Page 93 of Shattered

Asher

It’s been a few days since Neela brought us the sketchpads, and Lila hasn’t touched hers, despite my attempts. I know what I need to do to help Lila, but I’m afraid she’ll hate me. Still, I know it has to be done. She hasn’t washed up in a couple of days, and she needs it, so I figure I’ll start there. Lord knows it won’t take much to piss her off. I just hope I can get her back after.

When she gets up to use the bathroom, I transfer into my chair and head for the kitchen, finding Neela at the table.

“It’s time, leave,” I say, my voice low.

She nods, quickly jumping up. “Text me if you need me to come back. I won’t be far.”

“Thanks.”

She quietly heads out the back door just as my heart starts to race. God, I do not want to fucking do this. But I have to.

When Lila exits the bathroom, I call her name, and she drags her feet to the kitchen doorway. She still looks pretty rough. Her clothes are from yesterday, and her hair is a mess.

“Where’s Neela?”

“She left. Macy will be here later.”

“Oh. I’m going back to bed,” she says tiredly, her brows downturned.

I ignore her statement, grabbing two containers of soup from the fridge that I had thawed overnight. “You wanna pop these in the microwave for us? I’d do it myself if I could reach the damn thing, and Neela just left.”

She takes only one of the containers from me and puts it in the microwave. She picks up the other and reaches for the fridge door, but I grab her by the hand, and she glares at me.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You need to eat something. Let’s have lunch, and then we’ll get you cleaned up and go to the shop.”

Her eyes narrow. “No, thanks.”

“I need to pick up some things, and I’ll need some help.”

She bristles, her extremely short fuse lit. “Someone can pick up what you need. I’m too tired.”

“You’re tired because you’re hardly eating,” I say, my temper growing.

Her eyes darken. “Asher, don’t start.”

“Lila, you need to-”

“What? I need to what?” she growls.

I give her a warning glare, but she doesn’t fold.

“I need to get over it?”

I frown, shaking my head. “Lila, no.”

“No, I get it. Lila’s broken, Lila’s sad. Maybe she’ll never get her ass out of bed again.”

“Do not turn this around on me,” I snap.

“Why? Why shouldn’t I?”

“You’re hardly eating, you smell like death, and you barely get out of bed. I’m allowed to be worried about you, just like you were worried about my leg.”

“NO!” Suddenly, her head practically explodes, releasing all the anger she had built up. “How fucking dare you? Why don’t you let me drown you in a scalding hot bathtub, and we’ll see how much you want to get on with your life, hmm? FUCK YOU!”

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