Chapter 33
Karla
After the funeral, Ash went back to North Carolina.
Dad told me to not take Ash’s reaction at the funeral personally because death made things hard.
He didn’t have to explain to me how hard death was for the living, though.
I knew that already. Which was why it was so important for me to let Ash know that I was there for him and that he didn’t have to grieve by himself.
I called him that night.
He didn’t call me back.
* * *
I called him every day for a month straight.
He didn’t call me back.
* * *
I called him every day for three months straight.
He didn’t call me back.
* * *
I called him every day for six months straight.
He didn’t call me back.
I got the message.
He didn’t want to talk. I could only imagine how heartbroken he’d been, and there was nothing I could do about it.
A part of me wanted to hate him. I wanted to despise him for abandoning me, but I couldn’t.
Because I knew how hurt he’d been. I knew what it was like losing a parent.
I knew that flavor of grief. But Ash now had to deal with the loss of a brother and his father.
How much loss was too much for a person’s heart to deal with?
So Ash Banks vanished. He was gone from my life like a dream I wished I could revisit. The worst part of it all? I had no choice but to let him go. I had to allow him the space for his grief to place him where he needed to be.
I had to say goodbye.