Chapter 88

Don’t forget that it’s my blood growing inside of you. You’ll never be rid of me for as long as it lives.

Joseph’s words were a threat, one that chilled me down to my bones. He’d kept it cryptic enough that I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant. But I knew it was nothing good.

Was he trying to scare me into having an abortion? Or was he saying that he intended to side with his parents to steal my baby from me, once it was born? Or did he meant something else entirely – something possibly even more nefarious?

I couldn’t hope to know, and I was too frightened to ask.

“You’ll never escape me, Cynthia,” Joseph said. His whole body curled toward me, like a predator ready to strike.

I braced myself for something, I wasn’t sure what. I didn’t think he would attack me right here in front of the student union. But I didn’t know.

Protectively I wrapped my arms around my waist.

“Don’t count on it,” said a familiar, masculine voice from behind me.

A sense of calm flooded through me at once.

Joseph looked away from me, toward my savior. I looked too.

Asher’s chest heaved slightly, like he had sprinted here. Yet he stood tall, danger flashing in his eyes. Slowly, he walked toward us, not stopping until I was safely behind him, and he was a muscled wall between Joseph and me.

Clenching his jaw, Joseph straightened his body, but he was still not as tall as Asher.

“If you can’t leave Cynthia alone,” Asher said, voice low, “then maybe we should involve some of the Academy staff. There’s one of the challenge overseers right over there.”

He nodded his head toward a man having his lunch on a nearby park bench.

Joseph paled, though his eyes stayed alight with hate. “This isn’t over.”

“You want to take a swing at me? Try it,” Asher said. “See how far you get when I’m not sedated.”

With a glance at the man on the park bench, Joseph cursed. Without another word, he turned from us and scuttled away.

Yet even with him gone, even with Asher’s calming presence, Joseph’s threats lingered in my mind.

Asher, facing me, noticed at once. “Are you alright?”

Was I? I didn’t know. I was trembling, and I couldn’t seem to bring myself to let go of my waist, desperate to keep protecting my baby.

I couldn’t believe I had ever imagined a future with Joseph. We’d never be the loving family I’d always wanted. Not once had he ever shown himself to be capable of it.

Maybe it was past time I reimagined what my future might look like. What I wanted it to be.

But I didn’t even know where to start.

I wanted Asher, but Joseph had been right about some things. Who would want to raise another man’s baby when they could so easily have their own?

A nagging thought reminded me that Asher would give any task he set his mind to the utmost diligence. Since he offered to be the baby’s godfather, he would see it through, even if it wasn’t what he truly wanted…

“Cynthia?” Asher asked, a bit of worry in his eyes.

I wouldn’t tell him what Joseph said about him, but I could tell him everything else. He stayed quiet through it all, listening intently as I explained Joseph’s threats.

“He will never touch you or your baby ever again,” Asher said.

I wanted to believe him, but in my heart, I knew Asher wouldn’t be around forever. How could he make such an absolute promise?

“Thank you,” I said anyway. The sentiment was enough to steady me, even if he wouldn’t be able to follow through.

He studied me closely. “Something else happened,” he said. “Shouldn’t you still be at cheerleading practice?”

Somehow, he could always see right through me. So I told him everything, about Elena and Coach, about Coach coming out. By the end of my explanation, I was thoroughly exhausted.

Asher started to voice his worry for me, but stopped himself too soon, likely realizing I was so tired, I wasn’t paying full attention.

“I have an idea,” Asher said then. “Something to cheer you up. Take your mind off of things.”

I wasn’t sure I should be looking for ways to have fun, with all the terrible things happening around me. But Asher was insistent.

“Too much anxiety isn’t good for you or the baby. Let me help.”

How could I say no to that? “What did you have in mind?”

“Tonight. We’ll go on a date.”

At Asher’s request, I spent most of the day resting. By seven pm, I was refreshed, ready to face the day once more.

Coach had been willing to sacrifice everything for me, but he hadn’t yet. Maybe Elena only threatened to report him. Maybe when she calmed down, she would just accept that she was wrong.

It seemed… unlikely. But, I didn’t want to believe Elena was so petty she would ruin a man’s life only out of spite for me.

And Joseph… He had just been trying to get under my skin. And I’d let him.

Asher would keep me safe. Just as he always had before.

So the worries still lingered, tugging at the corners of my heart, but for tonight, at least, I was resolved to put them to the side and focus on my date with Asher.

We were fake dating, I knew this wasn’t real. Yet I still couldn’t stop my heart from racing as I opened the door and found Asher in nice jeans and a button-down shirt.

“Ready?” he asked, holding out his hand.

Eagerly, I took it. “Yes.”

We sat across from each other at a two-person table in a local restaurant. We’d eaten here together before, but never with our hands clasped together on top of the table, and our ankles tangled underneath.

People were looking at us, curious. Asher didn’t spare them a glance, focusing his full attention on me.

Guilt sat in the pit of my stomach. “You know, since Coach... said what he said, we don’t really have to do this anymore. The rumors should die down now on their own.”

Asher squeezed my hand. “We should keep up appearances for a while, until we’re certain. It wouldn’t look good for us to ‘break up’ so soon after getting together.”

He seemed rather unruffled by this whole thing. But I was supposed that was Asher.

The way he said everything with such confidence was so very convincing. Especially when I wanted to continue to pretend anyway.

“Okay,” I said, earning me a small smile at the corner of his mouth. My heart soared.

Then, someone new came in, taking a seat at the table beside ours. I recognized him as an athlete from Asher’s dorm. Asher’s smile slipped away, like it had never been there at all.

“Hey, Asher,” the guy said. A girl came in with him, sitting across from him at his table. “I heard you two were dating! Congrats!”

He was boisterous, with a too-big smile and an easy demeanor. But he seemed genuine.

So I only resented him a little for ruining the quiet harmony of our date.

“Thanks,” Asher grumbled.

“Don’t be so glum on your date!” the guy continued. “You’ve got a cute girlfriend. Show her off. Give her a kiss!”

My mouth went dry. A kiss? “Right… now?”

“Why wait?” The guy laughed. “Life’s too short! Go on, Asher. Kiss her!”

Asher watched me quietly. Then slowly, his gaze dropped to my mouth.