Chapter Twenty Eight - He is hurting...

Farrah

I got pulled from my sleep with my phone ringing. What the hell? It is still dark outside. I grabbed it, seeing it was two a.m., and it was Stuart calling me. I quickly answered in case something was wrong because he doesn’t call me.

“Stuart, is everything OK? Is Violet, OK?” I asked, panicked.

“She is fine, sorry for calling this late, but I couldn’t get a hold of anyone else,” Stuart said, “Asher is in a bad way, Farrah, and I can’t drive because I have been drinking, and we don’t have money on us,” He added.

“What do you mean he is in a bad way?” I asked.

“He has taken God knows what, he can’t even stand,” He said, “And then he tried to fight with some guy, and Asher came out worse off. If I wasn’t here, he could have gotten worse from the guy and his friends,” He added.

“Where are you both?” I ask.

Stuart told me the address. It would take me nearly an hour to get there.

“I will get there as soon as I can,” I say, hanging up.

Why does he keep getting me into these damn things? And why do I keep letting him? I couldn’t leave him there, though. I got out of bed, pulling my sweats on before quietly sneaking out of the house. I put the address Stuart gave me into my phone. Why were they at a party so far away, anyway? I am certain parties were happening closer to home. I put my music on, hoping to keep myself awake until I got there. I wasn’t going to get back home until probably after four a.m. I was going to be exhausted and end up falling asleep in class.

I swear, see, when Asher sobers up, I am going to kick his ass. I don’t know why he insists on getting himself into this kind of state. He was going to end up getting seriously hurt if he continues like this. It was selfish of him. He should be thinking of Grandma. I swear, sometimes I want to slap some sense into him. I have seen the other sides of Asher, and the side he seems to show everyone else isn’t the real him. Or maybe, the side he shows me is the lie, and who he shows the rest of the world is his true self.

I got lost in my head as I drove, and the hour seemed to pass quickly because I arrived at my destination. I see Stuart sitting outside, Asher next to him, but he looked like he had passed out. I shook my head and parked the car.

I got out and went to them.

“Thanks for coming, Farrah, and I am sorry I had to call you,” Stuart sighed.

“It is alright,” I said, “Is he OK?” I added.

“He will be,” Stuart said, “He is refusing to move, though,” He added.

I kneel next to Asher.

“Asher, get your drunken ass up off that damn ground,” I said sternly.

“Farrah?” He slurred.

“Yes, now move,” I said, annoyed.

“You need to help me up,” He laughs, looking up at me.

He has some cuts and bruises on his face, sick down his tee. His eyes were popping out of his head.

“There is nothing funny about this, Asher,” I said.

Stuart helped me get Asher to his feet. He could barely even stand. He stumbled, luckily Stuart grabbed him before he fell. We finally got to my car and put him into the back seat, Stuart sitting in there with him.

“What is he on?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but a few things for sure,” He said.

“Why did he get himself in such a damn state?” I asked.

“Because he is hurting,” Stuart said.

“Over what?” I asked.

“I think you know the answer to that, Farrah,” He replied.

“So you are saying this is my fault?” I asked.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” He said, “I mean, the way he feels about you is getting to him because Asher doesn’t catch feelings like that,” He added.

Feelings? What feelings? Asher doesn’t have feelings for me. He has made that clear with his actions.

“Asher doesn’t have feelings for me,” I said, shaking my head.

“Yes, he does. He just doesn’t know how to show you them,” Stuart said.

“He can get any girl he wants, so trust me, he doesn’t want me,” I said.

I swiftly changed the subject, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Stuart thankfully left it at that. Silence filled the car after that.

“I need to see, Farrah,” Asher slurred out of nowhere.

“Asher, you are in Farrah’s car,” Stuart said.

“I need to tell her I am sorry,” He said, “I need to stop her date,” He added.

I don’t think he was getting it into his head that he was in my car, and I was sitting right here. After that, he fell silent again and was snoring.

“We can take him to mine,” Stuart said, “I don’t want to take him home in this state,” He added.

“OK,” I said.

I am glad he could go somewhere because I know if his Grandma saw him in this state, it would upset her, which is the last thing I want.


***
We had arrived at Stuart’s, and I gave him a hand to get Asher in and down to his room. We laid him down on the sofa, getting his tee off, and Stuart went to get them some water and pain killers for the morning. I looked around for a blanket, finding one and placing it over Asher.

I crouched next to the sofa and pushed the hair away from his face.

“Why do you keep doing this to yourself?” I said sadly, “You are better than this, Asher,” I added, gently running my fingers over his cuts and bruises.

“Farrah?” He whispered.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“I am sorry, baby girl. I should have done better,” He said sadly.

“Get some rest, Asher,” I said, kissing his forehead.

I stood, going to walk away, but he grabbed my hand, tugging at it.

“Stay?” He asked.

“I can’t. I need to go home,” I reply.

“Please? Just for a little while?” He begged.

I didn’t want just to invite myself to crash here. I would need to be home before my parents get up, which would be in a few hours.

“Farrah, you can stay here if you want,” Stuart said, coming back in.

“It will only be a couple of hours. I need to get home before my parents wake,” I said.

He nodded and got himself into bed. Asher was looking up at me from the sofa. He scooted over, tapping the space next to him. I hesitated for a moment but went and lay beside him. He pulled the cover over us.
“I am sorry, Farrah,” He said again, “You deserve better,” He added.

“We can talk about it tomorrow, Asher,” I said.

I know there was no point in having this conversation when he was drunk because he would remember it. He nodded, pulling me close and wrapping me in his arms. He soon fell back asleep. It took me a moment, but I found myself drifting off, eventually. It felt nice being in his arms.

I have no clue how things would be when I see him when he is sober, but I am too tired to even think about it right now.