Rogue Queen ➵

➵ XIX. The Past Can Leave Scars

Thursday, January 4th, 2018, 10:00am

Asher's POV

One day.

One more day until they leave.

Until she leaves.

I've tried convincing her to stay, but nothing's changed her mind. I've suggested that she goes back for a few days then comes back here, but she's declined that too.

I still feel like Rei's holding me at a distance. I've tried getting closer to her, but she kind of shies away from me.

Raiden and Clove have gotten close. Clove's decided that she'll go back with the others for a week or two, then come back to stay here. Scott and Dean have become close friends with Killian and Zaine too, often hanging out together. Chase and Rhea have wormed their way into our hearts too, and I know my friends and I would do what it takes to protect them.

"What did you want to talk about?" Rei asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.

We're at the house she and the other five are staying at. They're all downstairs with Raiden, Scott and Dean. I asked to talk to Rei alone for a while.

I sit in the chair at the desk. "Just... Why do you seem to keep some distance between us? I get that we don't have the best past together, but I thought we agreed we'd try to make a relationship between us work. Everything is in the past now, but I feel like you're still holding on to it."

Rei's eyebrows furrow. "I'm not. I get that you've changed, and genuinely feel guilty and regretful. And I do want to try a relationship with you."

"Then why does it feel like you don't want us?" I ask, my wolf coming forward slightly and speaking with me, our voice sounding slightly hurt.

Mentally, I wrap one arm around Jayden's neck, and he leans against me, licking my cheek affectionately. I'm glad I managed to fix things with him after what I did to Rei. It took a long time, but after months of him not talking to me unless it was cussing me out, and him giving me many migraines, he decided I'd been punished enough.

Rei hesitates. "I..."

"Rei," Jayden says gently. "You can trust us. I promise, you can trust us."

She looks at us, her eyes meeting ours, then sighs softly. "I guess I'm just... Scared. Scared of letting you in, only to... I don't know, have you follow the path of your dad or sister."

Jayden growls softly as he steps back and gives me full control.

"First of all, he's not my dad, not anymore," I say, my eyes narrowed, arms crossed. "Second, just because they chose to cheat, doesn't mean I will. I'm my own person, and while I can be an anger-driven ass, cheating isn't something I'd ever do."

Rei studies me, her eyes searching for any hint of dishonesty or anything like it. She won't find any, I mean what I said. I'll never cheat.

Rei comes over to me, kneeling next to me and resting one hand on my leg. "I'm sorry, Asher, for assuming. But you have to understand that I can't trust as easily as someone else can. It'll take time."

"And I'm willing to wait," I reply, gently grasping her hand. "I'll wait as long as I have to. But probably not without complaint, I'm not exactly the most patient person out there."

She smiles and nods. "I didn't really get that patient vibe from you."

I chuckle softly, "guess we both have some things to work on then."

I lean forward and give her a kiss. Just a small, quick kiss.

"Come on," she says, smiling. "They're probably wondering what we're up to."