Chapter 4 Asher
Asher
My hands hurt from how tight I gripped my steering wheel while I followed River to Grayson’s house.
When he texted me the address, I’d let out the most obnoxiously loud groan in my car.
When River and Grayson met, my brother had just moved into my apartment with me when I was still living in Berkeley.
I’d wanted him to finish high school at the same school, so I waited until his senior year to start house hunting somewhere far away from our parents.
Grayson was living in Blyth, a city close by, and they’d somehow struck up a conversation at a fucking football game.
Next thing I knew, Grayson was hanging out at our apartment more and more, but I noticed a shift in my brother’s demeanor and a difference in the way he carried himself that thankfully caused me to have to worry about him less than I already did.
River had always been a confident guy, but I guess I always silently thanked Grayson for making sure my brother knew he could be that way all the time and not just for show.
I hadn’t been keeping up with my brother’s friends or I would have realized that between the spark of their friendship and now, Grayson—or at least his parents—had moved to fucking Santa Rosa.
It was nearly two hours away from San Jose, but River rode that death trap of a motorcycle like a bat out of Hell, so he could cut that down easily.
I tried to tell myself to stay calm and remember that speed limits were important, but I found myself not caring. I would pay off any ticket I got.
I rode in silence, not interested in any sort of distraction the radio could provide me.
Once the GPS got down to one minute I started to pay more attention to the houses around me.
It wasn’t a fancy neighborhood, but it was hard to tell anything this late at night.
I parked behind my brother, in front of what I assumed was Grayson’s driveway.
Lights turned on near the front of the house, likely motion detectors for security reasons.
They gave me a better view of the exterior, which had a Spanish style to it.
The lights let me see the red terracotta roof and the arched windows.
There was a small patio that was lined with succulents that appeared to be thriving.
River knocked on the door, seeming calm despite what I knew was going on in his head.
I didn’t need mental powers to figure that out.
The door opened and a woman who favored Grayson far too much to not be his mother stood before us.
Her neutral expression turned into a smile when she saw River.
My brother gave her a half smile that I could tell was forced; his eyes flicked over her shoulder, quickly scanning the area behind her.
“River, gabi na, what brings you here?” she asked, tucking a piece of her dark hair behind her ear.
“Is Grayson home?”
She nodded, moving aside so we could come in.
River was already taking off his shoes and leaving them by the door.
Mrs. Ypulong was watching me expectedly, nonverbally telling me to do the same.
I took a small look around, the small Jesus figure hanging in the living room catching my attention, along with a few candles that decorated floating shelves that lined the walls.
“He came home a few hours ago. I was shocked when he wouldn’t eat.
He’s been quiet for the most part. Ang saya ko na nandito ka!
He must have called you.” She peeked a glance at me.
“I’m his brother.” I casually pointed to River. “And I’m a professor at the school.”
A man with short hair and a thin frame came from another room and settled beside her.
He reached out and patted my brother’s arm.
“River, mayasa akong makita ka. Grayson told us that meeting at the school wasn’t anything for us to concern ourselves with; he doesn’t really like us driving so far out if we don’t have to.
He worries too much. Since someone from the school is here…
is there something wrong? He said that the business with his scholarship was fixed. ”
As much as I wanted to shout that there were some things they needed to know about their son, I refrained. “He was right. Nothing to worry about, I just tagged along for the sake of my brother.”
River raised his eyebrow for a moment and then rallied. “Yeah, I couldn’t meet up with him after the meeting, so I told him to call me when he was settled at home. Can I head up?”
Grayson’s parents shooed us up the stairs, which creaked during certain steps. River rapped his knuckles on the door and we waited.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I whispered.
River ignored me. “Grayson, it’s me. Can we come in?”
I let out an exasperated sigh. I was usually the more collected one, but right now, his friendly approach was irritating the fuck out of me. I shoved him out of the way and turned the doorknob, throwing the door open.
Grayson was sitting on his bed, his knees pressed to his chest. He had his head down and if I hadn’t noticed the way his fingers flexed, wrapped around the front of his legs, I would have assumed he was asleep.
Shadows wafted off of him, swirling around his body.
River moved around me while I closed the door.
