CHAPTER 199: CHAPTER 199

ASHER

Anna dashes out through the door the second I pull up at her house where she’s taken Demi.

"Where is she?"

"Inside. Can I talk to you guys for a sec?" She loops her arm in mine and steers me away from the house and back to my car while Iman trails behind. Her countenance is a blend of sadness, confusion and just a smidgen of doubt.

"Look, I don’t know exactly what’s happened to her but Demi appears to have lost some of her memories. I’m a little shaken right now because of this sudden turn of events. Nevertheless, I want to make one thing clear. I fully intend to help my best friend regain her lost memories." Her eyebrows draw close together. "With that being said, I want to know why you insisted I shouldn’t inform Ashton about this when he clearly loves her more than any other member of your family."

Her eyes are slit with suspicion.

"Anna, do you think it’s in her best interest to inform everyone that she’s lost her memories? Look, I have no ill intent towards Demi..."

"And neither does Ashton..."

"I know that!" I reply, grabbing her shoulders, "but he doesn’t have the best control of his emotions, especially not right now. They had a big fight earlier and I think it might have contributed to Demi’s state. I will inform him but not before I assess the situation and know the best way forward."

She pulls away from me and crosses her arms over her chest. "The best way forward? Neither of you get to decide the best way forward for MY best friend’s life. Those decisions will be taken by ME alone, got it?" Her sizzling eyes dart between Iman and I.

"ANNA."

"Forgive me but I can’t trust either of you to not act selfishly in your best interests. Iman, you and Demi are history. You’ve got no business kissing or touching her yet you spared no opportunity to do so the second you got to that clinic and knew what had happened to her." Rgae burns in her eyes. "You either get the hell out of here right now or later in a body bag. You decide."

Iman slides a glance at me.

"What?" Anna queries him. "Do you need his permission or something?" Her jaw tightens. "Are you two some kind of friends now?"

"Of course not!" I counter her but she doesn’t back down. Instead, she regards both of us with even more suspicion.

"Then how come he informed you about Demi’s state first? How did you two..."

"I stumbled into him. I almost knocked him down on the road. Had no clue where he was dashing off to." Iman lowers his head in guilt to lend credence to my false tale. "When I confronted his carelessness, he blurted out that something was wrong with Demi....He wasn’t making much sense but it was enough to get me worried. I was already going to force him to bring me to the clinic before your call came." I pat Iman’s shoulder lightly. "I think you can take off now. We’ll handle things from here."

"What if she asks about me?"

"I’ll be sure to tell her what a trifling, cheating...."

I stop Anna with a hand on her shoulder. "Leave Iman. I won’t ask again." He cowers to the threat in my eyes and stalks off. Silence wears on briefly between Anna and I.

I’m not sure she buys any of my story about Iman and I but she’s too distracted by Demi’s condition to nitpick it.

"I know I called you first but...I was emotional." She rakes a hand through her hair and glances back at her door with a weary look in her eyes. They blur with tears. "I didn’t know what else to do and I needed support. Demi has got no real family here. Her aunt and Kira will take advantage of her if they learn about this, and they will, soon. Uncle Marcel will be here by morning. I had to call her real family." Her eyes stray back to me.

"I want you to promise me that you’re not here to take advantage of her, Asher. I want you to swear it."

I haven’t seen her looking this serious in a hot minute. Her eyes are fierce as she stares at me with her right palm spread out. What is she expecting me to do? Shake on it? Place mine on hers as a sign of my pledge? Before I can make up my mind, the sound of glass breaking catches out attention.

Anna’s neck cranes towards her house. "Demi?" She bolts towards the door.

We both dash into her apartment. There’s a suitcase flung wide open on Anna’s bed where a few clothes have been tossed in. The rest are scattered over the bed and on the floor. The only thing holding Demi’s hair from looking batshit crazy is the bandage across it. She’s barely standing straight with clothes in her hands, staring perplexed at the broken lamp close to her feet.

"Anna." She says with a weak voice without bothering to look up at out entry. Then gesturing with her hands, "Why are all my things here? Did I move out or did aunt Elizabeth kick me out?" She sounds slightly out of breath. "Exactly how long have I been staying here with you..." She trails off when her weary eyes lift up, sees me next to Anna. A small surprised gasp escapes her lips.

The second I see her eyes; I agree that something seems off about her. I am no expert at what those eyes look like when they’re full of pretense but I am definitely privy to what they look like when they aren’t filled with underlying hatred for my family. I would always recognize the genuine look Demi had on her face when she gave up her revenge to save Ashal’s life. Those eyes didn’t cause an uptick in my ever-cautious brain. They felt warm and pure at the time.

Her eyes at this moment however bulges with surprise, then narrows in contempt. It makes me uncomfortable and despite how it looks, it is stupidly easy for me to tell that it holds a lot of secrets. The more I look at her, the more it feels like I am trying to get over the wall of China. She just radiates a lot of contempt despite her placid face.

Anna rushes to her side. "Demi, are you okay?" She spots the broken lamp on the floor. "Don’t worry about it. I never really liked that lamp anyway." She picks up the clothes on the floor. "I thought I promised to escort you back to your aunt’s place tomorrow. There’s no need to rush. You’re not going to get in trouble. Aunt Elizabeth knows you’ve been living with me."

