Chapter 133

Despite my prodding, Asher refused to give me any more hints about what promises he’d want to make me in the future. He did succeed in distracting me though, by resuming his massage.

When he finished, he turned away from me as I redressed. He put his own shirt on too.

Then I sat on the edge of his bed. He joined me, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Today was a long day, and tomorrow would be a long day too.

I had an appointment in the morning with Nurse Irene, the first of many, so that she could start her experimentation of my projection ability.

“Do you want me to come with you to the hospital?” he asked.

I nodded.

Asher met me at my door early the next morning, and drove me to the hospital in his car. I asked him to stay in the lobby though, while I went into my appointment.

“Are you sure?” he asked me, when my name was called.

I squeezed his hand. “If there’s any trouble, I’ll come get you.”

That seemed to calm him and he let me go.

I followed a nurse into an exam room where Nurse Irene was already waiting. With the door closed behind me, I came closer to Nurse Irene, who was setting up a video camera.

“I don’t know about this…” I started, nervous that she wanted to capture evidence.

“You stand there.” She pointed to the space behind the camera, far away from the lens. “When you make a projection, put it here.” She pointed in front of the lens. “Don’t talk when the camera’s rolling. I’m not planning on sharing this footage, but just in case, to protect your anonymity.”

“Okay…” I wasn’t entirely convinced.

“I already told you that I have no intention of handing you over to those official researchers,” Nurse Irene said, frowning. “This is for my own record only.”

There wasn’t much she could say that would make me comfortable with the situation. She must have realized that, because she didn’t try anymore.

“When you are ready, step behind the camera there, and we will begin.”

Since there was no getting out of this, I moved behind the camera with a sigh.

Nurse Irene placed a finger to her lips, reminding me not to talk, then she started the camera. She said the date, and then added, “Experiment number one.” To me, she added, “I want you to create a projection. It can be anyone or anything.”

Nodding, I tried to think about what to project. But I hesitated. Asher was the easiest apparition for me to create, but if I made him in front of the camera, wouldn’t that put him in danger?

Nurse Irene waited patiently for a few minutes, before a line grew between her brows. “Do I need to turn off the camera?”

I nodded.

She turned it off. The instant she had done so, I made a projection of Asher in the empty space behind her. She turned, saw it, and nearly jumped out of her skin.

She recovered quickly. “Amazing!”

I’d gotten better at projecting Asher. The edges of his figure were crisp. And though he was somewhat transparent, his expressions were clear and he barely flickered.

The glow, however, I still couldn’t control, and he illuminated the entire room with something like starlight.

Nurse Irene hurried toward the counter and retrieved her notepad.

“Were you trying to protect him, by not wanting me to record?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “How fascinating. Your bond must be so strong for him to be this clear.”

“He’s the easiest to create,” I admitted, feeling a slight heat rise in my cheeks.

“I can tell.” She scribbled something down. “Seeing this makes me wonder if you two are developing a mating bond.”

I stilled. The apparition of Asher flickered before glowing even brighter.

Nurse Irene smiled. “Yes. The closer your bond, the easier it will be to create this. I’m not sure you’ll ever be able to do anything about how bright he is, though. Well, not without practice. You would have to try to tamper down your love for him.”

I was so embarrassed, I felt faint. But also my heart raced, suddenly light. How could I not be pleased? My bond with Asher was growing, and Nurse Irene could tell.

Even if it wasn’t meant to last, it made me so happy.

Nurse Irene kept the camera off for the rest of the experiments. I created a few other apparitions for her, and even tried to make one of her, though it was very weak and dissipated quickly. She seemed nothing but pleased with everything I showed her, regardless of the level of success.

“We should meet again next week,” Nurse Irene said at the end of the hour.

I agreed. Oddly, being able to flex my ability in front of someone who so clearly appreciated it was… thrilling. I’d had fun.

When I left the room, I found Asher waiting patiently in the lobby. As I came close, he stood from his chair and looked me over, as if making sure I was unharmed. I let him look, then offered him a small smile.

He seemed surprised, but quickly relaxed. “Everything alright?” he asked.

“Yes, actually.”

I explained what happened when we were in the safety of his car, leaving out some of the finer details – mainly what Nurse Irene had said about Asher and me developing a mating bond.

Even when Asher said, “I wonder why your apparition of me is so clear,” I kept my mouth shut. He seemed pleased though, like he secretly knew and liked the answer.

I tried changing the subject.

“She mentioned something about a paper she wrote that I should read.” I searched through my purse but couldn’t find my phone. Had I forgotten it in my dorm room?

I continued, “Something about how the ability develops. A nature versus nurture kind of thing. Hm. I can’t find my phone. Can I borrow yours? I want to look it up before I forget.”

“Sure.” He slid his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me.

He had a different model than mine, with different icons. So when I clicked on what I thought was the internet, I actually opened his photo album. I tried to close it right away, not wanting to invade his privacy, when I stopped.

Everything stopped.

I recognized myself in some of those thumbnails. Confused, I clicked on one of them, opening the full picture. I wore a white skirt, topless, kneeling on a bed with dark satin sheets.

This was one of the photos that Coach had taken during that horrible photo shoot I had done at his house.

A chill ran up my spine as my stomach dropped.

I flipped to the next photo, and then the next. Photo after photo of me came onto the screen, all from that horrible day.

Asher had… kept these photos.

Why? He couldn’t have enjoyed them? My face was so full of fear. Asher hated when I was afraid.

But… what else could I think? He had every last photo of me here on his phone.

“Asher,” I said, voice monotone. I felt like a stranger in my own body. Like everything I had ever known to be true was suddenly thrown into question.

He slowed the car. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Shame burned hot under my skin. I had wanted to forget all about that day, and with Asher’s help, had done well to put it behind me.

But seeing this… knowing Asher had kept these pictures…

I didn’t know how to feel anymore.

I turned the phone towards him. He glanced at the screen, and instantly paled.

I asked, point blank, “Why do you have these photos?”