Page 111 of Gravity

His eyes widen, and he takes a staggering step toward her, glaring at me. The look on his face is as if she’s just split his heart in two.

"So, what? You wanted to fuck the anguish out of each other?"

"Of course not. It wasn't like that. Things were happening between us long before you left, Asher,” Nora replies in frustration.

He takes a few more steps toward me, and I square my shoulders, waiting for the hits to come. Only this time they don’t. He gets up close to my face, his eyes dilated, his breath reeking with a poison I recognize all too well from the days with my mother. Her drunken, intoxicated body flashes before me, but as the dark, hollow eyes of Asher hold my gaze, I see it: the plea; the cry for help... Or at least I think I do. Whatever it was that just flickered behind his eyes means I suddenly don’t want to fight him anymore. A part of me wants to wrap my arms around him and tell him that everything will be all right, that I’m here for him. I may love Nora, but I can be here for them both.

All of that is quickly wiped from my thoughts when he grabs the scruff of my shirt and growls. "You promised to look out for her."

"And I have.”

"That didn't mean sleep with her, you fucking prick!"

“Both of you stop!” Nora yells. “Just stop.”

Asher releases his hold on me and steps away.

Needing my own space to try and get to grips with the rollercoaster of the morning, I go over to the window to try and focus on something outside of this room and calm myself. I’ll happily roar out my disapproval and disgust with him. I’ll happily throw a few more punches if that’s what he’s wanting—even if I’m not, but the fact of the matter is, I have Nora to think about. I don’t want to scare her. I don’t want to damage her heart any more than it has already been damaged.

Her response to what is unfolding between the three of us—or lack of it—is what has me looking back at her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, still wrapped in the bedsheet, she focuses on the floor. Her fist is curled on her lap and her chest is rising and falling with her deep breaths. She is silent, and she is angry. I fear that when she releases her fury and anguish toward him, it will break her completely, and I don’t want that.

As Asher rests against my bedroom wall, I watch him watching Nora. Permanently unsteady yet somehow controlled, his body slightly sways. His fingers fidget as if he’s unsure what to do with them. I wonder when he last had a drink as he’s showing signs of withdrawal.

Wanting to keep his head in the game and to get out of him his reasons for being so cut off from everyone, I’m in two minds whether or not to get him a drink—I know I could certainly do with one—but that friend in me chooses not to. Or maybe I’m just being downright cruel.

“Nora,” he says quietly. “You’ve barely even looked at me since I’ve got back.”

Unbelievable.

“How is my kid sis doing?"

Am I fucking hearing this right?

"How do you think she's doing?" I mutter, wishing I could keep my fucking mouth shut as it’s not helping.

"I'm talking to my sister." He cuts me a look before he turns back to her. “Nora, please. I want to know how you are. How you’re doing.”

She doesn’t answer. Standing slowly, she steps toward him. He opens his arms out to welcome her into his embrace as a glimmer of hope casts his features. The silence that comes from Nora is deathly, and I can see the ferocity in her eyes as her knuckles turn white. Standing in front of Asher, she analyses him for a moment right before her hand rises and she slaps him hard across the face.

"That is how I'm doing. Now get the fuck out, you selfish fucking asshole."

I’m at her side in seconds, and she falls into me as a deep cry rips from her chest. I hold her tight as her torment once again leaves her, all the while watching Asher as he looks at his sister completely stunned.

I can’t wrap my head around the fact he can’t see the bigger picture here. I guess that’s what alcohol does to you. It masks your pain as well as the ability to witness the heartache of others. To Asher, he’s just been absent for a few weeks as he comes to terms with the fact his dad has passed while his best friend has gone behind his back. He can’t see the brutal distress it has caused his family.

“Nora. Please. Don’t be like this.”

"What did you expect, Asher? You left us. You left me!" she cries, turning in my hold to face him. "He was our dad. I needed you... and you left me on my own."

“Nora…”

“Just leave us!”

Her tiny frame is trembling, and tears stream down her face. Meanwhile, my heart is suddenly torn because I want to protect her, yet I can see in my friend's eyes the torment he's under as tears now glass his eyes and sorrow covers his features.

He may be drunk. He may have been absent at a time when everyone needed him, but looking at Asher now, I can see how much turmoil his mind is in, and how much grief, guilt and god knows what else he’s suffering with. That's the compassionate side of me, and although that is strong, the resentment that is burning through me again right now takes over as Nora falls apart. She is my priority.

“Just go, Asher.”