Then and now

Chapter 10: Ashers POV

Rage fills my body as I see Amira, completely out of it being taken advantage of by a stoner. 

The only emotion I feel is anger as I watch her weak body being man handled. 

I came out for a run to clear my head. My dad kept yelling at me, saying I needed to step up in my football for next year. 

I needed to get out of the house. Why he decided to discipline me about football at 1am, we will never know. 

The last person I expected to see was Amira. 

She is sitting on a park bench, with a drink in hand and prominent bloodshot eyes that can be seen even in the dark. There is another 3 people with her, one being a girl with curly hair and 2 guys who I already don't care for. 

Amira looks completely out of it and unable to take care of herself. I don't know what she had, but it has to be a mixture of stuff for her to be that distant. 

The guy next to her has a blonde buzz cut, that stands out even in the darkness. He has his arm around her and is clearly trying to get closer. 

 I have to force myself not to go over there. Every instinct in my body wants to go straight up to blondie and punch him in the face as hard as I can. 

His mouth moves to her neck, and I notice her trying to push him off in her weak, drunk, and disoriented state. 

That's enough for me. 

I don't feel as if I am in control as I cross the park over to where they are. 

"Hey man, what do you want?" Buzz cut tries to intimidate me, but you can clearly see that I am double his size. 

Though old habits tell me to get on top of him and punch him until you can't recognise his face, I know that it will only make matters worse. 

I look over to his friend with dreads and remember that it's two against one anyways. I would probably still win, but still. 

"Nothing. Just keen to take Amira home." Amira looks up as I say her name, and her eyes light up. She looks like she just saw an angel. 

Curly haired girl looks at me confused and then something in her brain clicks. 

"Asher?" She giggles and looks at Amira, who nods, also grinning. 

"Yeah. I'm gonna go now, come on Mira." Buzz cut is staring me down, with an angry look in his eyes and a glare that wouldn't even scare a puppy. 

Fucking stoner, thinks he runs the world. I've met my fair share of them back in NY, but at least they weren't about to take advantage of a girl. 

It makes me even more mad that it's my girl he's trying to take advantage of. 

I have this undeniable need to protect Amira and care for her, and I have no idea where it comes from. It's just there, and I can't ignore it even if I want to. 

I take her hand and she gets out of the seat, looking absolutely exhausted. 

She doesn't even turn around to say goodbye, and we just walk through the park with her hand in mine. 

I try not to think about how perfectly they fit together. 

She stumbles and my hand quickly wraps around her waist to stabilise her, like a reflex. She holds onto my forearm for the rest of the way, both of us silent. 

I can't help but wonder why she was with them. I have to assume that she's friends with the curly haired girl, but she looks a lot older than both of us. 

I did not realise that she was a drinker, or a smoker. It's caught me off guard. I knew that she was keeping things from me, and I guess this explains a lot despite how shocking it is. It explains the bloodshot eyes on the first day that I arrived here. 

Once we arrive at her house, I lead her upstairs quietly and she crawls into her bed straight away. 

I bring the blanket to her chest and take off her shoes, making sure she is comfortable. 

I try not to let my curiosity get the better of me and I don't look too hard around her room. 

I go to leave when her small voice fills my ears. 

"Asher?" She pokes her head out of the blanket and opens her eyes. 

"Yeah?" 

"I'm really, really, really, happy you came back." She looks embarrassed, like those words don't make me the happiest man alive. 

"I'm really glad I'm here too, Mira." She smiles and rolls over. 

"You have no idea." I mumble to myself, not really wanting her to hear.