Fucking Ash …
- Of course we’ll be there. Let me know if you need anything. We’d love to help.
We’d, meaning Ava and I.
- Prayers for strength
And she sends a laughing face emoji with that.
Fucking emojis have always irritated me, but right now, I’m happy to see hers is laughing.
- The Big Guy and I are on good terms right now, so prayers.
And yes, I use the little hand emoji.
?
Two days later, I text her again. She doesn’t respond. I call the house, and Harper tells me she’s jogging and asks if everything is all right. I assure her things are good.
“I just wanted to be sure you got the RSVP and let you know that of course we’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. We love you, kiddo.”
We, meaning Ava, myself, and even Logan seems excited to go … He’s the one who found the invite when he was out burning trash.
Ash’s response? “Oops.”
I then text Tessa that, if she doesn’t reply to my text, I will come and find her.
When she doesn’t, I head up to the farm.
?
I trek down to the falls and see her sitting there, looking at the water again.
“Tessa.”
She looks up as she wipes her tears. “You stalking me, Links?”
“You’ve been avoiding me. I’m not stalking. You answer your phone or respond to a text, I won’t go looking.”
“Easy as that, huh?”
I sit down next to her and hand her my water bottle. “Yes.”
We don’t talk; we sit and watch the water.
?
While we hike back up, I tell her, “I’m going to buy you a fish tank, a big one, so you can sit in your house and watch them, because this hike is a pain in the ass.”
That makes her laugh, a sad laugh, which sucks, but at least it’s a laugh.
This is also a wake-up call that I will not stop myself from checking in when I get that pain in my chest.
When we get to the SUV, I give her a hug. “Message me, call me, whatever. Just let me know you’re okay.”
The hug is interrupted by the wicked witch ringtone, alerting me when Ashley is calling.
Nice timing, Ashley. Bitch!