Page 26 of Protection for Asher (Safeguarded By The SEAL #4)

Asher was glad her friends were willing to help her, but she also wanted to try standing on her own. So on Sunday night she was sleeping at Squat’s place alone. It was scary, but she could do it.

At first, she had all the lights off, but it felt too dark. She turned on the lights in the kitchen first, then she turned on the lights on the stairs. It was too bright in her room, so she flicked off those lights and turned on the lights in the bathroom.

She drifted off but woke with her heart racing.

Though she wanted to figure out what had woken her up, she froze, trying not to move an inch.

If she stayed still, maybe she could tell if someone was inside the house.

After the roar in her ears calmed, she heard a radio blasting music. That had to have been what woke her.

Her phone said it was a little before midnight and she felt it.

No way had she gotten enough sleep. It sucked that one of their neighbors was being loud and woke her.

After she got her heart rate under control, she closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

It must have worked because the next time she opened her eyes sunlight highlighted the edge of the curtains.

Monday was here, which meant she needed to figure out where she wanted to go to college and what degree she really wanted to get. Though declaring a degree could wait until she was done with the basics, so she had time.

She checked in with Thario, glad to hear that nothing had changed. None of the people who had been in on her abduction knew where she was. The police hadn’t arrested anyone else, but with the evidence pointing in their direction, they could be arrested at any time.

Instead of obsessing over when they would be arrested, Asher focused on searching for programs that would give her financial aid and get her the degree she wanted.

She spent most of the day looking and figured out that getting her associate's degree at one of the local community colleges would be the best option. It had been a while since she'd been excited about her future. It was nice to have something to look forward to.

By the time she finished filling out the application to get her associate’s degree, it was dark outside. She’d spent the whole day alone and nothing bad had happened. When Rowan called her around six that evening she answered with a smile on her face.

“Hello, Rowan.”

“Hey, so how was today?”

“Actually good.”

“That's awesome. Do you want to come over here, or should I come to you tonight?”

“You know what? I think I can do another night alone. I know that may be pushing it, but I was okay last night.”

“Wow, that’s really good. You should be proud of yourself.”

Her smile grew wider. “I think I am. I mean, I know that's a small thing, but it's cool.”

Rowan laughed. “It’s not a small thing. You are discounting yourself. Staying alone all night is a big thing.”

Laughing with Rowan felt good. “I was so happy to wake up this morning with the sun shining in.”

“Well, if you’re staying alone tonight, how about we get together for breakfast in the morning?”

“Sure, that will be something to look forward to.”

“Good. I'll see you in the morning. Come to my place, and I'll make us something delicious.”

“I can’t wait.”

The call ended, and she sat with her phone in her hand for a long moment, thinking about what she'd accomplished.

She needed to keep moving forward with her future.

She checked her email and saw there was a response from the school where she'd applied.

They wanted her to upload documents that she didn't have.

They were at her old place in a town she could never go back to.

How could she get someone to send them to her without them figuring out where she lived?

A shiver slid through her. There was no way she could go back to that town, and there wasn't any way they could find out where she lived. She was stuck. If she didn't provide the college with her documents, she couldn't get a degree. She needed help.

Maybe she could fly home and sneak into town. No one had to know she was there. She tapped on her phone screen and opened the messenger application, sending a text to Thario, asking if she could ask a question. Her phone rang almost immediately. It was Thario.

“Hey, thank you for calling.”

“What can I help you with?”

“Gosh, I feel silly, but I was wondering, and I don't know. Maybe it's too much.”

“Hey, Asher, it’s okay. Just ask.”

She blew out a breath. “I want to go to college. I need my birth certificate and some other documents. They are back at my house.”

“Oh, no. You can’t go back there. Not yet. Squat’s uncle is still free. If he sees you, he could come after you.”

“That would be bad.”

“Yes. Let me see what I can do.”

“I want to go to college so I can get a degree and do social work, but I don’t know how to get the documents.”

Thario grunted. “That’s cool. I’ll help you get them. Don’t worry about the documents and don’t go back there. Also no contacting them to have them send the documents to you. I’ll take care of it.”

“Are you sure? How will you get them without letting them know where I am?”

“I’ve built a network of people I trust. It might take a few days to get them sent to me, but I’ll arrange it.”

She appreciated what he was doing for her. She'd never had anyone like Squat's friends in her life. “Thank you. I won't contact them, and I won't travel there.”

“Good. I guess Squat is still gone?”

“Yes. But I was able to stay alone last night at his place, and I'm going to try it again.”

“That’s good. But there is no shame in needing someone. We aren’t islands.”

“Thank you for that reminder. I needed to hear it.”

“You're welcome. Now then, I need to get on retrieving your documents. And I'm glad you're planning on going to college. Whatever you decide to do, I know you'll do it to help people.”

She ended the call, glad she had a solution to the problem of getting her documents.

Now, she just had to get used to being alone.

Squat would be home soon, but his job called him out more than she'd expected.

It made sense, but still, she was realizing she would be alone a lot more than she'd first thought, but it wasn’t a problem. She was strong and could do this.