Chapter 081
HANNAH
He was there, leaning against my locker, obviously waiting for me.
Asher.
I sighed. He and Julia had more or less been avoiding me lately. I had begun to hope that it would stay that way. Unfortunately, the universe rarely granted my wishes.
I looked to my right. I could walk back the way I came and take the longer route to the next class. I could come back for the books in my locker later after he was gone.
Too late.
I saw him straighten and look directly at me. This confrontation- if it was a confrontation- had to happen then.
As I got closer to Asher, the smell hit me, the smell of a sweaty, unwashed body and stale perfume, probably applied the day before.
There was a glob of something that looked like sauce or ketchup on the collar of his shirt. I felt my eyes widen a little in surprise.
Even though his heart was as black as night, Asher was always neat on the outside. He dedicated enough time to his appearance, always ensuring he looked spotless. So why did he suddenly look like he had discarded his habit?
His hygiene wasn't the only issue, though. There were red-rimmed bags under his eyes. He looked terrible, like someone who had been crying or had not slept in days. Whatever was wrong with him, I really hoped it had nothing to do with me.
I stopped a few places away from him and crossed my arms over my chest.
"That's my locker, and you're blocking it," I said sharply. "Just go away, okay? It's early, and I don't want any trouble."
"I'm not here to make trouble," he said.
Wow. That was a first.
When he didn't look like he would be moving away from my locker anytime soon, I decided it would be best to walk away. I started to turn.
"You fucked them, didn't you?"
I froze and slowly turned back to face him. Asher's voice was loud and accusatory. Luckily, the only students in the hallway were too far away to hear us properly. Although out of the corner of my eyes, I saw one of them turn and look in our direction.
"Answer me, damnit!" Asher snapped.
"What the hell are you even talking about?" I retorted. "And you're in no place to yell at me."
"Don't play dumb with me! You know who I'm talking about. It's those three assholes you run around with, the Wallace brats!"
I struggled not to show how surprised I was. The only people who knew I had sex yesterday were me, Cade, Jace and Chase. I wasn't sure Willa knew because I hadn't even told her yet. Had Alpha Dawson hired someone to spy on me after all? But even though it was highly unlikely, they would know what happened yesterday.
"Why are you suddenly interested in who I sleep with?" I asked, choosing my words carefully.
Asher aimed a vicious kick at my locker. The look in his eyes said he would love to kick me instead. "I know you did it! Just fucking admit it!"
"And exactly how do you know?"
"Because I couldn't sleep." He waved his hands in front of his face. "Don't tell me you don't see this too, that I look like shit! I also feel like shit. I felt every single thing they did with you. The more pleasure you felt, the more pain I felt." He drew in a shaky breath. "It was like a sharp, hot knife was pushed into my chest over and over and over again. I was up all night, trying to endure the pain as you got screwed. Can you imagine how the hell that felt?"
I felt my eyes narrow.
Asher looked sincere. He sounded sincere. But it was impossible for him to have felt it. Back when we were still mates, I felt the pain too, but it was sore because we still shared the mate bond. I rejected him several weeks ago, so the mate bond between us was dead.
I didn't believe him. I shouldn't believe him. Maybe this was another dirty trick to attack me or something.
"What you just said isn't possible," I stated firmly. "We are not mates anymore, so what I do should be none of your business. Perhaps your wolf has abandonment issues, that should explain it."
He shoved his fingers through his already messy hair that stuck up all around his head. "You think I'm lying? Why would I even want to lie about this?" His brows furrowed. "Do you think this is a joke?"
"I don't care if it's a joke. You're spying on me, a dirty thing to do, but then I'm not surprised. It's you, after all. In case you've forgotten, Asher, our mate bond is broken. That means neither of us can feel any pain when we're with other people, so yes, I think you're lying."
"The pain started in class. It continued on to late at night. Thirty-one minutes past two. Rings a bell, doesn't it?" he added, noticing my startled reaction. "That was exactly the time you were first marked. Look, Hannah, I don't know what the hell you did that day, but it's obvious that your stupid rejection didn't work."
"This conversation is over. I don't feel any mate bond between us, and I know I never will again," I said, hoping I sounded as unconcerned as I wanted to. "Go home and deal with your problems. You look like shit."
I turned and walked away, leaving him swearing and kicking lockers with such force that a couple of them flew open.
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