“I’m sorry but it doesn’t work that way. Next time, I won’t say anything. Let me see how bad it is.”
“Shouldn’t you already know that?” He made the irritation in his voice known as he held the towel around his finger.
“Stop being a smartass. Let me see?” I grabbed hold of his hand.
“Ouch! Be careful.”
I slowly unwrapped the towel and examined his finger.
“You need to run it under cold water. It’ll slow down the bleeding,” I said as I led him over to the sink. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches which is a good thing, because I’m not sure we’d make it to the hospital in this storm. Do you have any butterfly bandages?”
“I don’t know. There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom down the hall.”
“I’ll go check. Keep that finger under the water.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one feeling the pain.”
I pulled the first aid kit from the cabinet and dug through it. Luckily, there were a couple butterfly bandages in there.
“I found some,” I said as I took his finger and carefully dried it off.
“Ouch. For fuck sakes, Everly. Be careful.”
“Sorry.” I gave him a sympathetic smile.
After I put the bandage over the wound, I told him to go sit down.
“I’ll finish the stir fry. You go relax. And you might want to take some Motrin for the pain.”
“Good idea,” he spoke as he walked over to one of the cabinets in the kitchen.
I finished chopping the veggies for the stir fry and tossed everything into the wok that was heating on the stove. Grabbing my beer from the counter, I took a drink and saw Asher sitting at the island staring at me.
“Is something wrong?” I asked him.
“No. Not at all.” He picked up his bourbon. “I googled you last night.”
“You did?” I cocked my head at him. “You didn’t have to. You can just ask me anything you want to know.”
“It was late, and I was bored. You’re originally from Connecticut?”
I held my finger up as a small smile crossed my lips.
“You saw the article about that sixteen-year-old girl.”
“I did. I thought you grew up in Rhode Island.”
“I did.” I turned to finish making the stir fry. “I was six years old when we moved there, but I was born in Connecticut. Like I told you before, my mom passed away when I was five. My grandmother lived in Connecticut also. After they found that girl, the media had a field day with me. They wouldn’t leave me or my grandma alone. They wanted to know about me, what I could see, what I could do. You can imagine how scary that is for a six-year-old. I still didn’t understand it myself. The phone would ring off the hook with random people asking my grandmother to put me on the phone so they can ask me about their personal things. We couldn’t even go to the store without being recognized. School was tough as well because all the kids called me a freak. So, my grandmother knew it was best for us to move away from it all.”
“Why Rhode Island?”
“It’s where Daniel and his family lived. So we packed up and lived with them for a while until my grandmother found our house. Then she rented a space in downtown Providence and opened up her shop.”
“What kind of shop does she own?”
“A Metaphysical shop.”
“What’s that?” He cocked his head.
“You know. Crystals, tarot cards, sages, oils, candles, books.”
“I see. I guess I’m not surprised, considering.”
“I help her with the shop in between running my business. After we moved, my grandmother had a long talk with me about not letting people know what I can do or see. She said it was very important we kept it to ourselves and within our small family. As I grew older, the more frequent the dreams became. Boy.” I smiled. “I bet I’m the weirdest person you ever met in your entire life.”
“That is true.” A smirk crossed his lips.
I gave him a small smile as I found the plates and served the stir fry.
20
Asher
I couldn’t help but stare at her as she prepared the stir fry. As much as I never wanted her here or intended to never bring her here, I found myself liking it. I supposed it wouldn’t hurt bringing her here more often since she wouldn’t be in New York for too much longer.
“Tell me about you, Mr. Remington,” she spoke as we took our plates to the table.
“I’m sure you already know everything there is to know about me.” I smirked.
“Actually, I don’t.”
“I find that hard to believe, Everly.” I arched my brow at her.
“Your father was always your protector. The two of you were very close, weren’t you?”
“He was, and yes we were. Sometimes I felt he protected me too much.”
We were in the middle of eating and having our conversation when suddenly, the penthouse went dark as well as the buildings around the area.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“Do you have any candles?” Everly asked.
“I might have a couple upstairs in the closet. My former housekeeper liked to burn them as she was cleaning.” I got up from my chair and extended my hand to her. “I can think of some really fun activities to do when the power goes out.”
She placed her hand in mine and I led her up the stairs and to my bedroom.
“I like your virgin bed. It’s so comfy.” I could see her smile by the light of the candle flickering.
“It’s not a virgin bed anymore.” I sighed.
“We can pretend we didn’t do anything,” she said as she placed her hand on my chest.
“I don’t think that’s possible.” I smiled as I pushed a strand of her hair away from her face. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Have you seen my father recently?” I reluctantly asked.
“No. I’m sorry. I’m sure he moved on once you didn’t go through with the merger.”
“What do you mean?”
“People usually stick around because they either have unfinished business or messages for their loved ones before they can move on. Your father needed to make sure you were safe from your uncle before he could rest.”
“You know I’m still a little bit skeptical.”
“I don’t believe that. I think you’re just afraid to believe.” Her finger lightly stroked my chest as she let out a yawn.
“You’re tired and it’s late. We should get some sleep.”
“I can sleep in one your guestrooms. Just point the way and I’ll be on my way.”
I stared at her as my finger ran across her bare shoulder.
“If you do that then how am I supposed to fuck you in the middle of the night if I want to?”
The corners of her mouth curved upward. “Mhm. I think I’ll stay then.”
I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers before rolling over and away from her.
“Good night, Everly.”
“Good night, Asher.”