Page 99 of Fated

Finally processing what was happening, I threw my arms around myself in a futile attempt to cover myself. “WHAT AREYOU DOING?” I yelled, awkwardly taking in the destruction around us, pieces of the shattered door scattered everywhere.

Ash, still looking utterly bewildered, blinked at me. “What the fuck areyoudoing?”

Before I could respond, another black flash caught my eye as the spider moved toward Ash. I jumped nearly sky high, letting out another deadly scream, my finger trembling as I pointed at the hideous thing. I was trying to cover myself and warn him of the nightmare crawling across the floor. Ash’s head snapped in the direction in which I was pointing, his muscles tensing as the spider skittered across the tiles, now positioning its horrible self in front of the bathtub.

Ash didn’t make a sound as he stood there staring at the enormous, awful creature. A few moments passed in silence, his expression unreadable. Then, as if finally processing the situation, he clutched his stomach and doubled over, laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. He couldn’t stop, each bout of laughter so much louder than the one before it.

“It’s not funny,” I shrieked, my voice high with panic and frustration.

As if mocking me, the spider scuttled a few feet closer, sending another wave of terror through me. “Kill it! Kill it—kill it!” I cried, practically doubling over the toilet, my shrieks echoing in the bathroom.

Still laughing as though this was in fact the funniest thing he had ever witnessed, Ash bent down and picked up the towel I had thrown.

He tossed it back at me, the movement startling me so much that I screamed again. When I realized it was just my towel, I quickly wrapped it around my body.

“Please, Ash,” I begged.

He wiped away his tears of laughter, grinning wider than I had ever seen him.

“Was there a window open?”

I nodded, still shivering with fear.

“It’s a lumber-leg spider, completely harmless,” he explained through stifled laughter, before reaching for a window and sliding it open. “But they hate the rain. The poor guy’s terrified.”

Staring at him, my gaze was incredulous. “It’sterrified?”

I nearly screamed, my nerves fraying even more.

Ash bit down on his grin. “Just give it a second …” He gestured toward the spider, now standing still. Sure enough, a moment later, as if sensing the newly opened escape route, the creature darted up the wall and scurried out the window.

Ash casually slid the window shut behind it.

A violent shiver ran down my spine, and I squeezed my arms tightly around myself.

“I don’t like spiders.”

“No shit,” he snorted.

I glanced around at the splintered wood on the bathroom floor, my face heating up as I realized just how much chaos I had caused.

“I’m so sorry!” I squeaked, my throat sore from screaming.

Ash finally stopped laughing, though his eyes still sparkled with amusement.

“Why are you sorry? That was the most entertainment I’ve had in sixteen years.” He chuckled again, earning an unamused glare from me.

Without warning, he stepped toward me, still perched on top of the toilet. I let out a startled yelp as he effortlessly scooped me up and slung me over his shoulder.

He carried me through the scattered remains of the door with its broken hinges and screws flung everywhere, and we headed out of the room.

“The doors …” I muttered.

“I’ll have them replaced,” he said nonchalantly, his tone dismissive as though it was nothing more than a trivial matter.

Ash carried me up the staircase to another bedroom on the floor above, where I noticed his bag and neatly laid-out shirt on the bed. He tossed me onto the bed with a playful grin, eliciting another small yelp from my sore throat, and he disappeared briefly before returning with my bag.

He set it on the bed beside me, then pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a cocky grin as he looked at me sitting there wrapped in a towel.

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