16. Maya
sixteen
Maya
W hen I woke up, the entire apartment was pitch black, with only the soft glow of the moon shining through my window. I sat up and turned around to see Asher asleep behind me and Nicholas curled up at the end of the bed.
I slide out of bed slowly and walk over to my small kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water and glancing at a clock; though it was completely dark outside, the clock read 7:30. My body had aches and pains, and was sore in various places, making me move slower than usual. Just as I go to complain, a vision of Asher slowly sliding into me flashes through my mind, and I shut my mouth.
My stomach growled, and I went to my dresser, grabbed a slip-on dress, and slid it over my head. I then slipped my stockings off and tossed them in a pile next to the chair before going downstairs.
I made sure the front door to the shop was locked before heading into the kitchen and preparing a quick meal. I glanced at the downstairs clock again, and a hand towel sitting on my counter from earlier that day caught my attention.
The events from that morning begin replaying in my mind, and I feel a tear slip down my cheek. Within a second, Asher is behind me and hugging me tightly.
"What's wrong, love?" He holds me close to his chest.
"Nothing. I'm still just getting over what happened this morning." I rub my tender wrists, and Asher grabs my hands gently before bringing them to his lips and kissing them softly
"Asher," I whisper. My heart raced at the thought of asking the question, but something inside me needed to know.
"Yes, love."
"What was that? What were you?"
I can feel his heart begin to race against my back, and he hesitates for a moment.
"I don't know if now is the best time to discuss that, Maya."
His answer hurt me deeply, and I turned away from him, pushing his arms off me.
"Then, when is the best time? When someone else attacks me?" I couldn't help the anger that radiated from my voice.
Asher cringed at my words and stood there like an embarrassed puppy.
"Asher, you're here. And if you want to stay here, I have to know what's going on."
Pain flashes across his vision, and he crouches in front of me, grabbing my hands and bringing them to his forehead.
"There's no happy explanation." He doesn't look at me. "I've been this way for hundreds of years, and I will be this way for hundreds of more years."
"I don't understand."
"I'm asking you to trust me." He looks up at me, and his eyes are on the brink of spilling over with tears. "I'm asking you to trust that I will always do everything in my power to ensure that no one lays another finger on you. All I ask is that you trust me."
"I trust you", I say. Even though my mind screamed to press the issue, it was true. I did trust him, so I left it at that.
He stands up and embraces me, hugging me tightly against him. He goes to the woodstove oven a moment later and begins putting wood inside.
"What are you hungry for?" I call out to him.
"Your shepherd's pie was rather good. Can I request that again?" He stands up from the over that's now glowing with fire.
I smile, grab my apron off the hook, and prepare the ingredients.
"Can I help you?" I glance over my shoulder and see Asher standing in the doorway. His towering body barely fits in the doorway.
I smile at him before grabbing a nearby spare apron and walking over to him. He bends over slightly, and I slide the apron over his head. I walk behind him and tie it loose around his waist.
"I imagine you don't cook much, huh?"
"My dear, your food is the first food I've had in a very long time." He smiles warmly at me, and I feel my face heat up.
I hand him a knife and position him behind me. I hold his hand and slowly begin slicing a potato with him.
"Asher."
He hums at me in response.
"Do you think the break-ins are tied to why you're here?"
He hesitates. "I don't know," he says finally.
I didn't bring the conversation up again, and Asher and I spent the next couple of hours cooking before finally sitting down to eat.
"What's the winter solstice festival?" He calls from across the kitchen. He's standing bent over and reading my calendar, which I have hung in the back of the kitchen.
"It's a festival where all the shops set up stands in the town center, and everyone walks around trading goods." I take a bite of food.
"Is it super important?"
"It's one of the few festivals that the entire town looks forward to all year," I say, smiling warmly at him.
"Is it something you must prepare for days in advance?"
"Typically, why?" I take another bite.
Asher walks over to me, holding my calendar in his hands, and points at the date, and my mouth nearly drops to the floor.
I snatch it out of his hands and turn it over, flipping the page back and forth, hoping that the dates will change.
"You can teach me how to bake, too," he says, smiling.
I set the calendar down and lay my forehead on the counter's edge.
"It's gonna be an all-nighter for me," I say, defeated.
"Maybe you can skip out this year." Asher takes a seat.
"Asher, I've been participating since I was ten. I can't skip out this year, especially not this year. Everyone needs each other more than ever with everything that's been happening."
"Well, how much must you prepare for this thing?"
"Well, typically three days in advance," I feel a nauseous feeling building in my stomach. The thought of everyone being disappointed in me is almost more than I can bear.
"Well, you have eight hours," he says, glancing at the clock.
I stare at the clock momentarily, and a sudden wave of sadness overtakes me. I sit down in the chair and begin quietly eating my food.
Asher stands and walks over to me, crouching in front of me. He spins me around to face him.
"You don't have to do it alone, you know that, right?"
"I've always done it alone, Asher. I haven't had any other choice."
"Well, you have a choice now. I will stay up all night with you and bake as much as you need. I'll stay up for days if you need. Just tell me what you need me to do, my dear."
"It's gonna be a long night," I say. I look at him and smile weakly.
"I'm spending it with you. There's no issue on my end."
I laugh, and Asher smiles at me.
"Go eat your food," I slap him on the shoulder.
We sit there in silence for a bit, and I stare at the swirling ink on his arms as he zones off.
"Asher."
"Hm?"
"Could you give me a tattoo?"
He stops chewing and looks at me.
"They're painful."
"I know, but I would like one, and I don't know anyone else that can give me a tattoo. I don't know anyone else that I want to give me a tattoo." I break eye contact and take a bite of food.
"Well, what tattoo would you like? Have you thought about it?"
"I think I want a goat's head on my hip bone."
Asher stops chewing completely and stares at me. Something deeper is behind his eyes, but it's beyond my comprehension, and he smiles deviously.
"I can absolutely do that for you, little one. Why don't we do it tomorrow after the festival?"
"Thank you," I whisper. My heart races at the idea of getting a tattoo and going through the pain. A small goat seems to be the only reasonable tattoo that I could ever get in my life.