Asher King's life has revolved around putting up an involuntary mask to hide his true self. With successful parents boasting about his 'pretend' success, Asher feels as though the life he is living was never his to begin with, and a home of happines...
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I lightly knock on the apartment door. After hearing a minor commotion behind the door, the door swings open to reveal a smiling Oliver.
"Hey, kid. Didn't know you'd be over today," Oliver beams.
"I wanted to surprise you," I say happily.
"Well, come on in," he gestures inside. "Where's your key, by the way?"
I shrug my shoulders and Oliver laughs in response.
I step forward, not to walk in the door, but to give Oliver a big hug. He immediately hugs me back as we stand in the middle of the doorway.
"You okay, kid?" Oliver questions, concerned.
"Hm, yeah. I just have a lot on my mind."
"How about we talk about it for a little bit? I'll make you some hot chocolate too." He says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
"That sounds perfect," I mumble into his chest before pulling away.
He closes the door behind me as I walk into our apartment and settle on the couch. I flick through the T.V. channels while Oliver stalks over to the kitchen to make some cocoa.
"Asher, why are you out of school today anyways?" Oliver questions from the other side of the kitchen island.
"Um, Leo said that he didn't want me going back to school without him. I also am in a lot of pain still, so we thought it would be better if I stayed home. I'm sorry. I hope you are not mad at me."
"Don't worry. I'm not mad. I understand," Oliver says with a smile. "Where is superstar anyways?"
I giggle at the nickname. "He went to the flower shop to help Esther out, and then he is going to the gym. He'll be over in a couple of hours if that's okay with you?"
"Hey, no need to ask for my permission." He grabs the two freshly made cups of steaming cocoa and hands one to me before settling on the couch. "Remember, kid. This is your house just as much as it is mine. But hey, no funny business with your boyfriend while I'm at work." He points a playful finger at me.
"No promises," I mutter under my breath.
"I heard that," Oliver declares with a roll of his eyes.
I smile, "No you didn't. But is it okay if one of my friends comes over in like thirty minutes?"
Oliver deadpans, "Kid, what did I just tell you?"
"Oh...right," I laugh.
"Anyways," Oliver starts, "How are you feeling?"
"About?"
"About school, physically, emotionally, about social media, just anything. I wanna make sure you are okay about the whole situation," he says, looking straight into my eyes with all the fatherly care in the world.
