Page 85 of Ashen Souls

Harper let out a long, suffering exhale and turned her head in my direction, eyes still firmly shut. “You danced on a table.”

I stopped breathing. “I did not.”

“Oh, you absolutely did.” She didn't even bother opening her eyes to deliver the blow. “You also tried to high-five a guy named Steve. You missed. Twice.”

I hauled the blanket over my face, letting the darkness swallow my humiliation.

“Then you announced you were taking a break from emotionally unavailable men,” her muffled voice continued. “Loudly. Repeatedly.”

I lowered the blanket an inch. “How loud?”

“Loud enough that half the room cheered.”

My throat clicked dryly. “Okay. Moving on. How did I get from the party… to this bed?”

She cracked an eye open, a smug grin tugging at her mouth. “You went completely off the rails. And before you argue… yes, I tried to stop you.”

“I don’t go off the rails,” I muttered.

“You launched yourself off them,” she replied. “I rationed your drinks. I swapped one for water. You drank someone else’s instead. You were in what I’d call your feral liberation era.” She dropped her head back onto the pillow.

I groaned, pressing my palms into my covered eyes. “Please tell me I wasn’t mean.”

“No,” she said quickly. “You were just… intense. Like you’d finally snapped. It was almost impressive. Right up until you announced you had one last dance in you.”

I frowned. “I think I remember saying that.”

“You declared it three times,” she replied. “I tried to drag you toward the stairs, but you twisted out of my grip and vanished into the crowd.”

“And then?”

“And then some idiot decided your state was an open invitation.”

The remaining alcohol in my blood seemed to freeze solid. “What kind of idiot?”

“The persistent kind. Too close and too loud. You tried to back away, and he followed. I tried to physically shove between you two, and he just laughed at me.”

Nausea surged again, sharper this time.

“Then,” she said after a beat, “Hale showed up.”

I dropped the blanket, ignoring the flare of pain behind my eyes. “Ethan?”

“Yeah. Out of nowhere. Honestly, it looked like he never left. Like he’d just been standing by the wall, watching the floor the entire time.”

A cold prickle of dread crept up my neck. “What did he do?”

“He just put a hand on the guy’s shoulder and said something very calm, and very final. I couldn't hear the words. I just saw all the color vanish from his face. He looked terrified before he bolted.”

“That doesn’t sound like Ethan.”

“It absolutely was,” she insisted. “Just… sharper. Like a blade you forget is there until it cuts.”

I focused on the blank wall, my mind trying to reconcile the polite professor with the man who scared someone off with a single look. “And me?”

“He made sure you could stand. When it became obvious you couldn't, he just picked you up.”

“Picked me up how?” I asked, bracing myself for the humiliation.