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I’d never seen anything like it, and I didn’t know
what to do. I wanted to run over there and help, but they were almost as big and strong lookin’ as Asher, and I admit, I was scared.
Real scared.
The fight was still on, because he punched into Asher’s gut again, this time makin’ more of an impression. Asher nearly crumpled over, but instead he launched his knee up as they grappled, and planted it into the fella’s stomach.
The two of ‘em sank to the gravel of the parking lot, and the guy went to grab at Asher’s face, but he beat the fella down with some more hard blows of his concrete fist until he was hunched over the thug’s bleedin’, battered body.
“Stop!” I screamed, running over to Asher, trying to get that sickening crunch of bone and flesh meeting with such force and impact out of my head. I flung my arms around Asher’s shoulders, trying to pull him up, “We gotta go!”
His fist was bloody, but Asher got up and together we ran to my truck. We climbed on in and started it up, drivin’ off. It wasn’t until we were back on the road that he spoke another word.
“Shit!” he swore, slamming his fist on the wheel angrily. “Fuck! How’d they know to search around here?!”
He was angry, confused, and confusion only made a man angrier I found.
But I didn’t have any answers. I barely even had any questions, and I leaned back in the passenger seat, my heart beating so fast as a freight train.
He wasn’t safe here. Not anymore. Not from whatever he’d done.
What could he have done that was so bad as to have those men lookin’ for him?
Drugs?
Worse?
I shuddered, and suddenly felt so cold, as if it weren’t a beautiful summer’s eve.
We drove on back to the farm in silence, though after we got there Asher stayed motionless. The truck was shut off, but he stared, his mind off in another world. Whatever he’d done was serious, and the consequences were followin’ him. It obviously weighed heavily.
“I’m sorry for staying. I thought the odds of them tracing me here were so slim…” he lamented.
“Asher,” I whispered, my voice so quiet. “What’d you do?”
He delayed a moment before tensing up and sitting straight.
“Nothing you should be punished for, that’s for sure, Shelby. I should get out of here tonight, even if I’ve got to hitch my way,” he said, opening the door and climbing out on his way to the house.
“Don’t be silly, Asher!” I said as I opened my own door, dropping down to the ground and slamming the door shut behind me as I stalked after him.
“If you really gotta go, I’ll drive you somewhere, but not ‘less you tell me what you did!”
“I already told you,” he said as we got to the door, though Asher froze as he looked back, and I peered along with him. It was light comin’ from the direction of Marcus’ family farm, a truck by the look of it.
“It’s probably just family comin’ over,” I said, as the truck began to turn down the drive to my place, just as I predicted.
“Maybe something’s wrong,” Asher said, releasing the door and staring with a worried expression.
“Everythin’ about this seems wrong, Asher,” I said and there was panic in my voice. I’d never felt so frightened, not in all my days. “Just tell me what we need to do.”
We got our answer just a moment later though, when the truck pulled up to a halt and out came Marcus, hands up as if we had him under arrest.
“Don’t fuckin’ hit me,” he said defensively, his jaw a little bruised I could see. Asher merely clenched and unclenched his fists, standin’ his ground.
“He’s not gonna hit you, dummy! He only hit you because he thought you were a burglar sneakin’ around in the middle of the night, trashin’ his bike. You’re lucky I don’t hit you!”
Marcus bristled at my remark, but he seemed to bite his tongue.
