Chapter 122: Penny
hat the fuck?”
I bolt upright, heart leaping into my throat. Tyler’s voice. Loud and confused and standing just a few feet awary
1 blink rapidly, wiping sleep from my eyes. His figure is backlit by the faint grey morning light trickling through the fronted cabin wondese. His messy hair sticks out at all angles, pajama pants twisted around his hips.
He’s staring directly at me.
Or–more accurately–at me curled in Asher’s bed, Asher sitting up nos, legs draped over the edge, one hand still resting on my
shin.
“What are you doing there?” Tyler asks, suier thick with sleep and confusion,
My brain short–circuits. I open my mouth to speak, to explain, to say anything that sounds normal–but Asher beats me to it.
“You pushed her off the bed.”
Tyler blinks, “What?”
Aber stands, towering suddenly. Calm, but absolutely not in the mood. “In your sleep. She fell. Could’ve hit her head.”
1 glance down, my Engers digging into the blanket. Tyler looks at me, hark to Asher, and… laughs.
Actually laught
“Damn,” he says, dragging a hand down his face. “I’m so sorry, baby. I was out cold. Didn’t feel a thing.”
I stare at him. “You’re not… mad
“Mad?” He yawns. “Nah. Honestly, I probably slept better with the whole bed to myself.”
And that’s what he cares about.
The space.
The comfort.
Not
ling, not my head, not the fact that I was curled up in another man’s bed when he
woke up.
I glance down again, some part of me trying not to feel too much. Asher shifts beside me, then lifts my legs gently off of him and heads to the washroom without a word.
Tyler drops back onto the bed and groans. “Still cold in here.”
1–clear my throat. “But the cabin’s kind of nice, isn’t it
He shrugs. “It was okay. But I’m not made for austic
Of course not
We get dressed slowly. I pull on a pair of black leggings, a ribbed cream sweater, and cip up tpy’snow boots. I braid my hair to one side while brushing my Teeth, watching Tyler struggle with his jacket zipper like it’s a personal insult.
Asher comes out in a black henley and jeans, his damp hair curling slightly at the ends. He doesn’t speak much as we gather our things, just slings his dulled over his shoulder and opens the cabin door
Outside, the world is white and soft and bright. A thin sheet of snow clings to the trees and rooftops. It’s still early, but the light is strong mough to muck
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Chapter 122: Penny
me squint
Tyler starts complaining almost instanth
“Jesus, my tors are freezing?”
“You te ankle socks,” I remind him.
“Yeah, well, who knew I’d be hiking through the North Pole just to sleep?”
“Dramatic,” 1 mutter.
“Also, did anyone else hear, like, scratching outside last night? Could’ve been raccoons. Or a bear. Or a ghost.”
I roll my eyes. “It was probably wind. Or a tree branch.”
He shivers exaggeratedly. “This place in like a h
a horror movie setup. Honestly, I don’t know how we survived the night ”
Asher just walks silently ahead of us, long strides cutting a path through the thin snow. I catch his eye briefly. He gives me the smallest shake of his head,
ke, I can’t.
1 bite my lip to hide my smile.
The lodge snel like heaven.
Warm cinnamon, sizzling bacon, and sweet maple syrup. My stomach growls instantly. Inside, the kitchen’s been transformed into a buffet–style breakfast spread. Puncakes stacked high. Bowls of scrambled eps Plates of toast, fruit, bacon, and sausage. And–thank god–coffee.
Tyler makes a beeline for it, muttering something about needing caffeine before facing humanity, I grab a plate and start assembling food. Asher stamil next to me, quiet, then pour coffee into a mug and slides it across to me without a word.
He nod
Tyler returns, half–fern and shivering like a set dog. “Okay, I officially hate the forest.”
Someone from the group looks met.
“What
He flops into a chair. “Our cabin is haunted. And also curied. It’s cold, the beds are like slabs of wood, and I swear I heard demon whispering in the tre
A few people laugh.
“Maybe the demon was trying to escape you,” someone calls back.
Another says, “Tyler’s just mad he didn’t get the cozy main house room.
That’s when Bebecca pipes up from the kitchen island. “Oh, by the way, Drew left this morning–family stult. So there’s an open bed in the lodge now
“You’ll have to bunk with she starts, but Tyler’s Already halfway across the ro
“I’ll take it!” he says brightly, beaming. “Dibs. Dobe.”
I blink
He doesn’t even ask if I want to move too.
Doesn’t even look at me
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Chapter 122: Penny
He’s already chatting with someone about where the room is
And I’m… a little stunned.
But mostly?
Relieved
He won’t complain all night now. Won’t shove me off the bed. Won’t sleep so close it makes me claustrophobic. I’ll have the cabin to my
Or maybe not just myself.
I look up–and meet Asher’s eyes across the rooms.
He saw the whole thing.
And I can tell by the look on his face he understood exactly what I felt. Every flicker. Every shift. Every beat.
He just nods once.
And I let myself breathe.
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