YOU MADE HER INVOLVED
1578 Words
The lock clicked.
Before I could even react, the door swung open and Asher rushed in, grabbing me the second he saw me. His arms wrapped around me tight, almost crushing, like he'd been holding his breathe since he left.
“Lala,” he whispered against my hair. “You're okay. Thank God.”
I stood there stiff at first, then slowly relaxed as he held me even tighter, like he was trying to steady himself.
He pulled back only enough to cup my face. “You didn't open the door right? Tell me you didn't.”
I shook my head. “No. I didn't. Who was that?”
I tried playing dumb, like someone didn't walk in. So I could figure out what he has been hiding.
His jaw clenched. “Someone who shouldn't be anywhere near you.”
Before I could ask more, he pressed his forehead to mine, closing his eyes like he was trying to steady his breathing.
“Don't think about anything that happened today,” he murmured. “Please. Just stay here with me right now.”
He kissed the top of my head, then moved past me to shut the door, checking the lock twice. His movement were sharp, restless.
“Asher, you're scaring me.”
“I know,” he said quietly, running his hands through his hair. “I'm trying not to.”
He walked to his desk, trying to distract himself, palms pressed to the edge like he needed something solid to hold onto.
Then, when he turned, his elbow knocked the stack of books beside him.
A Math textbook slipped off the table, hit the floor with a dull thud… and a small photograph slid out between the pages.
Face down.
My eyes followed it immediately.
Asher froze.
Not the normal type.
A panic freeze.
I bent down to pick it up before he could stop me.
“Lala wait—”
But I'd flipped it over.
Two teenagers.
Smiling.
Warm brown eyes.
Long brunettes waves falling over her shoulders.
Skin smooth and light against the sun.
Marilyn kane.
Even prettier up close.
Standing beside Asher like she belonged there.
Their dad's stood beside them.
Asher’s hands rested on her waist in a way that didn't look casual at all.
My breath caught.
Memories flickered—
I had seen that same girl walking into my room.
The way she said his name.
The way Owen was tense.
“Asher…” My voice low. “Why do you have a picture of her?”
He gulped, stepping towards me.
“Lala, give me the photo.”
I clutched it tighter. “Who is she to you?”
He turned back.
For the first time, he looked… scared.
“It's complicated,” he said softly. “And this isn't the right moment.”
“That's not an answer.”
He turned to me again, fingers rubbing his face, eyes darting around the room.
“Hello… Am I not speaking to someone?” I said as I waved my hands to his face.
“Can you please just drop this for now?” He asked, voice low. “I'll explain later, I promise.”
But his eyes didn't match his words.
They were hiding something.
Something deep, something old.
I lowered the photo slightly, but didn't put it down. “You said you'd explain,” I said. “But you always say that when you want me to stop asking.”
“I'm not lying to you,” he responded. “I'm just … not ready to say everything.”
“Why?” I asked. “Because it's dangerous? or because it changes how I see you.”
That hit.
I saw it in his eyes before he looked away.
Asher exhaled slowly, and gently took the shot from my hand. He didn't snatch it. Didn’t rush, he held it like something fragile. Like something that could break him if he wasn't careful.
For a second, he stared at it longer than necessary.
Then he slid it back into the book.
“She's part of my past, that's all you need to know.”
Right now.
Those words sat wrong in my chest.
“She came here,” I said with a low voice. “She walked into the room like she owned the place, like she knew you.”
He sat on his bed, leaning forward slightly, voice low. “She shouldn't have.”
“That's not what I said.” My voice rose despite my effort to stay calm. “I said she knew you.”
He stared at me, like he was measuring how much damage the truth could do if it slipped even a little.
“Yes.” He admitted. "She knows me.”
“And Owen?” I asked. “He tells me I'm not supposed to be part of this. She shows up unannounced. Someone knocks at the door pretending to be you.” My heart beats faster as I spoke. “Asher, this isn’t normal.”
“I know.”
“Then stop treating me like I'm fragile.”
“That's the problem,” he said softly. “You're not.”
That scared me more than anything else he could have said.
He walked towards me slowly, hands open, like I might flinch.
“ I don't think you understand how deep this goes,”
“Then explain it,” I snapped. “Because I'm already in it whether you like it or not.”
He took a step back.
“You didn't choose this,” He said. “You didn't sign up for this.”
“No,” I shot back. “But you didn't give me a choice either.”
For the first time, he looked guilty. Not defensive. Not irritated.
Just… human.
“I should have stayed away from you,” he murmured.
My chest tightened. “Don't say that.”
“I mean it, the day I met you I knew it would complicate everything.”
“Everything?” I echoed.
“Yes.”
I chuckled. “You're Unbelievable.”
“Lala–”
“No, you listen,” I cut in. “I don't need protection. I need honesty. And right now, all you're giving me are warnings without explanation.”
“I'm trying to keep you safe.”
“And I'm trying to understand why I suddenly need to be kept safe at all.”
“Owen shouldn’t have come to you,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “That wasn't his call.”
“So you do know him?”
“Yes.”
“and Marilyn?”
His lips pressed into a thin line
“Obviously.”
I folded my arms. “Try again.”
“She was important once.”
Once.
Past tense. But not clean.
“How important?” I asked.
He hesitated.
“It's already getting late, that's not something. can unpack tonight.”
I shook my head, disbelief washing over me.
“You think I'm just going to forget all this?”
“No. I think you'll try because that's what you do when you get overwhelmed.”
That stung. Because it was true.
“And if I don't?”
“Then things get complicated.” He replied.
“Define Complicated.”
Before he could answer, a lock knock from the door echoed.
“Get behind me.” He said
“I'm not hiding.”
“Lala.”
Something in his voice made me obey.
Asher glanced toward the door then back at me.
“You need to trust me right now,”
“You keep asking for that,” I replied. “But trust goes both ways.”
“I know.”
Asher moved towards the door but stopped short, checking the lock again.
“Stay where you are,” he murmured.
He opened it, and stuck his head out.
I couldn't see who stood there. Only heard the low murmur of voices.
A pause.
Then Asher’s jaw tightened.
“No,” he said firmly. “She's not involved.”
Another voice answered. Calm and controlled.
Owen.
“You made her involved the moment you got here.”
My stomach dropped.
“I told you to stay away,” Asher snapped.
“And I told you this wasn't something you could handle alone.”
“Leave.”
Then footsteps retreated.
Asher shut the door hard, then locking it again.
He leaned his forehead against the door for a second, breathing out slowly.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “This isn't how I wanted any of this to unfold.”
I stared at his back.
“At what point,” I asked softly, “were you planning to tell me the truth?”
He turned around
“When I was sure you were the one.”
“That's not how truth works,” I replied.
He nodded once. “I know”
We stood there, the weight of everything unsaid filling the room.
The photo.
Owen.
Marilyn.
The fear in his eyes.
Asher walked up to her, pulled her close, hands settling on her waist.
“You want to know who i am?” He said softly, as his eyes met her.
“Pack your essentials, we're not coming back tonight.”
She grabbed her carry-on bag, while he grabbed her coat, his leather jacket and his car keys.
He took her hand, and together they left the room.
- Writer
