Phoenix ✔️

Chapter 26: Advance

That night, I have difficulty falling asleep. On top of the nagging fear that Colin was out there somewhere, waiting to get me, there is one thing that I can't get out of my mind. Asher. No matter how hard I try, my thoughts that night could not shift from Asher. Something about him was just so intoxicating.

So much that it leaves me for half the night pondering about him. While lying in bed, with Dom lightly snoring in the other room, and Lara sleeping through it, I'm thinking about every aspect of Ash that makes me want to go in for more.

His infectious smile, his gentle, yet attracting facial features, his beautifully complicated brown eyes. I can't stop thinking about it. The conversation we had earlier that day plays on repeat in my head, like a broken record. His soothing, calm voice makes me want to melt in the bed.

The tone of his voice, which mirrored nothing but sympathy and guilt, is stuck in my mind, like someone glued it to my brain. Even though I've only seen him for a few times, and only gotten to know him so much, I feel a connection to him instantly.

Despite the fact that Colin limited our personal relations, I feel like I'm being pulled in closer and closer by the second. No matter how hard I try to pull away from the magnetic force, I'm yanked in harder and faster. Eventually, I do fall asleep, but with the thought of Ash lingering in my mind ever so gently as I do.

****

"So, tell me all the juicy gossip. How was your day at Dom's office?" Elena asks on the couch early the next morning. She's hugging a pillow close to her chest like a crazed fan girl.

I roll my eyes. "Ah, don't get your hopes up too much. I got to meet a lot of his coworkers. I met one from Qatar, which was pretty cool. How was your day without insulting Dom? It must have been such a hard day," I say, as Elena rolls her eyes.

She flops back on the arm rest of the couch, still clutching the pillow. "Oh, don't lie to me, Nicole. Something must have happened at the office. Not even a cute guy here and there?" she asks.

I roll my eyes, as Elena raises her eyebrow at me in a suspicious look. "Well, I did see my brother in law there. Apparently, he works there, which I still kind of don't know why. But he explained to me why he thinks my husband abused me. He says that I look like his ex-stepmom, who was abusive to him and his siblings, and I look just like her. He saw nothing but his stepmom, and that's why."

Elena's facial expression goes from excited to shocked. Her grip around the pillow loosens when she hears what I said. "Wait, he abused you because you looked like his step mom? That's messed up. I think he should definitely get help. And you saw your brother in law? What's his name?" She just looks at me with a disappointed, yet somewhat excited look. I can tell she is sad about the possible reason I was abused, yet she still wants to hear about everything that happened yesterday.

"His name's Asher, but we all call him Ash.  I didn't see him too much throughout my marriage, because contact between him and Colin was very limited. He did come over for his visits, and we did hang out, so we know each other fairly well. But, when I did see him, he was always nice, which I appreciated, because my marriage was far from that."

Elena smiles, and I can see a little bit of a Lenny face in her facial expression. "That's nice. Is he cute?" Elena asks, while nudging me a little bit. I take the pillow that's on my side of the couch and hit her on the face with it. She starts to laugh really hard, as we have a mini pillow fight.

"Oh, come on, Elena! Why?" I yell at her, as she fights back with her pillow. I'm not one that gets physical like this, but Elena and I do like to have our occasional pillow fights here and there. Eventually, Dom, who's dressed in his work clothes, and Roy come in, and see us beating each other with soft pillows.