She sat up in bed, heart pounding at her ribs like it wanted out.
Ashar lay beside her, one arm flung over his eyes, the other resting on his bare chest. Peaceful. Still, maybe too still.
She watched him breathe, slow and steady, like nothing was wrong, as if he didn’t know how close she was to breaking.
Blair slipped out of bed and padded into the kitchen. The floor felt colder than usual. She poured coffee with shaking hands. She didn’t want to lose him. Which, of course, meant she probably would.
That’s how it always worked, right? The second something felt real, the world yanked it back, as if it remembered she didn’t deserve nice things.
Ashar found her twenty minutes later, wrapped in a hoodie and staring at her bookshelf like it might answer something she hadn’t asked yet.
“You’re up early,” he said, voice low and rough with sleep.
“I couldn’t sleep.” She didn’t turn around. “Bad dream.”
“About me?”
“No.” She hesitated. “Yes. Kind of.”
He came up behind her, warm hands resting on her waist. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s the problem,” she whispered.
He stilled. “What?”
Blair turned to face him. Her eyes were shiny, but her voice didn’t crack.
“I keep thinking about it,” she said. “Letting you go before the magic decides for me. Before it hurts.”
Ashar’s expression didn’t change, but something shifted behind it, like a tide pulling back. Ashar didn’t flinch, but something behind his eyes flickered like he’d already lived this moment. Like he’d lost people to fear before.
“Blair-”
“I almost said it,” she admitted. “The words. The ones that would make you leave.”
“But you didn’t,” he said quietly.
“No.”
She stared down at her hands. “I just needed to know if I could.”
Ashar stepped forward and gently tipped her chin up. “The choice isn’t a curse, Blair. It’s a door. And you don’t have to open it yet.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m scared I already have.”
He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. “Then I’ll stay until you’re sure.”
Blair’s breath hitched.She didn’t say stay. She just let herself fold into the moment like it was the last time.
Because someday soon, it would be.
9
Haunted, Not Cursed
Ashar took her out.
No concerts or rooftop bars or surprise candlelit dinners, but on a date that fit perfectly for them, and perfectly suited their Midwestern surroundings.
