Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“Mommy!” Grant’s tiny voice breaks through the tension in the room, and Seth’s voice follows shortly after that. “Mom, we got ice cream from downstairs!”
Both Grant and Seth run up to Sammy, and Chase—along with two people I believe are Brooke and Sammy’s parents—isn’t too far behind them.
“I think it’s time for us to go!” Brooke exclaims and stands to her feet, moving quicker than I thought was possible with how pregnant she is.
“But—” Chase starts to say, but Brooke is quick to cut him off.
“Time to go, Chase. We need to check on Dolly, remember?” Her eyes are like laser beams as they lock with his. “Remember?”
“Uh…okay?” He’s fucking clueless, which, at this point, is probably a good thing.
“You get the boys. I’ll get my parents. Everyone, let’s go!”
Not even ten seconds later, Brooke has managed to clear out the room, leaving me, Sammy, Kendall, Dale, and Ashley.
But then, after Kendall storms out and Dale chases after her, only Sammy, Ashley, and I remain.
If this isn’t shit getting real, then I don’t know what to call it.
Sammy
“I’m so sorry,” Ashley says, and tears are now streaming down her face. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I didn’t mean to drag you two into this. I feel so guilty for everything that’s happened.”
There’s a part of me that feels bad for her, but there’s another part of me that is angry over the whole thing. I mean, Noah and I ended up in the hospital, and for the past few days, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to him, all because of the way she went about this.
“I just don’t understand,” Noah states, and his mouth is set into a firm line. “Why did you show up at my apartment, then?”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” Ashley swallows hard against the emotion that’s still streaming down her face. “Dale was ignoring my calls and text messages, and I was hoping you would be able to help me talk to him.” She grimaces. “I didn’t even realize until Sammy got so upset and left that she thought the baby was yours.”
Noah’s laugh is completely devoid of humor as I reach out to squeeze his hand with my own.
“I messed up, I know.” More tears spill down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”
“How in the fuck did you even get involved with Dale?” Noah asks, his anger evident in the hardness of his beautiful jaw. “He’s married, Ashley. And I’m pretty sure you knew that.”
“I know!” she cries. “Trust me, I know! And I wish I could take it back, but I can’t.”
“When did this happen?” All I can do is stand there and listen as he interrogates her.
“About a month after we broke up,” she explains without making eye contact. “I saw him out one night at a bar. He was by himself. I was by myself. And we just…I don’t know…we got to talking, and one thing led to another, and he ended up back at my place.”
“Fucking hell,” Noah mutters and looks over at me for a brief moment before looking at her again. “Was that the only time?”
She shakes her head. “We stayed…in touch…for about two months after that.”
“Two months? Jesus!” he snaps, and a small sob escapes her throat.
“I know, Noah,” she says quietly, a whimper highlighting her voice. “I’m not proud of any of it. And I shouldn’t have let it happen. I know that.”
“You both shouldn’t have let it happen,” Noah interjects. “Both you and Dale are in the wrong here.” When he says his good friend’s name, I can hear his disappointment.
It certainly takes two to do the cheating-tango, but I know he must be heartbroken that his friend was willing to be a party to it.
“I’m so sorry,” Ashley apologizes again. “To both of you. For everything. I shouldn’t have showed up to your apartment like that, Noah.”
“Why did you tell them he was your boyfriend?” I ask the one question that’s been rolling around inside my head.
“It was the only way they’d let me stay in the room with him. With you both,” she explains. “I know it wasn’t the right thing to do, but I just felt so guilty about everything. I mean, you both were in comas. Because of me. I felt like I needed to be here. With you guys. I couldn’t just leave you to deal with the mess I made.”
Goodness. She’s blaming herself for our accident. It makes my heart break.
“Ashley, I really don’t think you need to shoulder the guilt of the accident and what happened after,” I insert without hesitation. “I know that wasn’t your intention when you showed up at Noah’s apartment that night, and I can only imagine how scared and alone you’ve been feeling since finding out about the baby.”