All Chapters of The Edge Of You : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

12 Chapters

Chapter 1- The Boy On The Edge

CONTENT WARNINGThis story contains themes of mental health struggles, suicidal ideation, emotional abuse, and trauma. Reader discretion is advised.Asher's pov.I slammed my door shut and twisted the lock, the metallic click echoing in the silence of my room. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely pull them away. I slid down the wood immediately, my back pressed against the door, my knees tucked tightly to my chest. I covered my ears with both hands, squeezing my eyes shut as if I could physically block out the world.But I couldn't. My mother’s voice was like a ghost, it drifted through the cracks, sharp and relentless.“Why are you so useless?”The words slipped past my defenses anyway.“Why can’t you be like your sisters?”My chest tightened. Of course. It always came back to them.“Why are you so different? Why do you act like you don’t give a shit about this world?”A shaky breath slipped out of me before I could stop it.She said she should have aborted me when she had t

Chapter 2- The Bad Son

Asher's POVI should’ve walked back home. It wasn’t far. But my legs wouldn’t cooperate, they were heavy, weakened by the adrenaline crash. I ended up in a cab instead, frozen in the backseat as the city passed in blurred streaks of light. Even now, the weight of the stranger’s wrist felt like a brand burned into my palm.My muscles were locking up in a delayed reaction to the stress.My brain was stuck on a loop, the roar of the water, the hollow desperation in those dark eyes, and the way the sleek black car had swallowed him whole.I couldn’t stop thinking about him, whether he was still alive, whether anything I did actually changed anything, or if I had just delayed the inevitable. When the cab pulled up to the curb, the sight of my house made my stomach knot. The windows were glowing with a warm amber light that felt like a mockery.I stepped out onto the pavement and stood still for a long minute, clenching my fists until the tremors subsided. “It’s fine, Asher, it’s fine,” I

Chapter 3- The Golden Cage

Asher's POVThe gallery was a cathedral of hushed whispers and polished concrete. Cool, sterile air brushed against my skin, carrying the faint, sharp scent of floor wax and expensive perfume. People moved in slow, deliberate patterns, their gazes glued to the canvases as if searching for a secret code. It was a world away from the suffocating heat of my father’s dining room, and for the first time in twenty-four hours, my lungs didn't feel constricted.Brady and Trevor trailed a few paces behind me. I could hear the low rumble of their voices, though the words blurred into the background noise of the crowd until Trevor’s shoulder bumped mine.“Ash, look at two o’clock,” Trevor whispered, leaning in. He nodded toward a girl in a silk dress standing with a group of friends near a sculpture. “Tell me she isn’t exactly my type. Isn’t she stunning?”Brady exhaled a sharp, dry breath. "So your main job here is just spotting pretty girls, Trev?”I let out a soft chuckle, shaking my head.

Chapter 4- The Boy On The Stairs

Leonard's pov.The evening air hit me as I stepped out of the gallery, heavier than I expected. I walked down the marble stairs, my shoes clicking against the stone. The staircase stretched endlessly beneath me, polished marble designed to make people feel insignificant before they even stepped inside.My mind stayed behind in that alcove with the boy who had explained the painting. He was striking, with brunette hair, long lashes, and a delicate symmetry to his face that felt far too soft for a place like this.Seeing him again brought the bridge back with it. I could still feel his hands pulling me back from the railing.I hated him for it, for witnessing my lowest moment and taking away the only choice I had left."Young Master." Marcus's voice cut through the memory, sharp and professional. "You have fifty minutes. Dinner with your father and brother is scheduled for six."I didn't respond. My jaw tightened at the thought of sitting at that long, cold table.I wanted to ask why w

Chapter 5- The Wrong Answer

Asher's pov.The professor’s voice faded into the background, mixing with the scratching of pens against paper.Everyone around me was hunched over their desks, desperate to capture every word. I leaned back, my own notebook open, but my pen wasn't tracing chemical bonds or reaction formulas.Instead, the graphite moved in soft, precise strokes, carving out the sharp line of a jaw and the intensity of a gaze I couldn’t shake. Seeing Leonard at the gallery yesterday… he looked different. Even more striking than the first time. The memory of him standing among the paintings made the air in my lungs feel thin.I let out a slow, silent exhale, my chest tightening as the rest of the day flashed back. The panic of seeing my father at the exhibition. Rushing into that cramped, dusty storage room to avoid being seen. I could still feel the itch of insulation against my skin and the relentless pounding of my heartbeat while Brady and Trevor stood guard outside for hours. By the time they si

