Silence filled the room. The words "You were shot, Asher. I saw it happen. You... you died in my arms." still hung in the air like a heavy weight pressing against his chest.
Asher swallowed, his mind scrambling for a response. His pulse quickened. The sheer absurdity of the situation wasn't lost on him he was talking to people who had buried him. And yet, here he was. Back. Alive. Sort of.
Adam's eyes flickered with an emotion Asher couldn't quite place relief? Fear? Maybe both.
"You okay, man?" Adam finally asked, studying him with concern.
Asher forced a chuckle, rubbing his temple. "You tell me. Apparently, I was six feet under last week, so forgive me if I'm having a bit of an existential crisis here."
Adam let out a breath, running a hand through his hair. "No shit, dude. Elsie's been" He stopped himself. "I mean, everyone's been... messed up about it. And now you're just here?"
Asher glanced toward the door, the faint sound of Elsie moving around in the house breaking the eerie silence.
He needed to tread carefully.
"Guess I'm just lucky," he muttered, forcing himself to sound casual. "Maybe someone up there decided my time wasn't up."
Adam didn't look convinced. He sighed, slumping against the desk. "The funeral... I was there, Asher. I saw your body. How the hell does someone come back from that?"
Asher had no answer.
He couldn't tell Adam the truth. That he wasn't the same person they'd lost. That his last memory wasn't of being shot but of another life entirely a different body, a different name.
That memory... it was distant, foggy, but there.
His name had been Ethan Wright. He had lived in another world, another time. He had confessed his feelings to Emily—his best friend, his first love. She had smiled, agreed to be his girlfriend. And then...
He slipped.
The dull, sickening crack of his skull against pavement echoed in his mind. The sheer stupidity of it all still made him want to scream. To laugh.
That wasn't how things were supposed to go.
"Hey," Asher said, leaning back against the headboard. "Maybe I just have an overpowered respawn ability. Ever think of that?" He smirked. "Maybe I leveled up in the afterlife."
Adam blinked. Then, despite everything, he let out a laugh half disbelieving, half relieved. "You're an idiot, you know that?"
Asher grinned. "Oh, trust me, I know."
Adam shook his head, exhaling sharply. "You seriously don't remember anything? About how you got back?"
"Nope. One moment I'm out cold, the next I'm here. No memories of some divine being sending me back, no cryptic visions. Just... this."
Adam studied him for a long moment, then sighed. "Elsie's gonna lose it, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I figured," Asher muttered.
He could already tell that Elsie wasn't going to let this go. She was smart. Too smart. She'd keep digging, keep searching for answers. And eventually, she might notice the small cracks the moments where he wasn't quite her Asher.
But for now, he needed to keep moving forward.
Keep pretending.
Because whatever had brought him back... whatever force had decided he was meant to be here...
Asher paced the small living room, rubbing his temple. "Okay, so… I'm dead."
Adam, slumped on the couch, let out a dry laugh. "Yeah. You are. Or, well, you were."
"And everyone thinks I still am."
"Bingo."
Asher exhaled through his nose, glancing toward the window. He could see faint movement outside just regular people walking by, completely unaware that a supposed dead man was standing just a few feet away. If any of them saw him, it wouldn't take long for word to spread.
Adam leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "We can't just… walk you out of here. You get seen, and this entire city's gonna lose its mind."
"So, what? I just sit here forever?"
Adam frowned, thinking. "No, but we need a plan. Something believable. A way to explain "
The sudden sound of a phone vibrating cut him off. Adam glanced down at his pocket, his brows furrowing. He pulled out his phone and paled.
"...Shit."
Asher's stomach twisted. "What?"
Adam turned the screen toward him.
Breaking News: ASHER CALLAHAN. IS ALIVE?! Eyewitness Reports Say the 'Dead' Man is Walking!
Below the headline was a blurry photo grainy, like it had been taken in a hurry, but unmistakable. Him.
Asher's heart sank. "...How the hell did they"
"The neighbor." Adam groaned, running a hand down his face. "Mrs. Leighton. She must've seen you through the damn window. She's one of those people who watches the news like it's her religion."
Asher gritted his teeth. He wasn't ready for this. Not yet.
A sharp knock on the door made them both jump.
Adam shot to his feet, whispering, "Please tell me you weren't expecting anyone."
Before Asher could answer, the door flew open.
And there she was.
Lyra Vance.
Age 25, older than Asher and Adam. She was shorter compared to the two standing at the height of 5'7(170 cm). She had a slender but incredibly strong build - toned arms and legs, a body built from rigorous training.
She was breathing hard like she had run the whole way here. Her usually composed expression was shattered, replaced by something raw something Asher had never seen on her face before.
Disbelief.
Fear.
Hope.
"Asher," she breathed.
For a moment, she just stood there, gripping the doorframe, staring at him as if he would disappear if she blinked. Then, before he could react, she strode forward and punched him hard right in the shoulder.
"Ow! What the hell"
"You died!" she snapped, her voice shaking. "I was at your funeral!"
Asher opened his mouth, but she wasn't done.
"Do you have any idea what we went through? How we" Her breath hitched. She clenched her fists, shutting her eyes tight before forcing them open again. "How I"
She stopped. Swallowed hard. Then, almost against her own will, she took a shaky step forward and grabbed the front of his shirt.
"You were gone," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Asher's throat tightened. He knew Lyra. Knew how she bottled things up, how she hid her emotions behind an unshakable exterior. But right now, it was all crumbling.
Slowly, hesitantly, he lifted a hand and placed it over hers.
"I know," he murmured. "But I'm here now."
For a long moment, she just stared at him, as if searching for something some proof that he was real. Then, finally, she let out a breath, releasing his shirt and stepping back.
"...You have so much explaining to do."
Asher huffed a small, amused breath. "Yeah. I figured."
Adam cleared his throat. "Uh, hate to break up the moment, but we've got bigger problems. The news already knows. It's only a matter of time before"
His phone buzzed again. Another notification. Another headline.
The Government Requests an Official Statement on the 'Resurrected' Asher
Asher groaned. "Oh, come on."
Lyra crossed her arms. "So. What's the plan?"
Asher sighed, glancing between them.
He didn't know.
But one thing was clear.
Whatever brought him back?
It wasn't going to let him stay in hiding.
To be continued...