Page 48 of Gravehouse

She refills our glasses and turns back to Asher. “Tell me about the switch method. I don’t understand how you generate that rotation.”

He plants one palm on the counter and breaks down edge control and weight distribution. When his arm stretches over my chair, I freeze, the hairs along my neck lifting.

Nonna asks smart questions, cutting straight to the parts that matter. He meets her there, voice steady, hands moving, the stiffness in him loosening with every answer.

This is who he was, who he could have stayed if I hadn’t fucked him.

Nonna taps my wrist with a spoon and drags me back. “Ivy? Show Asher to your room, ma petite. You both need rest before dinner.”

He nods toward the stairs. “Lead the way, Venom.”

I step onto the narrow staircase with his heat at my back as I direct us up to my childhood bedroom.

It’s like walking through time. Pink and teal paint is chipped over the walls from where I’d rip down old posters I outgrew,leaving only the pressed flowers hanging in frames. They were my constant reminder to care for things after they die.

My feet carry me to the wooden bench seat below the large window.

Random quotes from the Codex are carved into the wood. Mainly the ones I struggled to learn.

The body keeps score of violence. Learn its language before you speak it.

Memories flash through my head.

Jord quizzing me and throwing chocolate in my mouth every time I got it right.

Leon teaching me how to break someone without touching them. He’d stay patient, making me do it again until my eyes stopped giving me away.

Asher sets down the bags and takes in the room, his fingers dragging over the photos tucked into my mirror. Jord and me at sixteen. Luce and me shooting. Leon and Punk laughing at something dumb.

Neither of us speaks.

“Funny.” I drag my thumb over the grooves carved into my bedpost. “The thought of ever bringing a boy into this room never crossed my mind.”

He glances over, brows lifted slightly. His jaw loosens as he starts to speak, then he clamps his mouth shut.

I keep moving, letting the room settle my head.

Tracing the edge of the picture frame, I whisper, “Nonna saved me. After...”

The words fade in my mouth.

I turn to meet his stare. “Asher.”

He steps past me, reaching for the door. “Don’t.”

He stops with his hand on the frame. “I need to shower before dinner.” Keeping his back to me, he lifts his chin. “She’s exactly what I pictured, by the way. When you talked about her.”

Then he’s gone.

I stare at the empty space and the ground shifts under my feet. I know how we got to this point, but it doesn’t make it sting any less.

The old pipes groan when he finally turns on the shower.

Focus.Stay focused.I need to distract myself with something before I go in there and make him hate fuck me until he forgives me, so I start unpacking.

By the time I make it downstairs, Nonna is at full speed. Pots clatter, garlic and rosemary thickening the air.

She points a wooden spoon at the cutting board without looking up. “Chop.”