Chapter 6- The Café

Asher's pov.The red ink at the top of the paper felt like a slap in the face. I stared down at the terrible grade on my quiz, the numbers blurring together as I gripped the edges of the page until the corners crumpled in my hands.It was a total mess. During the whole test, my mind wasn't on the engineering formulas at all. Every time I tried to focus, those sharp, dark eyes from yesterday flashed in my mind, followed by the heavy weight of the lie I’d told. How was I supposed to give the bracelet back now without looking like a thief or a liar?A heavy hand clapped down on my shoulder, breaking my train of thought."Hey, don't worry too much," Trevor said, leaning over my desk with a shrug. "You can get a better grade next time."I let out a long sigh, folding the quiz sheet in half to hide the shame. "You got a perfect score, didn't you?""Of course he did," Brady said from my left, neatly putting his pens away into his case.I leaned back in my chair, staring blankly at the board

Chapter 7- See You Again

Asher's pov.I swallowed hard, my throat feeling completely dry as Leonard’s gaze remained locked onto mine. The silence between us stretched until it felt almost suffocating. Slowly, his dark eyes moved away from my face, shifting back down to trace the charcoal lines on the paper.I let out a nervous, airy chuckle, shifting slightly in my chair. "It's... uh, it's good to see you again."Leonard didn’t answer. He just kept staring at the drawing book, his expression completely unreadable. The awkwardness settled between us again. My fingers twitched against the edge of the table. I needed to say something, anything, to break the tension."I was just... drawing the view outside," I blurted out.Leonard’s head tilted slightly. "The view?" his low baritone repeated. He turned his head slowly, his eyes scanning the glass window and the wet street beyond it."Are you here to get coffee?" I asked, trying to sound casual. I gestured vaguely to the empty chair across from me. "You can si

Chapter 8- What is wrong?

Leonard's pov.The city moved past the window in long, wet streaks.I wasn't seeing any of it.My eyes were fixed on the glass but my mind was somewhere else entirely, turning the same question over and over without arriving anywhere useful. Liam never called me to his office without a reason. There was always a reason. There was always something I had done or failed to do or should have anticipated, and the fact that I couldn't identify what it was this time made the not knowing worse than the knowing would have been.I kept my hands still in my lap and my expression neutral and told myself there was nothing to be nervous about."Why did you allow that boy to stay at the café, young master?"Marcus’s voice broke the quiet. He was watching me through the rearview mirror, his hands tight on the steering wheel.I kept my face completely blank. "I just didn't want to create a scene.""If you want," Marcus said, his tone dropping into a low, protective cadence, "I can make sure he doesn'

Chapter 9- Another Version Of Him

Asher's pov.I lay flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling as I held the silver bracelet directly above my face. The metal was cool against my skin, catching the dull light filtering through my bedroom window. A nagging knot twisted in my stomach. Was I being completely selfish? I had the perfect opportunity to just hand it over to Leonard at the café, yet I had frozen and kept it hidden away in my bag.I shook my head, trying to clear the guilt. No, I had made the right call. With that cranky bodyguard staring holes through me, pulling it out after lying about it before would have looked incredibly suspicious.My thoughts drifted back to the moment Leonard's mask had slipped. The second Marcus mentioned his brother, Leonard's face had gone completely pale, his eyes fluttering with a sudden, hidden panic. Why had he reacted like that? Whenever I think about my sisters, all I felt was annoyance.Was it even possible to be genuinely scared of your own sibling?I looked back down

Chapter 10- Warmth from his body

Asher's pov.After the brief chuckle, the room fell quiet again. Leonard turned his head back to the window, his expression flattening out into that familiar, unreadable mask as he stared at the traffic outside.I leaned down and unzipped my backpack, pulling out my black sketchbook. I placed it onto the wooden surface and slid it gently across the table, stopping it right in front of him.The motion made Leonard look up from the window."The last time we talked," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "I mentioned I’d show you some more of my drawings the next time we ran into each other."Leonard’s eyes moved from my face down to the heavy paper cover. He didn't say anything, but he reached out and flipped the book open. His long fingers turned the pages slowly, his eyes tracking the dark pencil lines of various structures and facial studies.He stopped on a page near the middle. It was a detailed sketch of an old man sitting alone on a wooden park bench. A folded newspaper sat on

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