I can already hear the crowd behind the curtain, which adds to my nerves. I do my best to breathe, but the only thing that seems to help is when I clench my hands into fists and imagine I'm punching the bag. The visual is shattered though when Casey and Creed demand my attention.
"Thank you girls, again. We have to leave, but we know you'll do great." Then the pair of them disappear out of view, followed by Kohen. Brylee and Asher remain with us, along with Travis.
There's only so much time before the interview starts, and Brylee attempts to fill it with conversation. She stands right in between all of us, asking us questions about our holidays, which helps me breathe just a little easier. It was funny relaying my holiday stories, especially since Via was able to tune in, and Kay looked happy as she looked on, and especially since we told her all about it when we came back.
Then Kay goes into detail about her holidays, which we all listen to. I try to listen, but I end up visualizing the punching bag again, helping me breathe. I try not to give myself away, keeping my expression composed, but then Effie greeted us and gathered us girls. Travis follows, standing next to Kay, and I couldn't but glance at him. He looks as if he can't breathe that well either.
I try to focus on Effie. She lets us know how excited she is for us to be here, and is trying to encourage us before we go out there. But no encouragement could help me. I won't feel better until it ends. But Effie not only encourages us about being yourself, but answering the questions how we felt best. Then she hands us our microphones, which she helps us place around our ear so the microphone stretches to our mouth.
Sooner than I'd like, Effie ushers on stage. My hands are still clenched at my side, hidden in the folds of my dress. Effie places us in our chair, mine being a beige armchair, and once we are seated, she leaves us to ourselves, and I hear her outside the curtain, addressing the crowd. As soon as their clapping sounds, I whip my head back to backstage, where I see Asher and Travis leaving.
I hear more clapping, and before I know it, the curtain rises. Bright lights blind me and I have to blink a few times to get used to it. I glance over to the crowd, who are clapping and cheering, eyes on us. I feel all the blood drain from my face as Effie takes her seat on the sofa right across from all of us.
"Hello girls!" she greets as if hasn't seen us yet, giving us her biggest smile. I know it's supposed to help us relax, but it only makes my shoulder stiffen, as if telling me to prepare myself. I can't tell her that I've been trying to all week.
She asks all of us to introduce ourselves. Because I'm the closest to the back of the stage, I go last. She starts with Via, who is closest to the crowd. Via introduces herself, and tells the crowd a little bit about herself. She looks the most calm out of the three of us, but I'm guessing that's because she's well versed in dealing with the public. As Kay introduces herself and tells a bit about herself, she smiles and looks friendly.
And when Effie turns to me, asking me to introduce myself, I feel like my voice is anything but mine, "I'm Fae Dick. I am from Waverly. And I am an antique appraiser in my hometown." I don't continue, thinking that's enough about myself.
Effie then goes into how the rest of the evening is going to proceed. She addresses us and the crowd, saying that questions have been submitted for all of us. She says that none of the questions have been screened, for the sake of transparency. I notice the small stack of notecards in her hand that contains the questions. My eyes are glued to them.
Then she begins. Everyone is on the same page, and ready to go.
My insides churn as Effie begins her questions.
She turns to Via first. I don't envy her going first. Via, ever composed, answers the question without any hint of nervousness in her voice. I can hear the crowd either shout their approval for her answer or their disapproval of her answer. Via pays them no mind.
Kay is next. I am assuming this is the order of which every question will be asked.
Effie clears her throat, now turning to me. She flips to the next notecard, the one for me, and I stiffen, my lips a thin line. Effie smiles brightly at me, as if trying to get me not to look like a statue, but I ignore that and focus on the question.
"Do you like the royal family?"
Relief floods my system. An easy one.
I try for a smile and nod. "I do. They've been very welcoming and friendly since the very beginning, and I've had the chance to get to know them." My words are too polite, but they ring true. And that's what I am going for, and what I've promised to do.
Effie gives me a smile, and I take that as she thinks I did good.
She moves back to Via.
All the questions vary. From our opinions of the royal family, to our favorite things at the castle, but most of the questions went straight to the point. Asher. They asked what we thought of him, if he has ever scared us in any way, if he has shared anything to us about the missing years. I understand why we have transparency for the questions. How could they trust us if we altered the questions? But the bigger question is, how do they know for sure we are telling the truth? Anyone can say the truth, but that doesn't mean they'll believe us. They could just call us liars anyway, even if we have spoken the truth.
