Asher(44)
“Just a friend, Mom.” Audrey rolls her eyes.
The reason for the general disquiet is now clear. “Your mom’s here?”
“Yeah. She wasn’t supposed to come, but decided to drop in unannounced.”
“Okay.” I straighten where I sit. “You must be happy to have her around.”
I haven’t seen Audrey’s mom in many years, but she always seemed like a nice lady.
Audrey ducks her head. “Sure. I missed her.”
Her reply leaves me frowning. She doesn’t sound as excited as I expected her to be. “You get along fine, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah.”
Good. It’s none of my business anyway. Not all parents are like my dad. I need to remember that.
I lean toward Audrey again and brush red curls out of her face. “Want me to come another time?”
She sighs. “I think that’d be—”
“Audrey.” Her mom stands at the door of the room, squinting at me. “Who’s your friend?”
She hasn’t recognized me. Not sure how I feel about that, I stand up and stick out my hand. “Asher Devlin, ma’am. We used to be neighbors. I don’t know if you remember—”
“You.” Audrey’s mom takes a step back, the blood draining from her face. “Your father... What are you doing here?”
My stomach drops. I don’t know what to say. I’ve let my defenses down because Audrey confessed she doesn’t blame me for this. I never thought how her mom must feel about me—and now I know.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Morrison, I meant no disrespect—”
“Get out.” Audrey’s mom points a trembling finger at me. “Get away from my daughter.”
“Mom!” Audrey stands behind me, fists clenched at her sides. “Stop it.”
“You stop it, Audie. He’s the son of your father’s killer.”
“And he’s my friend.”
In my shock, I let her step in front of me. I reach for her arm. “Auds...”
But Audrey’s on a roll. “You always say to forgive people and move on, and besides, it wasn’t his fault.”
“That’s different. Nothing against the boy, but dating my only daughter? My baby girl? No.”
Shit.
“We’re not dating,” Audrey says, glancing back at me, her eyes uncertain.
Not dating. Right. We haven’t talked about that. We made out, started talking. And now...
“I’ll go,” I say.
“Damn right you will,” Audrey’s mom says.
Audrey opens her mouth and for a second I think she’ll stop me, that she’ll tell her mother to shut up.
But she doesn’t. Instead, she says, “Ash, I think you’d better go.”
Yeah.
I shrug and leave, letting the door slam behind me. Fuck hope. Fuck believing in something better. I never learn, do I? Well, I’ll be busy tonight.
Looks like I have a fight to prepare for, after all.
Chapter Thirteen
Audrey
Seeing Ash leave, his body hunched over as if in pain, threatens to breaks my heart. He came to talk to me, he made the effort, found the trust, and all I can do is watch him go. I want to stop him, but I have to hash this out with my mom first.
I walk into the kitchenette to face her. “Mom, how could you say those things to him?” The same things I told him. The realization stings. “You were harsh.”
My mom sighs. “I know, but seriously, Audie, what were you thinking? Of all boys, why him?”
“Ash is a great guy.”
“Great guy? You told me he kept getting into fights. Did he even finish high school? Besides, you told me you couldn’t stand him.”
Oh god, I really did say all those things. “That was then. This is now.”
She looks at me hard. “You can do so much better than him.”
“Much better? What am I, a princess?” I huff. “He’s been nice to me.”
“His father...” Her voice breaks, and my chest tightens.
“I know. But that’s his dad, not Ash.”
“Audie...” Her voice softens. “Apples don’t fall far from the tree.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Anger is building inside me. I understand why she’s so angry with Ash—hell, I was, too. But I’ll make her see how wrong she is, like Ash has done with me.
“You should stay away from him. His father’s a drunk and a violent man, and so is Asher.”
“They’re not the same,” I say. “You can’t judge him by what his father did.”
“God, girl.” She leans against the counter. “Asher’s father had to stop boxing because he almost killed a man once, and it’s no secret he drinks. As for Asher, don’t you remember how he got suspended from school all the time, how he kept getting into fights? He walked around bruised on most days, and his brother wasn’t any better.”