Chapter 40
1025words
He played deaf to her words, hurrying to his room. Lily quickly caught onto his intention to disappear into his room and instantly hastened her steps, and managed to squeeze herself in right on time before he shut the door behind him.
"Asher please," she grabbed his arm, and walked around to meet his gaze. "I am so..." Her words slowly died down on her lips when she noticed his glossy eyes and the paleness of his face. "Asher..."
"Please leave, Lily."
She shook her head, tightening her hold on him. "Asher, you look pale and your eyes are..." Her sentence was interrupted when he suddenly fell to his knees, and he breathed shakily..
Lily's eyes immediately widened and she immediately crouched to his level. "Asher, what's wrong?" She held his face, and tapped his cheeks in panic. "Asher... Asher! Please take deep breaths. Deep breaths please."
Asher struggled to hear her over the sound of his own breathing and the ringing in his ears. His vision was blurry, and the person he was sure was Lily a minute ago, suddenly seemed like his mother and she was... She was...
" Asher! " Lily's scream jolted his mind and the person was once again, Lily, although blurry. He could tell it was her now. " Please take a deep breath, please. No, think of a color, three colours! Red. Pink. Orange. Think of them"
He struggled to draw a proper breath in, but after several attempts, he finally felt like he could breath again, but he was exhausted. Each breath he took felt like strength was getting sapped out of him and he was struggling to hold onto it.
Lily sighed deeply and slumped against the floor, the adrenaline and fear rooted in her body a while ago disappeared and was replaced with exhaustion, but she refused to let go of him.
They both stayed on the floor, each trying to recover their strength and pry off the bone aching exhaustion they felt.
Lily was the first to recover.
"Come, let's get you to bed." With great difficulty she was able to get his body off the floor, and with even greater difficulty she managed to drag him to the bed and helped him lie down.
Once he was settled, a deep sigh left Lily's lips and she squatted before him, taking in all his features. Her chest squeezed painfully inside of her when she realized she was the reason all of this happened, but at the same time she couldn't understand why. She just attempted what she thought was a harmless prank.
She bit the insides of her cheeks as she gently reached for his hand and held it softly. "I'm so sorry Asher, I shouldn't have gone that far to prank you. I'm really sorry, " She mumbled, caressing his hand softly with her thumbs." I'm so sorry. " She smiled through the tears forming in her eyes.
After staring at him for a little longer, she sighed and placed his hand properly on the bed before she stood up. "I'm going to let you rest now. I'll come and see you later." She gave him a tight-lipped smile and was about to walk away when she felt his hand enclasp around her wrist.
"S-stay." Lily's brows shot up and she turned to get a better look at him, and Asher was staring at her through hooded eyes, his breaths were coming out in pants. She gulped and opened her mouth to say something, but he immediately cut her off. "Just stay, Lily. Please."
She rubbed her lips together, deliberating on if she should agree or not.
Asher sensing her hesitation, adjusted on the bed and tapped the side beside him. "Please stay with me, Lily." His plea instantly melted away all of her hesitation, and she got into bed with him.
She thought they'd just lay beside each other, but Asher debunked her assumptions by wrapping his arm around her and her eyes instantly widened, but before she could react, he pulled her closer to himself.
"I thought I almost lost you today, Lily."
Lily's heart skipped a few beats at his words, and she placed her hand on her chest as if to placate her heart, and stop it from beating right out of her
"I- I am sorry."
Moments of silence passed as their breathing slowed down and soon matched each other's pace. Being held in his arms felt natural, it felt like safety and soon enough, Lily was melting into his hold. Warmth spread through Asher's chest when he realized she was leaning into him, holding her felt like everything he's ever wanted and he was glad she felt the same.
"Can I ask you a question?" Lily asked, breaking the silence, and Asher hummed in response. She tucked her bottom lips in between her teeth and bit on it as she thought over her question.
Finally, she expelled a breath and looked up to get a good look at his face. "You don't have to answer if it's too difficult "
Asher s brows knitted together suspiciously, and he held her gaze for a few seconds longer before he slowly bobbed his head. His curiosity spiked on what her question would be.
"Is there any other reason why you got so scared when you saw me drowning?" Asher's eyes immediately went blank as if a bitter memory passed through his mind, and Lily instantly regretted asking the question. "It's just that you got a panic attack from that, and you... Don't answer it. You don't have to answer it. I don't even want to know anymore."
He breathed out and pulled her closer to himself. "Do you have time to hear my sob story?"
Lily slowly nodded, meeting his gaze.
"Well, here goes nothing... " He took a deep and shaky breath, preparing himself to recollect one of his most painful memories. "It is my mum... She died by drowning."
