***
Dad and Amelia returned shortly afterwards, and since it was already late, they’d gotten some Chinese takeout for us. We all sat at the dinner table in silence, with Asher and I avoiding eye contact and pretending that I hadn’t just been crying my heart out.
He’d stayed with me until the tears stopped, and we simply just laid there and listened to the sound of each other’s breathing. Neither of us moved until we heard their car pull up in the driveway. And now we were trying to act like everything was normal, and that we hadn’t just been in each other’s arms a few minutes ago.
“Seriously, what is wrong with you two?” Dad asked suddenly, setting down his fork. “You’ve been acting strangely all day. Are you sure you haven’t been snatched by aliens and replaced with doppelgängers?”
