Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 93 - Clan-ing

Asher

"I couldn't leave, Pay," I tell her, looking into her beautiful eyes, seeing their olive-green irises and long lashes, like a deer's, as if for the first time. I never get used to how lovely she is. 

"I keep on hurting you and figured it would be best just to end it and go now rather than wait any longer, but I couldn't leave. Why can't I ever cross the town borders?" I ask as if I don't already know the answer to that.

"Because you're an idiot, and you shouldn't be leaving in the first place," Paisley tells me, using her fingers to tickle my hair off my forehead."Anyway, I own you; you're mine, and you won't get very far without your heart, Dummy!"

We've been lying in my shelter for a while now, just holding and looking at each other, neither of us really wanting to speak and possibly make things go wrong again. These last few months, we've become so good at making things go wrong.

"Besides, what about the gym? Are you just going to let Coach down like that after everything he's done for you?" she raises a valid point I'd been wrestling with all night. "Doesn't seem fair. He doesn't deserve that. And Jake was going nuts, looking all over for you. And Tan..." she swallows, looking away from my eyes, and now a million alarm bells are ringing in my head.

What is that look on her face about?!

"What about Tan?"

"Nothing," she says, and I can tell that it is not nothing at all. "I kissed Galen, you know?"

If she's trying to divert my attention from whatever it is that caused that look of pain on her face, she picked the perfect words. I can feel my muscles tense from the tips of my toes to the roots of my hair, and I suck in a long, steadying breath, which I now don't know how to let out again without screaming.

"And how did that work out for you?" I hear myself mumble, and I'm extremely impressed by my level of self-control. I don't sound homicidal at all.

"I'm lying here with you, aren't I?"

"Pay-"

"He said that he doesn't want to be my second choice or my re-bound guy and that there's no way that you'll ever leave me; you'll stick around and stalk me instead to make sure I'm safe."

That is not a bad idea! 

Why didn't I think of that? Instead, I got stuck at the town border and spent the night brooding and stressing. Well, I think I've come up with an alternative, which could be good, but I'm now leaning towards the stalking idea too. I'm a bit surprised by the fact that Galen seems to know me so well. We never talk to each other or hang out, except at the gym, and then it's just gym stuff.

"So, he rejected me, and I spent the night with Hunny and Alice... I'm that pathetic."

"I spent the night struggling to keep the rain out of my shelter," I scoff, running the tip of one finger down the side of her face. "I think I take the prize when it comes to being pathetic."

"Yeah, you kinda do, but that's not why," she grins, scratching the stubble covering my jaw.

"Shut up," I laugh and hold her tightly when she snuggles up to me, stroking her hair, breathing in her scent. This is home.

"I saw you dance..." I finally admit. "I couldn't stay away. I snuck in the way I always do. You were amazing, Pay!"

"Stalker," she says, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Help me pack up so we can go home?" I really want to get home and see Tanner. I did not like the look Paisley gave me when she said his name, but she is not going to tell me anything now. I also would really love a hot shower after a cold night of sporadic rain. It wasn't storming like earlier this week; It rained just enough to be annoying.