Chapter 110 Part 110
Asher
He trudged through the snow toward the house and wiped the snow from his shoulders. He took his beanie off, and shook it out. Inside the mudroom, he took his jacket and boots off, and hung the beanie on a peg as well. His gloves landed on the bench, and he stretched his arms.
It had been a long day in the main barn with the horses, scraping their hooves, and making sure they would be warm enough during the night. They were expecting more snow during the night, and Asher was glad that it was Friday.
He stopped in the kitchen doorway, and smiled. On the foyer table stood a small Christmas tree, glittering with LED lights on the ends of the needles which made up the tree’s leaves. Small ornaments adorned the branches, and one present lay on the table’s surface.
The light from the television flickered into the dark living room but there was enough light for Asher to see that it was empty. He headed up the stairs, but the bedrooms were all dark, as was the bathroom.
Asher headed back down to the foyer and his blood ran cold. The light in his private study was on, a small sliver escaping from beneath the door. Sweat broke out on the back of his neck as he stepped forward.
He had no idea why she would be in there, he’d always kept the door closed, and she’d never asked what was in there before. It was where he kept his army mementos, pictures, and his medals. All his personal paperwork was filed there. She had no business being there.
Asher gripped the doorknob tightly and turned it. The door swung open soundlessly, and Asher clenched his fists. Emerson was sitting on his desk chair, her legs pulled up to her chest. In her hands was his therapy journal, the book which held his most private thoughts. He’d written about his time in the army, the two months he’d been held and tortured, and it also contained the entire story of his life with Maggie.
Emerson turned the page, and she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. Her image blurred, then everything cleared up as he took a deep breath, and gripped the door tightly.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Emerson jumped, a gasp escaping her lips as she turned to look at Asher. The book fell from her hands and her eyes widened. “I…Asher…”
His eyes were like slate, dark and stormy with anger. He clenched his jaw tightly, and walked to where she was still seated. He bent down and picked up the book, his knuckles turning white as he gripped it.
“Asher, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what it was at first, I—”
“You shouldn’t have been in here to start with!” Asher rarely yelled, but his voice had taken on a deadly tone.
“I just wanted to know more about you,” she said, and stood up from the chair.
“You had no right, Emerson! No right!” Asher stormed out of the room, and walked to the living room. He knelt in front of the fireplace, and started stacking kindling and balling up newspapers.
Emerson stood behind him, watching his every move. He opened the matchbook and lit a match. The newspapers lit up immediately, the kindling crackling as the flames leaped around them.
He picked up the journal and started tearing the pages out. He balled them up, and threw them into the fireplace. He hadn’t realized that his shoulders shook, or that he’d started crying.
He flinched when Emerson’s hand landed on his shoulder, and he shrugged it off. When he’d ripped out every page that held his handwriting, he stood up, and turned to face her.
“Asher–”
“Those were private. You had no right, Emerson,” he said, calmly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It doesn’t change anything, though. It doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”
“It changes everything,” he said, and walked past her.
She grabbed his arm from behind. “Asher!”
“No! Emerson! Don’t touch me! Don’t talk to me! I’m so pissed at you right now, I can’t even stand to look at you!”
“Then yell at me all you like! Get it out, Asher! You need to move on from your past!”
Asher’s fists clenched at his sides. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Asher. They forced you to do those things,” Emerson said.
“Shut up! You had no right to read that journal!”
“Asher.” Tears welled in her eyes, and she shook her head. “Don’t shut me out.”
Asher shook his head, and shame engulfed him. The things he’d written down were horrific. It was things that had been removed from the classified debriefing session. It was things nobody would ever know about, even if the file somehow got out. He was ashamed of what he’d done, but when a gun was pointed at your head, you closed your eyes, and unzipped your pants. You fought to stay alive.
Asher’s head turned to the front door when loud banging sounded on it. He pushed past Emerson and pulled the front door open. He gritted his teeth, but he knew he had to keep himself in check.
“Hey, Asher.”
“Is something wrong, Joey?”
He nodded his head. “Yeah, I need to have a quick word with you.”
“Sure, come on in,” Asher said.
He turned around and something pressed against his back. The electric currents ran through him, and Emerson screamed. He turned and wrapped both hands around Joey’s neck.
“You should’ve turned it to its highest voltage, asshole,” Asher said, and slammed his back against the wall.
Joey couldn’t speak, his mouth opened and closed a few times, and Asher squeezed his hands around his neck. He pulled Joey away from the wall, and slammed him back against it, his head making a loud thudding noise.
Emerson screamed again, and something hit him on the back of his legs. Asher went down to his knees and this time, the tasers did their jobs. His body jerked as he tried to steady himself, but the hit behind his head was too much. He collapsed in a heap on the floor.