I guess that's up to the people. Whether or not they believe us is up to them.
Effie asks me another question, "Did you like when Asher wore his mask?"
I almost cringe.
Honesty.
I feel as if Asher is watching me, listening intently for my answer. "Honestly, no. I didn't." I could just leave it like that, but I know I need to expound. "I don't really know who did like it. Some people could have thought that he was hiding, or he was a coward, or he was covering up some horrible scars, or that he was too ashamed of who he was, and maybe I had thought that too." I glance down. "But I didn't know him. And I judged him before I did, and that wasn't fair of me."
I can hear the crowd murmuring. I can't tell if that's a good thing or not.
But Effie moves on, asking Via another question.
My turn comes back too fast.
"What is the most attractive to you about the Prince?"
My mouth seems to have dried up.
I clear my throat. "Um... I really like how loving he is with his family. My family is very important to me, and to see that Asher really cares for his family, and would do anything for them, it really just mirrors what I feel for my family." I smile for Effie, and she returns it. I can hear aweing throughout the crowd, but I ignore them.
As Effie continues to ask the other girls more questions, I eye the crowd, getting past the bright lights, and seeing their expressions. I can't tell what they are thinking or how they view Asher now, but I can only hope that it's changed. That through our eyes, they can view him differently than the monster they think he is.
Effie turns back to me and I mentally prepare myself.
"What was your first impression of Asher versus how you see him now?"
I try not to think too long to answer the question. But I have to think back to a few months ago, to our first meeting when his back was turned to me, back to when he treated me with hostility on our date, to when he took off his mask to show us that Wyatt was him. It's easy for me to think of that, especially when it's being brought back up. But then I also have to remember the Asher I know now. The one who took me dancing, the one who protected me when the man at the restaurant came after me, the one who spent time with my family and laughed with them, and the one who can take me beating him in sparring.
I smile. I turn to Effie.
"Asher, when I first met him, could have been described as rude and cold. As I had stated before, I hadn't liked that he wore a mask, and for a long time, he did. We didn't get along very well, just in general. I was stubborn when it came to really getting to know him because of him wearing the mask, and the way that our first meeting and date went. They did not go well," I give the least amount of context, but I still receive a laugh from the crowd. "But the Asher I know now is kind, funny, protective, likes to dance," I laugh a little myself, "And he's my friend. I'm still continually getting to know him, but I like what I'm finding out."
I let out a deep breath when I finish.
Effie turns back to me in a matter of minutes. I'm sure she can see how exhausted I am.
"What's the worst thing Asher's done to you?"
I frown. My hands clench into fists. This sounds like a question Strom would ask.
My fire comes out quicker than I can stop it, "Is this really what you all think of him?" I can't help but ask a question of my own, eyeing the crowd. But the question bothers me, and I'm not afraid to let them know. "Do people generally think that there is nothing good about him? Yes, in the beginning of my friendship with him, I didn't like him. In fact, I avoided him. As much as possible." I glance down the row, eyeing Via and Kay, whose eyes are on me. Their encouraging nods keep me going. "But I did judge him before I got to truly know him, and for those who truly don't know him, are you judging him now? I mean, clearly, from these questions. But Asher isn't this person you all imagine him to be."
When I turn to Effie, her eyes are wide.
I tone it down.
"In answer to the question, the worst thing Asher has done to me was be rude." Like every human ever has been once in their life, I add to myself.
Effie moves on. I unclench my fists.
The evening continues on, lasting for what feels like forever. I feel more mentally drained as it goes on. Eventually, much to my relief, Effie dismisses us, asking us to leave the stage. I rise, along with Via and Kay, and we all walk, single file, backstage. I hear Effie addressing the crowd once more, saying her goodbyes, then the curtain falls, and I can hear the people cheering behind it. Heavy relief fills my bones and I let out a trembling breath.
Via squeezes my hand and gives me a smile. I attempt to return her smile.
Casey, Creed, Kohen, and Brylee are there as we reach backstage. Casey gives us each a hug. "Thank you all for your honesty." She pulls away from me and I see tears hidden between her lashes.
We are all escorted into the lobby of the hall. We are met with flashing lights and people shoving microphones in our faces. I swallow hard, taking a step back, looking for an escape. I spot Kohen, who is standing away from the crowd, making no move to join them. I push past everyone to join him. I stand next to him, clasping my hands behind my back, the feeling of relief now gone. I stay silent, glancing at the crowd, who are scrambling to talk to any of us, or the royals, and I'm glad that I escaped.
