8. Maya
eight
Maya
“ W hat else am I supposed to do? Go out there and fight the person? I don’t know if you’ve seen me, but I'm not a fighter.”
He turns to me suddenly and walks up and around the counter, his large frame towering over me. I’m intimidated, but I don’t break eye contact.
“Believe it or not, princess, I have seen you. All the more reason it pisses me off that you’re just so nonchalant about this.”
Something inside me snaps with his words.
“Nonchalant?” I spit at him, and his jaw ticks at the sudden change in attitude.
“Tone,” he warns.
“I’m not nonchalant about anything! This directly affects me,” I snap my mouth shut as I realize my slip-up.
“How?” he says sternly. I jump out of the tall chair and try to make my way around him, only for him to grab me and push me back. The space behind the counter only had one exit, and he was blocking it.
“It doesn’t matter,” I try, not making eye contact.
He takes a step towards me, and my back is now against the wall. My heart is racing. He puts an arm over my head, towering over me. His hand reaches down under my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes.
“Why do you care?” I say, slightly flustered. Even though he was just holding me with his fingertips, it was firm. His chest heaves as if he is angry.
“Doesn’t matter," he says, taking another step towards me. His chest is now only an inch away from mine, and I bring my hands up to him to try and give myself space. Everything inside me screamed to let him come closer.
“When it’s my business, it matters,” I snap.
“People are dying,” his words sting me, and I feel my eyes brim with tears. This catches him off guard, and he loosens his hold on my face.
“I know that,” I whimper. “And if I could fix it, I would. I’m not connected. My grandmother may have been, but she’s dead now, so there’s nothing that I can do about it even if I wanted to.”
Asher hesitates for a moment before crouching down in front of me. His face is below my chest, and he looks at me with slate-gray eyes.
“Rumors began going around when I was younger. She had bad connections with people in the city and sometimes spoke about those coming into town and buying up the land.” My lip begins to tremble as I recall the memories.
Asher brings his hands up to my hips and begins gently rubbing circles into my hip bones as if trying to soothe me.
“I believe you,” he says.
Tears are streaming down my face at the confrontation, and he immediately stands up and cups my face in both his hands.
“When did this really start?” He asked me.
“Everything started to get really bad about a week ago,” Asher freezes as if my words connected some dots for him.
Asher composed himself before rubbing his thumb over my cheek, wiping a tear away. Without thinking, I lean into his touch, and his chest vibrates as he hums in response. He touches his face and kisses my other cheek, where my tears fall.
His kiss was gentle and featherlight.
“It’s been a long day," he says, suddenly picking me up. He swings my legs up and holds me with both arms. As we walk through the shop, he shuts off any lights and blows out candles, leaving the shop completely dark.
The day finally catches up with me, and I realize how worn out I am. I lean into him and close my eyes, allowing his body's warmth to envelop me. As we go up the stairs, Asher freezes, and his gaze jerks to the front window.
“Asher?”
He doesn’t move.
“What’s wrong?” I grip his shirt in my hand and look up at him; he’s clenching his jaw.
He suddenly looked at me with a soft look. "Nothing, princess. I think this upcoming storm is going to be a bad one." He continued to walk upstairs and quietly shut the apartment door behind him.
I find myself drifting off to sleep before he sets me in bed.