Chapter Twenty-Four
Ashley
True to his word, Craig called me the next morning with an update on Sloane’s condition. It was a good thing I was sitting on the edge of my bed, otherwise I might have fallen over.
Tammy, who’d insisted on spending the night so I wouldn’t be alone, took one look at my face, took the phone from my hand, and hit the speaker button.
“Hey, Craig, it’s Tammy. I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
“Hi, Tammy. I was just telling Ashley what I know. A squad of Sloane’s men were in a vehicle that hit a roadside bomb. Sloane was part of the rescue mission, and his Humvee was hit by an RPG. Three men in the vehicle were seriously injured and one didn’t make it.”
“How is Sloane?”
“He lost his left leg below the knee.”
I let out a deep breath. It wasn’t the best news, but he was strong. He could come back from that and live a totally normal life. I saw it happen every day.
Then Craig continued. “And the entire left side of his body suffered third and fourth-degree burns. He was pinned under a hunk of metal from the destroyed Humvee, so that saved his right side, but it meant his left side was completely exposed to the fire while he was trapped.”
With my hand over my mouth, I ran to the bathroom and puked the leftover pizza I’d had for breakfast as tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t imagine the pain he’d gone through.
After a deep breath, I quickly rinsed my face, swished some mouthwash in my mouth, then went back to hear what else Craig had to say.
Tammy’s voice was low while she told him, “Please let her know the second you hear anything.”
“You have my word.”
“Can I go see him now?” I called out before Craig had a chance to hang up.
“I’m afraid not. They put him in a medically induced coma before he was able to give permission for any visitors not listed in his file.”
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?”
That made me pause. I hadn’t thought about that.
Finally, I spit out, “I guess we’ll cross that bridge if we get to it.”
God, I hoped that wasn’t the case. I had no idea what I’d do if he didn’t even remember me.