Chapter 231

They released me from the hospital the next day, and Asher brought me home around noon. I slept for a while before my nervous energy began to spike again.

“If you are feeling up to it, why don’t we go out tonight?” Asher asked. “Nowhere far. I’ve heard that the cheerleaders are having a competition tonight.”

Oh. I gave it a brief thought. It could be fun to go and cheer on Nicole. I wouldn’t exactly want to see Elena or the girl from class who had accused me of cheating again, but with Asher beside me, it might not be a big deal.

Honestly, I missed cheering. I would give anything to do it again. Maybe seeing it again would be enough to hold me over. At the very least, it would help distract me from my own nervous energy.

“If you are uncomfortable at any point,” Asher said. “Say the word and we leave. I just thought you might enjoy it.”

“I would,” I said.

So we rested for a bit, and then later, we trekked out together to the gymnasium and found a secluded portion in the corner of the stands. Aimee met us there as well, eager to cheer on Nicole.

Some of the other teams in the area competed first. Some of their routines were intense and I immediately wished I could try them. It had been so long since I twisted and pushed my body as far as it could go. I almost stood up, but Asher looked at me like he knew. So I kept sitting.

He took my hand and laced our fingers together.

“We’re up next,” Aimee said from the other side of me. She was skimming through the program.

The current squad ended their performance, and then they there were. My old squad. My old team, in all their glory, spread out in a familiar formation on a familiar blue mat.

The music started and I cursed under my breath. I still remembered this routine.

The girls began to move, twisting and jumping. This routine was one of the more difficult ones, with backflips and front flips and splits. They were performing it beautifully.

Watching them like this, up in bleachers, I missed it so much. Dancing had been a part of my life for so long. Now that I couldn’t do it anymore, I felt like part of myself had been locked away.

As the routine continued, tears welled in the corners of my eyes.

Only Asher noticed. He squeezed my hand.

In my ear, he whispered, “This isn’t forever. After the baby is born, there will be nothing keeping you from coming back here. You could even return to the team.”

I looked at him, at his gentle smile only for me. He was always so confident and so sure. If he believed that I could do this, than I could believe in it too.

When the routine was over, Aimee and I stood to clap and cheer.

The team ended up in second place, but in my heart, they were always first.

Afterwards, Aimee asked me if I wanted to go down to see the team. I looked at Asher, but he was watching me, as if he would support me no matter what I said.

“Maybe just to say hi,” I said.

“Great!” Aimee stood. Holding Asher’s hand, I followed her down the stairs of the bleachers and toward where the team was standing.

As soon as my teammates caught sight of me, almost all of them burst out with excitement. They circled around me, giving me hugs and congratulations. The one who had accused me of cheating stood away in the back.

Elena sneered at me from a few feet away, but Asher’s very presence standing next to me seemed to keep her at bay. At least, for a while.

Eventually the team’s chatter returned inward, and though I still felt included, I wasn’t as involved anymore. Nicole was still talking to me, but most others had moved on.

This was when Elena came over to me.

“Hello, Asher,” she said, glancing at him.

His face was the emotionless mask it had always used to be, before he had opened up to me. It was a bit startling now, to see it, when it was so different from what I was used to. Like an old version of Asher had stepped right out of my memories.

We didn’t used to get along. I remembered those early days, when Asher had seen me as nothing more than an annoying kid sister to his best friend. That felt like a lifetime ago, now with Asher and I practically living together, and getting ready to raise a child together.

The thoughts gave me pause. Maybe Nancy hadn’t been so far off as I had originally worried.

Compared to where Asher and I had begun, where we were now was practically married.

And we were soulmates, too.

Later, when we were alone, maybe I would pull Asher aside and ask him how he felt. Maybe it really was that obvious. Maybe I should have known all this time.

Asher looked at me now and his hard gaze immediately softened. The care I saw in his eyes stole my breath away. I would never get enough of him.

Elena cleared her throat, claiming my attention.

“So. Cynthia. Have you failed the transfer exam yet?”

“She won’t fail,” Asher snapped. I touched his arm, signaling that I could handle this. He relaxed some, and I stepped forward.

“After I pass the transfer exam, and after I have my baby, I will return to the squad,” I said. “So whatever your problem is with me, you sure as hell better figure it out by then, because I am not going to put up with this kind of ridiculous, elementary school level bullying for one more minute.”

Elena blinked at me like she had never actually expected me to stand up for myself. A few blinks later, and she recovered enough to shrug. “Do what you want.”

She moved away slowly, but I could tell that I rattled her. It felt like a victory.

Asher slung his arm around my shoulders. His lips twisted in a snide little smirk.

“I’m tired of her attitude,” I told him.

His smirk grew into a smile. “I could tell.” He tightened his hold a moment, pressing me more fully against him.

The good feeling lasted another few minutes, until I heard a familiar vile voice.

“Well, look who’s here.”

I slowly turned and eventually locked eyes with my gross ex-coach. When I had left the team, he had been on leave after all of his despicable behavior. He hadn’t been let go yet though, because he had a relative high up in the school administration somewhere.

I had hoped he would never return. To see him now made my stomach twist. Yet, compared to everything I had gone through since enduring his exploitation, he was nothing but a vile little speck. An annoying bug, not to be taken seriously.

So long as he still wasn’t hurting the girls. I would ask Nicole later, as well as demand an explanation for why she didn’t tell me about him.

For now, I had to deal with the man himself.

“Hello, Cynthia. You’ve put on weight.”