Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
Theo Pembroke
Beckett burst through the doors of the visitation room, his face twisted with rage. One look and I knew his meeting with his dad had gone south.
After he spilled what his father had said to him, we jumped in the car and headed straight for Asher’s.
Though he hadn’t mentioned going out when we left the apartment, I pulled up his location on my phone—he still had no idea he’d shared it with me when we moved in together.
When we first moved in together, he’d shared his location with me as a precaution—a lifeline in case his father ever came for him.
The memory of his trembling hands as he’d shown me how to track him still haunted me. His dad wasn’t exactly tech-savvy; if he ever did something to Asher, he’d never think to disable the phone’s tracking. That little blue dot was our insurance policy.
Plus, living downtown, we could never be too safe.
People went missing sometimes. Students, even.
Back then, sharing locations was just what friends did to keep each other safe.
I never imagined those little blue dots would map the journey to where we are now—somewhere between friendship and something more.
At least, that’s what it became for me. With Beckett, I’d spent years wondering if he felt the same.
Now I couldn’t even ask Asher how he felt.
The steady beep of his monitors counted the minutes while he lay unconscious.
The doctors spoke of “when” not “if” he’d wake up, but I’d heard those reassurances before—sitting beside my grandfather’s bed, watching his chest rise and fall until, suddenly, it didn’t.
Same smell. Same machines. Same lie.
But this one was one of the best in the city.
It was a further drive from his father’s rundown neighborhood, but I wanted him to have the best care. I couldn’t take it if something happened to him because we waited, though.
I lost it when the hospital staff asked for his parent’s contact information.
The nerve—demanding the number of the man who’d put Asher in this bed, who was now sitting in a jail cell where he belonged. And his mother? Gone. Vanished years ago without so much as a forwarding address.
My hands were shaking until Beckett’s firm grip steadied my shoulder. Now here we were on opposite sides of Asher’s hospital bed, each holding one of his limp hands, waiting for his eyes to open so we could promise him that somehow, everything would work out.
I wasn’t sure if Beckett would echo the same sentiment.
Beckett had already planned his escape route.
He wasn’t going to be staying with us. Not now. I hoped he would come back, but everything was up in the air. I trusted that he’d find his way back to us, that Asher and Beckett could get past this. I knew Asher’s heart, and I heard what he said.
But it wasn’t me he hurt.
Beckett and I had a conversation earlier, outside of the room, afraid he’d wake up and hear us.
“What are you going to do, Beckett? I’ll support you no matter what.” He was pacing around the hallway, trying to process what we overheard, what his dad told him.
Because it was true. Asher was trying to get dirt on Beckett.
Now he couldn’t tell reality from fiction, but I knew Asher’s heart.
Asher might’ve gone along with what his dad ordered him to do, but he didn’t want to after getting to know Beckett.
His feelings were real, but I couldn’t convince Beckett of that; only he could.
“I don’t know. I want to go somewhere else, but I don’t have anywhere,” he mumbled, realization dawning on him.
His older brother moved, his younger brother lived in campus housing, and he didn’t want to be near his mom.
“Let me put you up in our hotel,” I offered, my expression pleading with him to accept.
Our first hotel ever was started in Seattle. Now, my father had locations in every major US city. One day, I was expected to take over. I had never questioned my place before…but I loved creating videos with Beckett and Asher, and I saw a new future for myself now.
He shook his head. “No, I can’t do that.”
My hands found his shoulders, halting his frantic movement, and I met his gaze directly.
“Yes, you can. I am partially to blame for bringing him into our lives. You need a safe place to think and decide your next steps…even if…it’s without us.
” My vision blurred, and I blinked hard, forcing it back.
If I started crying, I wasn’t sure I’d stop.
“Okay. Fine. Only because your dad has an excellent taste in his bedding, and they’re so comfortable,” he responded, crossing his arms against his chest.
I perked up when I felt Asher’s hand jolt in mine. Beckett must’ve noticed it, too, because he lifted his head from the bed he was lying on.
“Asher?” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the hospital machinery.
A low groan escaped his lips as consciousness returned. His eyelids fluttered open, gaze darting between us with a disoriented back-and-forth motion of his head.
“Phone,” was the first thing he said, his voice sounding like he no longer knew how to use it.
“Beckett and I grabbed the phone. We found it. We didn’t give it to the police. We brought it to you,” I explained.
“I was going to tell you, I swear. I needed time to fix it all. I didn’t know he had the videos. I didn’t give them to him, I promised,” Asher choked out, each word scraping past his swollen throat, his voice frantic and on the verge of panic. “Is my dad in jail?” he asked.
Beckett nodded. “He’s where he belongs. Now we both have a dad in jail,” he said, his voice more serious than teasing this time.
I sighed. “What were you thinking, Asher? You could take that drunk old man, I know you could!”
I watched a tear slide down his cheek. “I…wanted to hurt. Wanted to feel the pain. I deserved it for even thinking of hurting Beckett. But if I fought back, they might’ve charged me, too. I didn’t want him to be able to talk his way out of his,” Asher explained.
