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Kylie is right, I need to get my shit together. I have been running from the possibility of love for too long, allowing my past pains to dictate my choices.
I’m too exhausted to make any real decisions right now, and go to bed to try and get some sleep. But I keep tossing and turning through the night. When I turn over and look at the clock on the nightstand stand, I let a few colorful curse words fly.
It’s already midnight but I don't see sleep anywhere in sight, so I get out of bed, get dressed, and head back out. The streets are quiet, and it’s clear the last of the reporters have followed Asher back to Chicago.
I find myself drawn back to the Treehouse. I climb the newly placed wooden ladder, and step onto the platform.
As a kid, I was in awe of the Treehouse, but later thought it a deathtrap waiting to fall. But with Asher and the others repairing the old thing, I could forget my fear.
I can't help but smile at the familiarity of it all. The Treehouse had always been a sanctuary, our escape from the world. Where we could be ourselves.
Settling onto the new wooden floor, I gaze out the window at the stars twinkling above. I don’t turn on the lamps. I want to see the stars and the glow of the moon tonight.
The memories this place holds always come to the surface when I'm here. And tonight is no different. I remember the first time I noticed Asher in a romantic sense.
It was right here in the Treehouse on a warm summer evening. Asher and I, along with the others, gathered in our respective places. Me by the window facing the woods, Kylie and Madi at the front windows facing the house, while Asher, Jaxson, and Knox hung off the platform balcony.
We had spent the earlier part of the day at one of the rivers messing around, as teenagers do, and then came back to the Treehouse. We got snacks from Mrs. Kendall to take up, and we sat around making jokes, laughing, and sharing stories between us.
It was a hot day and Asher took off his shirt—all of the guys did. Madi just had her bathing suit top on, but Kylie and I were a bit more reserved.
I remember a warm breeze hitting me through the window, and I reached back for my cup of lemonade. Though we were still a little wet from our time at the river, Asher decided he was still a little too hot and poured water over his head and body. In typical mischievous teen style, he shook himself, sending sprays of water at Madi and Kylie.
He made fun of them, asking if he or the other guys looked like their teen fantasy heartthrobs on TV. He flexed and ran his hand down his hard chest to the elastic waistband of his swim trunks, making lewd jests. The others laughed, but I swallowed as I watched his hand move almost in slow motion over his wet chest.
I had never thought about his body like that, but now that he drew my attention to it, it put the thought in my mind and I couldn’t stop my imagination. My body also suddenly acknowledged the change in the way I saw him.
And I think he also felt the moment my body had come alive. His laughing gaze turned toward me, and he did a double take. His eyes turned dark, and a warm pooling sensation began to form low in the pit of my stomach.
I quickly turned away as I tried to understand what that new feeling was.
I smile at the memory as I lie back on the floor. Feeling safe here, I let myself drift off to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
ASHER
My layover flight back to Willowcreek is delayed. I’m stuck at the airport for hours until I eventually catch a red-eye flight.
I arrive at five-thirty in the morning, and head directly to Sam’s hotel from the airport. I'm anxious to talk to her, no matter how early it still is.
I ask the hotel front desk to call her, but she isn’t answering the room phone.
After insisting the hotel staff do a wellness check, I'm simply told, “There has been no incident in her hotel room.”
Either the hotel is really good at protecting their guests’ privacy, or she isn’t in the room. I go with the latter.
Where the hell else would she be this early in the morning?
Worried, I have no reservations about calling Madison and Kylie. Madi curses me out for waking her half an hour earlier than her alarm. She says she doesn’t know where Sam is, but tells me to give her some more time to process everything.
Kylie is a little bit more pleasant about my early morning call. She says she isn’t in Willowcreek at the moment, but that she did talk to Sam yesterday. Same as Madison, she tells me to give Sam time to sort out her head around the madness.
I sigh in defeat, deciding to wait a little longer before seeking her out again. But almost immediately after, I’m overwhelmed by the need to take care of another matter.
I pull up to the house, and step out of the car. I walk up to the front door and as I raise my hand to knock, I hesitate. Years of emotional abuse are scary to confront it seems.
I laugh bitterly at the thought that the big and tough quarterback, Asher Stoll, is afraid of facing his own father. Most men would see my size and quake, yet I’m the one who’s quaking right now.
