Page 100 of Forgotten Prejudice

My heart sank, and unable to believe what I’d just read, I looked straight ahead. Cold sweat covered my skin, and I gripped the paper harder, feeling like I was going through a heart attack. Soren had been here the whole time, yet he didn’t try to contact me once. For months, I came to accept he was gone, living his best life in NYC, only to learn through a stupid article that he was practicing law downtown. Why didn’t he contact me? Rejection I thought I’d become used to pierced my chest, and I squeezed my eyes closed. If only overcoming this feeling was easy. I’d started seeing a therapist lately, so I did what he taught me whenever I felt like the world was closing in on me.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly exhaled before repeating the action until my lungs ceased to burn and my limbs stopped shivering. And by the time I was done practicing my breaths, I had come up with an idea.

Kai

“Ashy, look what I got,” I announced, walking into the house with a paint can in each hand. “I wasn’t sure which color you’d like better, but we can check both. Right?” Ever since Ash told me he wanted to turn the old shed into a shop, I’d taken it upon myself to renovate the place.

I’d half expected him to get excited, like he did yesterday when I showed him the wood I’d use for the counter, only he didn’t say a word and remained fixated on whatever he was reading on his laptop.

Putting the cans aside, I walked toward him and grabbed his shoulders.

“Earth to Ash.”

“Oh, hey,” he said half-heartedly, his concentration still fully set on the computer.

Pissed off for not getting his attention, I peeked over his shoulder at the screen.

“Juvenile Detention Center Counseling Volunteering,” I read the site’s title out loud, my brows pulling into a deep frown. “The hell is that?”

Ignoring me, Ash scrolled down the form he was currently filling out with his details. Irritated for not knowing what was going on, I shut the laptop.

“What the hell, Kai?”

“Finally, a reaction,” I rasped, crossing my arms over my chest. “Mind explaining to me why you’re looking into some jail’s website?”

He pouted, reopening his laptop. “It’s not jail. It’s a juvenile detention center.”

I moved around and sat on the table, forcing his head in my direction by grabbing his chin. “Ashy, talk to me. What’s going on?”

He held my stare for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. “Fine. But you’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“Crazy ideas are good. Now, tell me what’s up,” I encouraged him. Unfortunately, ten minutes later, I realized not all crazy ideas were good. Like his, for example. His idea was extremely bad.

“Have you lost your mind?” I grimaced at him, and he frowned.

“You said crazy is good!”

“Yeah. Crazy, as in, let’s-go-to-Las-Vegas-for-the-weekend, and not let’s-volunteer-with-a-bunch-of-criminals-to-get-info-about-your-ex sort of crazy.”

Even if Ash had a degree in business psychology, he had no actual practice in it. So what the fuck was he planning on doing with at-risk youth, who—with no offense to Ash—could rip his cute ass apart. He was literally a golden retriever pup colored in rainbows and covered with sugar while those kids were… trash. They’d demolish him in seconds.

Ash placed his hand on my knee and leaned closer. “Ever since I read in that article that Soren has been here for a few months, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I have so many questions, Kai, questions for answers that keep me up at night.” He sounded so desperate while looking at me with those pretty eyes of his, and I couldn’t help but ache for him.

“Still, how will meeting up with some fucked-up kids help you?”

He bit his bottom lip before speaking again. “I need to meet him. The boy Soren worked with. I can’t help but feel like it’s what I’m supposed to do, Kai.”

I huffed, then stood up and walked around the kitchen, rethinking everything he’d just told me. Apparently, the reason Soren had returned to LA was to work on this kid’s case. While I knew he’d come back months ago, Ash didn’t, and finding out about it through an article flipped a screw in his head. Could I really blame him? After all, I was the one keeping that secret away from him. Sure, back then, Soren did mention he’d stick around for a while, but I didn’t bother to ask what for. When it came to Soren Dane, I believed in the saying “out of sight, out of mind.” Sadly, Ash didn’t seem to think the same.

“It just sounds like an extreme plan, Ashy, and I’m worried it will put you back in a dark place.” Especially when he was finally doing better. With me.

Getting up from his chair, he stopped before me and placed his hands on my hips. “I know you’re worried, but it will be okay. I mean, worst-case scenario, I’ve just wasted my time. But what if meeting this kid will give me the closure I need?”

I cupped his face and held him close. “I still don’t understand how meeting a stranger in prison could help.”

He pulled his shoulders. “It just feels right.”

God help me, I didn’t understand the way his brain worked. But when he leaned in close and hugged me, I couldn’t care less about his logic. Giving in to his touch, I hugged him back, taking in every bit of affection he was giving me.