He was so fucking stupid, risking his life to try to prove and redeem himself. But I heard him tell his dad off, tell him he didn’t want his trust fund—something else we had no clue about.
Asher had been rich.
He wasn’t wealthy like us, but he still had a trust fund coming. A trust fund he’d been ready to walk away from, though ironically, with his father behind bars, he’d probably gain control of it sooner.
All this time we misread him—thinking he resented Beckett’s wealth or was jealous about that kiss with his sister. The truth was simpler and uglier—his father had poisoned him against Beckett from the beginning, making him the scapegoat for their family’s problems.
The truth had finally caught up to Asher, and I could only hope we hadn’t reached the point of no return.
“I’m…sorry,” he muttered, his eyes finding Beckett’s. “I told him I didn’t want it. I didn’t care about any of it anymore if it meant hurting you. It doesn’t excuse that I accepted his deal in the first place, but I…I’ve fallen in love with you, Beckett.”
Watching him confess his love to Beckett didn’t make me jealous—our connection was too solid for that. When his gaze shifted to me, though, my breath caught in my throat.
“And Theo,” he said, voice cracking slightly, “I’ve loved you since that first day on your doorstep. You two aren’t just people I care about—you’re where I belong. I wish I’d seen that from the beginning.”
Beckett ripped his hand away when he realized he was still holding onto Asher’s. “I can’t just forgive you right now, Asher. I’m sorry you got hurt, I am. But I’m going to be staying at a hotel for a bit. Not sure when I’ll be back.”
Asher nodded his head. I squeezed his hand harder, so he knew I was here with him and wasn’t going anywhere.
“I don’t need you to forgive me, Beckett.
Truly. If you decide to never talk to me again, I’ll own it.
Just…make sure you don’t take that out on Theo.
You love each other. I won’t stand in the way.
Just know, in the end, I chose you. I’m sorry I didn’t do it quick enough.
” Asher’s voice was softer now, more quiet, but still strained.
“Rest,” I ordered. “Beckett’s going to head to the apartment to get his stuff, then head to my dad’s hotel. He’ll come back when he’s ready.”
I stood up, sadly letting go of Asher’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”
Asher’s voice, weak but urgent, reached us before we could leave. “Hold on,” he said, making me freeze mid-step.
“The phone. The code is my birthday. Destroy everything. He hacked into my cloud account, and I promise to turn it off for the future so no one can get access. Those memories are private. They belong to us.”
I nodded and grabbed the phone from my back pocket, handing it to Beckett. “It’s yours to destroy. He tried to ruin your life with these videos, you should hold the power over them.”
“No matter what happens with Asher, I love you, Theo. I always will. I’ll…see you soon,” he said, turning and walking away.
Our goodbye lacked the usual affection—no embrace, no tender kiss, no whispered declarations. But this wasn’t our final chapter. The words and touches could wait for his return, when we’d have not just tomorrow but thousands of tomorrows stretching before us.
This wasn’t the end. I wouldn’t let it be. I felt it in my soul. Deep in my bones.
Once Beckett was gone, a nurse showed up in the room. A doctor came in a moment later, examining Asher while I sat nearby and watched. He threw a smile in my direction to let me know he was okay.
When the doctor said I had to leave the room so he could talk to him, Asher refused.
“The good news is your scans all came back good. No lasting damage that we can see. Your blood pressure dropped earlier from the lack of oxygen to your brain, and you have a concussion from trauma to your head, but you’re doing good otherwise.
You’ll make a full recovery. It’ll take a couple of weeks, so take it easy for now.
Follow up with a physician in two to three weeks.
For now, do you have someone to watch you overnight and wake you up every few hours?
” The doctor explained, looking between us as if he was trying to determine our relationship and if I’d help him out.
Asher nodded. “Theo’s my roommate and my boyfriend. He can.”
I blinked, caught off guard by the word “boyfriend” falling so naturally from his lips.
Something warm bloomed in my chest as he claimed me in front of this stranger—no hesitation, no stammering explanation.
The doctor’s simple nod of acceptance hit differently than our classmates’ knowing glances ever had.
The doctor nodded. “Very well. I’ll discharge you and get your paperwork to you shortly. I’ll go over your care with Theo and things he should do overnight, questions he should ask, and signs he’d need to bring you back. I don’t expect anything, though.” He smiled before heading out of the room.
I only wished Beckett would be there to help me care for Asher. I knew he cared. I knew he’d help me if he hadn’t been hurt and run off, but I couldn’t fault him for making the choice.
“Thank you, Theo. For saving me,” Asher said, smiling at me. “I’m not the best at showing it, mostly because I’ve been holding back due to my secrets, but…I love you. I don’t deserve you, but I can’t help how I feel.”
I bent forward, my lips brushing against his warm skin where a bruise was beginning to form on his forehead. “You deserve me, Asher. You deserve good things. I love you, too. I’ll go pull up the car to the exit.”