I don't know how long I am standing here, but when the people finally disperse, leaving only our original party here, save for Asher and Travis. We are given our change of clothes, and I lead the way to the bathroom to get changed. The dress I'm in is comfortable enough, but I'm ready to put on some regular clothes.
I pull on some black jeans with a deep crimson t-shirt. Brooke also left me my new trench coat Via got me, and I happily pull it on. I stuff my hands in my pockets as I stare in the mirror, wishing I had something to take off all my makeup. I look paler than I ever have before, but I only take my hair down and leave the bathroom.
I am ready for there not to be a crowd anymore. I step out, letting the door close behind me. Via and Kay are almost done, and I wait for them by the door. But when I glance toward the royals, I spot Asher there now. Travis is with him, along with a blonde woman, dressed with barely anything on, who is unfamiliar. She is standing very close to Asher, continually linking her arm through his. His response is to gently shove her off, dismissing her actions. I raise my brows, walking closer to all of them. By now, everyone has seen me, and Kay and Via who are right behind me.
No one makes any move to tell us who this woman is.
Everyone, including the king and queen, are tense. They make occasional glances toward the strange woman, but again, no one tells us who she is and what she's doing there.
I glance toward Via and Kay, who only give me blank expressions. They have no idea who she is either.
The woman glances at us girls. Then she glances toward the royals, and with one exasperated expression, turns to us again with a smile. "Hi," she sounds happier than I would have thought, since her makeup was clearly running down her face. She must have been crying. "I'm Tiffany Howell, Asher's girlfriend."
My brows lift in reaction.
Asher immediately whips his head toward her. Anger fills his expression, and he jerks away as she attempts to lace her arm through his again. "Tiffany!" His voice comes out as a yell, his tone holding exasperation and frustration. He looks as if he's barely holding his anger at bay.
Tiffany, eyes wide, shrinks away from him. She looks as if she's about to start crying again. She starts sputtering, her words inaudible, and that's when Casey steps toward her and wraps her arms around her, pulling her further from Asher. Simultaneously, Kohen steps in front of Asher, furiously whispering to him. Both men look upset.
Creed awkwardly clears his throat. We all glance toward him. "This is Tiffany, Asher's ex-girlfriend." He glances toward Asher, who stares back at his father, eyes hard, jaw clenched.
Tiffany looks as if she wants to correct him, but seeing as how he's the king, she holds her tongue.
We are then ushered to the car waiting for us. Casey, Travis, Asher, and Tiffany don't join us. Brylee walks with us to the car, trying to assure us that Asher no longer loves Tiffany, but to me, that much was obvious. Asher clearly doesn't want anything to do with her, but I'm sure Brylee wants to make sure we know, if we hear it from no one else tonight.
The drive to the ice cream shop is short. We all pile out of the car and head inside. I don't feel hungry at all, but for the sake of my stomach which is still churning from the interview, I order a small chocolate scoop in a bowl. I take my bowl outside, following everyone out to the tables. I take a seat next to Via, shoveling the ice cream into my mouth. Another car pulls up, and out comes Asher, Travis, Casey, and... Tiffany. Asher has given Tiffany his jacket, covering her up, and has rolled up the sleeves to his white dress shirt.
I frown, watching as they all head inside to get their ice cream. I glance toward Via, seeing her upset expression. She looks mad. I don't say anything.
Casey and Tiffany walk out of the store first, sporting their ice creams. Then Asher and Travis follow. Asher doesn't have any ice cream, but still takes his seat at the table with me, Kay, and Via. Unfortunately, Tiffany moves from her seat next to Casey and sits next to Asher, grinning at all of us.
"You know," Tiffany starts, "Ash and I, we're just so good together. A lot of people never expected it, but I always knew we would end up together some day." Tiffany gives us all a smile, and scoots closer to Asher, and he responds with a glare, making her stop.
But she doesn't relinquish in convincing us they're still together. Throughout it all, Asher ignores her, speaking quietly to Via and Kay, and he tries to speak to me as well, but it's a lot harder when she's sitting right across from me. She keeps reaching her hands out across the table to touch mine, as if appealing to me to listen to her, but I only keep pulling my hands away. It takes everything in me not to tell her to shut up.