Demi’s eyes remain fixated on me while Anna continues to quell her suspicion.

"Give me that." Anna grabs the clothes from Demi’s hands and yanks the suitcase off the bed. "We’re not packing today." She stows it away in the wardrobe and returns to find Demi still staring at me.

"Anna? Why is he..." Demi turns to her friend with a confused expression. "What is he doing here? Is it a Blue Cove thing?"

Anna rubs her hands nervously. "Uh, do you know who that is, Demi? Do you know him?"

Demi shakes her head. "Are you being serious right now? Who doesn’t know the Danvarr quads? Even Mr. Rahl knows all their names." She turns to Anna with a suspicious glint in her eyes. "What is Ash Rollins doing in your bedroom, Anna? Since when did you start socializing with people like him?"

"He’s...um, actually..." Anna stutters badly while trying to come up with a believable lie on the spot. My bet is she didn’t have time to think far enough about explaining my presence.

"Wait, are you two...?"

I immediately see the disgust splatter across Demi’s face at the idea of Anna and I hooking up. Before Anna can rebut, I hold my hand up, stopping her.

"Demi?" I call softly. Somehow, the woman in front of me appears too brittle for my hard exterior and usual energy. I’ll try to give her the benefit of doubt that she isn’t putting on a show in front of me.

"Yes, I know your name." I answer the question in her eyes when she stares at me in surprise. "Anna, do you mind giving us the room? I’d like to talk to Demi for a few minutes."

"Talk to me? Why?"

But Anna drops a hand on her friend’s shoulder, calming her. "It’s okay, Demi. Trust me, he isn’t an arrogant jerk like we always thought." Then sliding an apologetic glance my way, she mouths ’sorry’ to me.

"Demi, he’s just going to ask you a few questions, okay? He’s a nice man and when I told him how badly you hurt your head in the accident, he wanted to know how serious it is and if it’s something his family doctor can take a look at."

"I am fine. The bleeding has stopped and the pain is barely there..."

"I know but it can’t hurt to make certain that everything is okay. You might not remember this but I injured my head months ago and though I thought everything was fine, Mr. Asher here had his family doctor treat me. They discovered some underlying issues and helped me get better. Please, just hear him out and answer his questions."

Demi looks more confused than angry right now. "Asher? The ambitious and strict one?" She pins me with a sharp look. "Why does he care about my injury? Why is he willing to have their expensive family doctor take a look at my head? Is the Rollins family campaigning for presidency or something? I am not a charity case." I note the contempt simmering below the surface, again.

"No, that’s not what this is."

"It’s fine, Anna. Those are valid questions. The short answer is that it’s the least I can do after Anna shared with me that her best friend had been in an accident. Do you have a problem with people being good to other people?"

She changes her mind about whatever she was going to say and shrugs her shoulders.

"Fine but this is Anna’s house and she won’t be going anywhere while I answer your questions."

"I’ll stay right here." Anna loops an arm around Demi’s. "I hope that’s okay, Mr. Asher."

I nod at her. "That’s fine."

***

Two minutes later, we’re all seated in the small sitting room. Both girls are seated across from me. Anna’s eyes are soft, kind and implore me to ease Demi into her new reality. Demi’s eyes are suspicious and teeming with distrust.

"Demi, please tell me exactly what you remember before waking up at the clinic?"

Her eyebrows slash upwards. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" She turns to Anna who gives me a look as if to say, I already told you what she remembers.

"I just want to hear it from you, Demi. I need to bring my doctor up to speed about these details."

Anna nudges her softly and with a frustrated sigh, she explains.

"I...I had a bad fight with my boyfriend."

"A fight with your boyfriend?" My mind skips to Ashton and the fight he had with Demi. "What was it about?"

Demi lowers her eyes. "It was about the same thing we always fight about. He was cheating on me."

It’s definitely not Ashton but Iman, I acknowledge mentally.

"What happened after that?"

"I guess I was heading to the Blue Cove to vent to Anna when I passed out on the street or got knocked down by a cab. I’m not sure which one but after that, I woke up at the clinic with a bandage on my head."

I stifle a snort after she concludes. "If you were mad at Iman for cheating on you, why then did you call him first immediately after you woke up at the clinic? Why not Anna or even your aunt?"

Her silence makes my eyebrows draw together suspiciously. Seeing her grit her teeth and shift uncomfortably makes my suspicion flare up.

"I am sure your doctor doesn’t need that information to treat me."

"You’re right but I’m really curious now." I dim my eyes at her. "Why did you call Iman first, Demi? Why did you even kiss him at the clinic if you’re so mad at him for cheating on you and nearly causing you to lose your life in an accident? Explain that to me."

I suspect that kissing Iman was supposed to douse any doubt we might have about her faking amnesia, because we all know how much she detests him. If that’s her only trump card, I’m afraid this is the end of the road for her little act.

"I’m sure Anna is just as curious to know why you didn’t call her first and why you kissed Iman because she was put off by the sight of it, isn’t that right Anna?" Both girls exchange a brief, uncomfortable glance at each other but say nothing. "Go ahead, explain that to us." Then in a deeper voice. "Explain that to me, Branson."