Page 75 of Sloane

I should have expected that. Yet, the powerless feeling was making my skin crawl and another wave of nausea hit me. Still, I didn’t want to come off as rude—I needed Craig to keep me in the loop.

“Thank you for checking, Craig. I appreciate it.”

“Of course, Ashley. Hang in there; the doctor didn’t have a timeline for how long they’d keep Sloane under, but he made it sound like it was going to be a while to help him heal.”

“That’s not uncommon,” I told him. “It helps manage the pain.”

“So, I guess we just wait.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m going to apologize in advance, because I’ll probably be bothering you at least once a day for updates.”

“It’s no bother. You can call me, Maddie, or Ryan anytime. Although, I’ll be honest, Ryan isn’t your best source right now.”

I still needed to catch up on the gossip, but I didn’t have the energy.

“Please let both Grace and him know I’m thinking about them, even though I understand it probably wouldn’t mean anything to Grace.”

“No, I’m sure she’ll be thankful to know people care about her. Ryan will appreciate it, too, when things calm down.”

“Well, I hope that’s soon.”

“Us, too.”

“Thanks again, Craig. Give Maddie a hug from me.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “Way ahead of ya. Talk soon.”

Tammy hit the end button with a somber expression.

“You okay?”

“No,” I answered honestly. “I feel completely helpless sitting here doing nothing to comfort him.”

“He’s going to have a long recovery road ahead.”

“I know,” I conceded. “But he’s healthy and in good shape, so that will help. And he has a good support system.”

“Do you think you’ll be a part of that system?”

Her question took me aback, and I tilted my head when I replied, “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

She shrugged.

“It’s just a really big undertaking for someone you were with less than a week. I don’t think anyone would blame you if you bowed out gracefully.”

“I’d blame me. I love him, Tam. I can’t just walk away when he needs me the most because it might get hard.”

“You didn’t exchange vows, Ash. There was no ‘in sickness and in health’ clause in your relationship yet.”

I knew my friend only meant well, but she was pissing me off. My tone was a little testy when I asked, “So, would you walk away if your boyfriend suffered something traumatic like this?”

My salty attitude rolled right off her back.

“Well, I don’t have a boyfriend, so yeah, I might be willing to cut this hypothetical guy loose.”

“I don’t think I believe you.”

She didn’t address my comment, and instead asked, “What if he’s like Grace, and doesn’t even remember you?”

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