Seeing a sort of escape, I stand, and spot the trash can to throw my stuff away. I walk slowly over to it, wanting to take as much time as I possibly could before going back to sit down. I haven't stopped clenching my fist throughout this entire time. Not only am I exhausted with having to speak in front of thousands of people, I have to deal with this lady who keeps spewing nonsense all over me.
By the time I turn back to make my way to my seat, Tiffany appears by my side. I don't let her see how startled I am. I try to make my way back to my seat, but she keeps talking to me as if I hadn't left my seat.
"Please tell me you aren't the only person here listening to what I'm saying." She looks exasperated. I swear, if she starts to cry again... "It's been hard enough, having to be away from him." She longingly looks back at Asher. "But now he treats me as if he's never known me. We're dating, for goodness sake! You would think he would be more gentlemanly than he has been this whole evening!" She looks like she wants to hug me, but I only stare at her, then walk briskly to my seat.
She follows along.
I almost slam my face into the table when she begins to keep talking about her and Asher, very loudly. I keep turning my body toward Via, keeping my attention on this group, and eventually, Casey calls Tiffany over to her table. I send her a grateful smile, which she returns, then turns to Tiffany, talking with her.
I see Kohen stand away from the table and travel to ours. His jaw is clenched just as hard as my fist is tightened. He takes Tiffany's seat and lets out a deep breath.
Asher glances at me. He gives me a concerned smile and I only bury my head in my arms for a second. I pull the trench coat close, listening to everyone else talk. I've talked way too much this evening.
Just as Tiffany comes and stands behind Asher, a car pulls up to the ice cream shop that she seems to recognize. Her eyes widen as a couple emerge from the car, frantically walking over to Casey and Creed, who are now standing. The couple, who I am assuming are Tiffany's parents, apologize without ceasing. Tiffany's mother grabs Tiffany's arm, pulling her toward the car. Tiffany barely fights her, although keeps calling out to Asher to come and see her whenever he wants. Once Tiffany is in the car, it pulls away and disappears out of view.
Creed, Casey, and Brylee join us at our table. I wait for someone to expound, but no one says anything.
"What was that?" I can't help but ask.
Casey lets out a deep breath. "When Asher was nineteen, he and Tiffany were engaged. They had been dating for a few years prior, and we all thought she was the girl he was going to marry. But Asher started hearing rumors about her, about her flirting with all of his cousins, being very suggestive toward them."
Asher dips his head, jaw clenching.
Kohen stares at the table, expression blank.
Casey continues, "Asher didn't believe them at first, of course. He gave her the benefit of the doubt. But he heard Kohen ranting to Brylee about someone flirting with him one evening, but when Asher asked him about it, he wouldn't say who it was. But Asher investigated, asking all of his male cousins, his brother, even his Uncle Lukan, who was still living with Mother Collette at that time. They all said the same thing." Casey lets out a sigh. "Tiffany wasn't the girl Asher thought she was.
"And when he confronted her about it, Tiffany didn't even deny it. Asher learns that she only dated him to become queen. She couldn't have cared less what Asher looked like or what he was like, she only wanted a crown."
Via, next to me, tenses.
I can feel Asher watching me. I don't look at him, keeping my focus on Casey.
The story continues. Tiffany was banned from the castle. Thus ending their engagement. Five days later she was found back in the castle, having bribed a guard to let her in, saying that she only wanted to beg him for forgiveness. But in reality, she attacked him as soon as she saw him. She woke him by throwing a lamp on him and screaming. She was found on top of him by the guards, beating him with her hands and feet. Asher ended up with two black eyes, a broken nose, and multiple cuts on him from the glass from the lamp. The only way they ended up keeping her away from him was to sedate her.
"Her parents were called immediately. When they arrived, they explained to us that Tiffany suffered from Psychosis, having multiple psychotic episodes when she was young. They seemed to have stopped when she reached puberty. She hadn't had an episode in ten years. But they think her breakup with Asher sent her over the edge. And even Asher agreed that she didn't seem like she was in her right mind when she attacked him. They searched her room soon after, and found a whole room devoted to pictures of him, revealing her obsession with him. The last we'd heard of her, her parents were admitting her to a mental hospital to receive help. We haven't heard anything from them since.
"But she had apparently been released, and came straight to Asher when she heard where he was going to be. It seems she had lost her grip on reality, and thought that instead of breaking up, they had gotten married, like they had planned."
