Page 87 of Sloane

Chapter Thirty

Ashley

Ryan sent me a text to call him in an hour. He was going to be with Sloane, and I would finally be able to talk to him.

I wasn’t sure what to expect since apparently Sloane was adamant that I not come to Germany to see him. Hearing that had physically felt like a blow to the stomach.

Still, when Ryan asked me if I wanted to send anything to Sloane, I didn’t hesitate to make a cheesecake and go to the store to buy him comfy socks. I also sent a letter asking him to please not shut me out and tried to remind him about what we’d said to each other before he left.

I pulled up Ryan’s name in my contacts, hit send, and found myself holding my breath until I heard the voice I’d become familiar with over the last several weeks say, “Hello?”

“Hey, Ryan. It’s me.”

“Oh hey, Ashley,” he said my name loud, so I assumed that was for Sloane’s benefit. His voice drifted from the phone, like he was talking to someone else. “Wait… you want to talk to her? Okay, hold on.” His voice was stronger again when he said, “Ashley, Sloane wants to talk to you.”

I heard a muffled exchange going on until finally Sloane’s voice said, “Hello”

Just hearing that one word from him made my heart sing. I’d missed him so much and been so damn worried about him.

“Hi!” I said enthusiastically. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

He replied with a lot less zeal.

“Yeah. It’s good to hear yours, too.”

Still, I wasn’t going to let that deter me from the chance to talk to him. Maybe he just wasn’t feeling well.

“How are you feeling?”

“Probably about as good as I look.”

Well, I don’t know how you look, since you wouldn’t let me come see you, so…

Of course, I kept the snarky comment to myself and tried a gentler approach.

“I’m sorry. I hope they’re managing your pain.”

“My nurse takes good care of me.”

There was almost a sneer in his voice, like he wanted me to insinuate something more from his comment. I’d heard that tone when he’d talked to Sara at the bar, but I never imagined it’d be directed at me.

I tried to ignore it, and asked, “Did you get the cheesecake I made?”

“Yeah.”

I paused, thinking he was going to say more. He didn’t.

“And the socks? I know it can get cold in the hospital.”

“Yep.”

Now he just sounded bored.

“Have my letters gotten there?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t read them, so you don’t need to keep writing.”

“I don’t mind,” I said gently. “I like including you in my day.”

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