Path To Realization (Fighter's Den, #4)

Chapter 9 - Asher

PAST

"Is that you, Ash?"

"Yeah, Mom." I call back as I step into the living room and shut the door behind me. I take my shoes off and go into the kitchen where Mom and Dad are sitting. "Why are you guys awake?"

"We wanted to hear about your first high school dance." Mom grins. "How was it?"

"She wanted to hear about the dance." Dad interrupts, yawning loudly. "I would have survived waiting until tomorrow."

I snicker as Mom reaches across the table to smack Dad's arm. She ignores him and turns back to me. "Well?"

"It was lame, Mom." I roll my eyes. "I already knew it would be."

"That's what I stayed up for?" Dad gapes. "You might as well cough up more details if I'm already awake otherwise I'll cry over the sleep I lost."

"You're so dramatic." I snicker as I sit down and join them. "I'm telling you — it was nothing special."

Mom frowns. "Well, that was anticlimactic."

"He didn't even take a date." Dad points out.

"Because I didn't want one."

"Did you at least dance with someone?"

"Just with Ria for a bit and then her and her date went off."

"I see." Mom takes another sip of her drink and eyes Dad over the rim. They share one of their looks.

"What?"

"Nothing." They say simultaneously.

"That's bullshit. What aren't you guys saying?" I raise my brows expectantly.

"First of all; language." Dad reminds me but his lips twitch because he knows I won't listen. I've been cussing since I learned how to talk and it's a habit I can't seem to get rid of. I was constantly surrounded by adults that didn't know how to raise children and minding their language always seemed to be a weaker suit of theirs. I picked it up naturally and no one in the system really stopped me, either. Mom and Dad were the first ones that made me realize that there was such a thing as bad words. The first time I cussed in front of them was a week into them fostering me. We'd all been having dinner and I dropped my fork, absentmindedly mumbling, "Fuck. Sorry guys."

Both of them choked on their food, gaping at me. At the time I froze too for fear that they might hurt me because I apparently said something wrong but they set their utensils down and calmly explained that there are some words that I'm too young to use. I was a rebellious kid and it only angered me that they were trying to tell me what to do so I would purposely swear more than I already did. I honestly gave these two a hard life but they stuck with me and even now, years later, that's surreal to me. If someone had told me when I was a kid that I would be sitting in the kitchen with my adoptive parents and talking to them about a fucking high school dance I would have laughed until I pissed myself. It just goes to show how crazy life can be.

"Second of all," Dad continues and I snap out of my thoughts. "I still don't get why you didn't ask Aria to the dance."

"Because it's not like that." I groan. My parents have been pestering me about mine and Aria's friendship ever since we started high school. They think we have something going on but that's crazy. She's my best friend and I love her but...not like that.

"You could have went as friends." Mom points out.

"That's even lamer." I roll my eyes. "Besides, some dude asked her and she really wanted to go with him so that was that. I didn't need a date, anyways."