Page 81 of Sloane

“She’s been a wreck ever since we found out, Sloane. If she’d had her way, she’d have been there the day after we were notified.”

“They wouldn’t have let her in to see me.”

“I know. That’s the only thing that kept her from getting on a plane. I would have come, but the doctors told me to wait until you regained consciousness.”

“I’m glad you stayed home. There’s nothing you could have done here.”

“Well, you’re awake now, so I can be there by the end of the weekend.”

“Why? I’m awake, but there’s still nothing you can do.”

“I can be your friend and be there for you.”

I didn’t deserve that.

“I appreciate that, but you’re already doing a lot for me by taking care of Tank.”

“Sloane, you need people there with you.”

“No, I don’t. Not yet. Please. I’m not ready to face anyone. Just give me some time. Maybe in a few days I’ll change my mind, but I’m not going to change my mind about Ashley.”

“Well, you need to call her and let her know that. I don’t think she’ll believe it coming from me.”

“I… I can’t, Ryan. Let her know I’m okay, but I don’t want her here. Tell her she needs to move on.”

“I’m not telling her that. You want to break up with her, you’re going to have to do it yourself.”

“Fine.”

We were both stubbornly quiet for a minute until my guilt got the better of me, and I said, “Dude, thanks for calling. And for giving a shit about me. I’m grateful for your friendship.”

“There’s a lot of people who give a shit about you and have been praying for you. I hope you know that.”

“I know. And I appreciate it. I just need some time to process what’s happened. You’ve had three weeks, I’ve had three hours.”

“I know it’s a lot. When you’re ready, you’ve got a whole team wanting and waiting to step up for you.”

“Thanks.”

But as I hung up the phone, I knew in my heart, I couldn’t let Ashley be one of those people. I wasn’t going to saddle her with a broken man. I loved her enough to let her go.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ashley

“What do you mean, ‘he’s not ready to talk to me’?”

“He needs time to process what’s happened.”

Ryan’s voice was calm and soft. A de-escalation tactic I knew all too well and frequently used with riled-up patients. Unfortunately for him, the fact that he thought he needed to try to de-escalate things only pissed me off even more.

“So, he’ll talk to you, but he won’t talk to me.”

“He’s been through a lot, Ash. He doesn’t know which way is up right now.”

“I get that, but I don’t understand why he’s shutting me out.”

“It’s not just you. He’s shutting us all out. He asked me not to come to Germany.”

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