Casey ends her story, glancing at all of us.
I did my best not to look at Asher throughout the whole story, but I felt his eyes on me in more than one instance during the story. I kept my expression the same the entire time. And when I glance at him now, he is watching all three of us.
I don't know what to say so I stay silent.
Casey doesn't look like she expects us to say anything.
Asher's expression is prompting, but no one else says anything. If they do, it's quiet.
Everyone has already finished their dessert, so it isn't long before we all travel back to the castle. The royals bid us all goodnight, and disperse to their rooms.
I know I won't be able to sleep, so I travel to the gardens.
—
I guess I should have expected to find him here.
Asher strokes swiftly throughout the pool, doing the freestyle. I wasn't walking anywhere in particular, but ended up here. I sit near the edge, my attention on my feet in the water. I had rolled up my jeans just enough so they wouldn't get wet. I glance up when Asher strokes cease, causing it to be eerily quiet in here.
Then he appears next to me, emerging from the water. I jump out of my skin, clenching my hands into fists, ready to throw a punch. I glare. He stifles a laugh and stands at his full height.
"What are you doing out here?" he asks, resting his arms on the side of the pool, turning his head to me.
I shrug. "What are you doing out here?"
He turns his head, facing the wall behind us. He doesn't answer my question.
"Why do you like swimming so much?" I ask suddenly, breaking the silence.
He doesn't take long to answer, "I guess it's like why you use the punching bag. Therapy."
"Who says I use that for therapy?" I ask with a sly smile.
He gives me a pointed look. Answer enough.
"Was it hard... seeing Tiffany?" I ask, even though I can already guess his answer. I splash around the water a little bit, waiting.
He turns to face me. "I definitely wasn't expecting it. And I definitely didn't want you all to meet her." Asher sinks back in the water, leaving only his head exposed. He watches me with a solemn expression.
"You afraid she would scare us off?" I joke, flashing him a smile.
But he has a hard time returning it. "From everything I've told you about myself, that isn't the thing I thought would scare you off." He turns to stare at the water.
"Are you really that surprised we're all still in this thing?" I cross my arms, leaning closer toward the water. The question wasn't meant to sound like a challenge, but Asher jerks his head up and shakes his head as if I've offended him.
"No." Then he pauses. "Maybe."
"I thought you would have thought better of us." I smirk.
Asher's brows crease as he frowns. "I do—"
"Asher, I'm just kidding," I interrupt, seeing how maybe this isn't the time to tease. He came out here for therapy. Not to talk about this. If I've learned anything, it's that he has to take time to think about things.
We share that in common.
And today was the day to have some sort of therapy. It was pretty bad.
He meets my eyes.
I wag my brows.
He glances away, but I see his smile.
I grin.
"As nice as swimming could be, I'll leave that to you," I say, taking my feet out of the water. Asher stands, watching as I yank down my rolled jean sleeves.
"You sure? It's nice in here." Asher gives me a grin.
I shake my head. "I'll stick to boxing as my therapy."
He gives me a sly smile.
"Actually, I'm getting out as well." He holds up his hand for me to pull him out. I roll my eyes, grasp his hand and pull. But he pulls as well, catching me off guard. I fall head first straight into the pool. I gasp as I rise from the water, my hair sticking to my face, but when I push it away, I see Asher grinning, slowly backing away.
"You're a dead man," I threaten as I point my finger at him, doing my best not to laugh.
"I was just kidding," he copies me, throwing his hands in the air.
"That's gonna be written on your gravestone." I wipe under my eyes, seeing the black that lingers on my fingertips. "Great, now I'm gonna look like a raccoon," I mutter, splashing his face when he comes closer, but he only turns his head.
"I'm sorry?"
He looks anything but sorry.
"I'm glad I could cheer you up." I shiver. The weird sensation of my wet jeans sticking to my thighs makes me uncomfortable.
"It did," he affirms.
I rise out of the pool, sitting on the pavement, letting all the water drip off of me. Asher walks closer. I narrow my eyes at him as I wring my hair out.
As I stand, Asher begins to rise out of the pool. I let out a sigh and extend my hand.
He raises a brow, but takes it. Just as he takes his first step out of the pool, I let go and let gravity take its course. He falls right back in the pool. I can't help my laugh.
"Oh, sorry Asher, I was just kidding!" The snark is real in my tone.
Maybe today wasn't so bad.