Fragile Bones

Chapter Thirteen

The wind was blowing quite hard and it made me wrap arms around myself so I could try and stay warm. I was waiting for Asher (he was late again) by sitting on the school steps. Most of the kids here had already left, so I was left almost on my own. I began to wonder if he would even bother showing up at all. Considering what happened this morning, I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. I had never seen him so angry before and to say the least, it frightened me a little bit. Although I know it wasn't directed at me necessarily, it still freaked me out. He hadn't said a word to me after that today and I noticed he was absent from gym, making me even more skeptical about him coming over to my house.

Speaking of that subject, it made me a little anxious that he was coming to my house. For one, it would probably be pretty messy since I hadn't expected him to actually show, and second, I really didn't want to open my door and have my parents arguing right inside. That would be a real downer on our studying. At the same time, I hoped one of them would still at least be home so I wouldn't be alone with him. He's proven that he's a perverted bastard already, and who knows what he'd say or do if we were alone.

The coldness finally got to me so that I rose to my feet so I could try to warm up by walking around a little bit. Instead, I got extremely lightheaded and stumbled back a few steps, reaching out to grab on to something so I wouldn't fall over. I felt someone grab my shoulders to steady me and I tried to blink the clouds away from my vision. I squinted my eyes and looked behind me to thank whoever hadn't let me fall to the ground and saw that it was Asher.

"Thanks," I mumbled, pulling away from him while he looked at me worried. "I just stood up too fast," I tried to explain quickly so he wouldn't ask any questions. I started walking down the steps while he jogged to catch up behind me. "Car or bike today?"

I heard a faint, "car," from behind me and scanned my eyes over the parking lot to find the black car he owned. "Why the rush sweetheart," he asked, sliding past me so I was now the one trailing behind him. The misogyny.

"Because you've already kept me waiting," I muttered, still not over the fact that this was now the second time I've had to wait for him. And I groaned when I realized I would also probably be the one doing the majority of the project work when we got to my house. Maybe I could actually convince him to do something if I promised him some food. Thinking about food reminded me of how hungry I was feeling at the moment but I pushed the thought away. If I didn't eat today, then I would have a two day fast, which would be a great example of my growing self control.

"What can I say, I'm a very popular guy. I had a lot of girls waiting to talk to me," he responded, grinning at me from over his shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sure you did," I answered sarcastically, rolling my eyes. He turned around with a glint in his eye and a small smirk on his lips. At the same time, he was walking backwards still advancing towards his car. I was kind of impressed he didn't trip, but then again not everyone is as clumsy as me.

"Was that sarcasm I heard?" He asked, cupping a hand around his ear. "I think my confidence is rubbing off on you sweetheart. When I first talked to you, you could barely say two words to me and now look at you." He turned back around and stopped at his car, unlocking the doors.

I frowned realizing he was right. I couldn't muster up any courage to talk to him when I first saw him in class but now I was giving him sarcastic replies? We hadn't even known each other that long and Asher's already had an effect on me, clearly. I blushed involuntarily and slid into the passenger seat. My blush obviously didn't go unnoticed by Asher, but he didn't comment on it.

He started the car and drove off. I was about to tell him my address but he interrupted me and said he remembered from when he dropped me off at my house that one time. I grew silent again and stared out the window at the trees, now only half full with brown leaves. Soon it would be winter, and the trees would become completely devoid of life. The thought made me slightly melancholic. I had never really been someone who liked winter; I'm pretty sure I even got seasonal depression. There's just something more comforting about the sunshine and warm air. The one solace winter brought was my chance to wear long shirts and pants without feeling uncomfortable with the temperature. It was a perfect excuse to hide my potato sack of a body.