“Grayson…” River said softly, hovering next to the bed. “What did you do?”
Grayson lifted his head, his eyes a little glassy as if he’d been holding back tears. He looked up at River and then me, letting a choked sigh leave his lips. “I-I…I’m sorry.”
“We understand that. What exactly are you sorry for?” I pressed, crossing my arms and leaning against his dresser.
“Is Riley okay?” Grayson asked, his voice shaking.
“That’s not something we can really answer right now.” River ran a hand through his hair, small pieces sticking up and not going back into formation.
“She’s alive. That should make you happy, right?” I narrowed my eyes.
Grayson widened his eyes at me. “Of course it does, I never hurt her! I brought her back home and made sure she was safe.”
“Safe?! Bringing her back home covered in blood is your definition of fucking safe!?” I pushed away from his dresser. “The way she says your name doesn’t really put you at the top of the list of people who would never hurt her.”
“Why do you even care?” he asked, his dark eyes piercing into mine. This whole conversation wasn’t about me or whatever feelings I did or didn’t have.
“This is about you and the fact that you are going to open your fucking mouth and explain what the hell happened after Riley’s necklace was destroyed.”
Grayson pressed his hands to the side of his head and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know she was involved!”
I knocked his desk chair over, letting it slam against the ground. “Involved in what? You being fucking sorry doesn’t mean anything to us or to her unless you explain what you did.”
River got in front of me, pressing his hands into my chest. “Calm down and shut up. Yelling at him is not going to get us anywhere.”
I remained in my brother’s face, never losing eye contact. “Do not fucking coddle him.”
“I’m not,” River hissed. “I’m trying to get the whole story, and that won’t happen if you don’t stop yelling at him. He’ll just retreat into himself.”
I lifted my hands up, scoffing. “He’s your friend. You know him better than I do.”
“I-I didn’t know anything about her necklace or about what she could do. Once it all started, I was t-told to take her. I didn’t w-want to, I swear, b-but you don’t understand…”
River turned around and sat on the bed. “You were told to take her?” He turned his head to look at me, but I nodded towards his friend. He didn’t want me to open my mouth and scream at him, so I kept my thoughts to myself at the moment.
Grayson fidgeted a little as if he was afraid to say his next words. “Yeah.” He grabbed River’s arm, pulling at the fabric of his shirt. “You have to b-believe me. I-I didn’t know she was involved. I didn’t know she was who he was looking for.”
River ripped Grayson’s hand from his shirt, keeping his hand over his when he sat on the bed. “Who told you to take her?”
Grayson bit his lower lip, a few tears that had welled up in his bottom lids finally dropping down his cheek. “Your dad.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, getting closer to the bed.
“I thought since nothing we’d done had worked then they would just leave me alone. Our deal was done.”
River moved his hand away from Grayson’s. “Your deal? You’ve been working with my dad to somehow get to Riley for whatever reason you aren’t fucking telling us?”
Grayson shook his head. “No, well, we did have a deal, but I didn’t know about Riley. River please! I wouldn’t have done any of this if I had known that she was the one he was looking for.”
“What did our dad want with Riley?” I inquired, inclining my body towards him so I wouldn’t miss a thing.
Grayson wiped his hands over his cheeks. He tried to reach for River’s hand again, but my brother kept his hand away. Grayson tried to keep the look of hurt from his face and continued, “He needed her for Chancellor Fowler.”
“Chancellor Fowler?” I asked, remembering how Riley had mentioned him before.
Grayson smacked his lips together, gathering his words. “He’s the one who killed Mr. Monroe.”
“Wait, what?” River scrubbed his hand down his face.
“And he’s her real dad.”
I nearly choked. “What the fuck, Grayson?!”
“I didn’t know! I went to figure out shit with my scholarship and Chancellor Fowler and your dad were there waiting for me. They gave me an ultimatum; I either do what they asked or I lose my scholarship and my entire life, everything I’ve fucking worked for would be completely fucked.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose; surprised steam wasn’t erupting from my ears with how fucking pissed off I was. I let out a humorless laugh. “You shadow wielding little shit. The disappearing witches…that was you.”
“Yes, but I brought them back!”