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Before: Don't Call Her Again


Ashley

I could tell Nick was reluctant to let me go, but I gotta give him credit where credit is due because he did. Nick thought I was going out with Rochelle. When he gave me a kiss on the cheek at the door and told me to call him if I needed anything, I felt guilty and I almost blurted out where I was really going. I felt strangely alone as I climbed into the cab I'd called to bring me to the coffee house, where Chris had decided we would talk.

The cab pulled me up to the curb in front of the coffee house and I climbed out, thanking the cabbie. Chris's old beat up car was parked at the curb, so I knew he was waiting for me. I took a deep breath before going inside. The door dinged as I stepped inside.

Chris was across the room at a table. I made my way over and lowered into the seat opposite him. He looked up from the menu, his expression a mixture of excitement and desperation. "You came," he said, standing up.

"Yeah," I said.

"I'm glad," he said. He reached across the table for my hand. I pulled it away. He kept his hand there anyway, like he hoped I'd put my hand back down in his or something. "I've missed you."

I didn't answer.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Yeah, the bruises finally faded," I said.

Chris frowned, "I'm sorry."

"What do you want," I said.

Chris wiggled his fingers. I looked at his hand. "Hold my hand," he said. I reluctantly put my hand down in Chris's and he closed his fingers around mine. "See, isn't that better?" he asked.

I wanted to shake my head, but I didn't dare to. I was luckily not made to respond as a waitress approached the table. "Can I get you something else besides the refills?" she asked. She was holding coffee and put two coffee cups down in front of us.

"Just the coffee is fine," Chris answered.

The waitress smiled and walked away.

I looked over at him. "What do you want?" I asked again.

Chris looked into my eyes. "You," he answered simply.

"I'm not something that can be had," I replied. "Chris, I'm not yours anymore. You ruined that when you raised your hand to me."

He stared at me. "No, Ashley, you ruined that when you allowed him to come between us." He grabbed my hands tighter, pulling me forward into the table, clutching my hands in his. "Remember how happy we were before he came back into the picture last year? Remember your birthday, when I proposed to you, and you were so happy...?"

"Chris, that was a long time ago and a lot has happened..."

"Yeah... you ruined our marriage. You ruined our family." Chris looked at me with pleading eyes, "Please. Just call off this whole police thing, and lets you and I try one more time. Let's make this work between us. For the baby."

I looked him in the eyes, "It's not going to work, Chris, because I don't... I don't love you anymore."

"But I bought a crib," he said thickly.

"Chris..."

"I want to be a good father," he begged, "Give me a chance to be a good father, Ashley."

I looked down at the table.

"Has he offered to buy a crib? Has he painted the baby's nursery?"

I shook my head.

"He only wants you as long as it's a challenge, Ashley, I'm telling you."

I shifted. "Chris. It's not like that with Nick."

"It is."

"It isn't."

"Just... come back to the apartment. See the baby room."

I sighed. "Chris."

"Please."

I got up.

Chris stood, too.

"Nick's expecting me back for dinner," I said, "He's making meatloaf."

"Just... fifteen minutes," Chris said. "Just let me show you what I did."

I took a deep breath. "Fifteen minutes," I allowed. "But that's it. I go home after that."




Nick

I took a deep breath and scrawled my name across the line on the contract, finishing my time with the Backstreet Boys for a minimum of three years.

I stared down at the loops and dips of my name across the line.

It felt so... final. I picked up the contract and shoved it into the manilla envelope it came in, licked the seal and closed it. Now it was final. I threw the envelope on the counter and stared at it.

I picked up the envelope, ripped it open, and took the contract out and threw it into the trash bin. How could I even think about quitting the Backstreet Boys?

I spun out of the kitchen and snapped my keys up from the hook by the door, shoving my wallet into my back pocket and jogged across the driveway to the car. Ashley had left a couple hours before, and I was going crazy staring at the stupid contracts. I drove downtown to the grocery store.

The parking lot was full, so I parked like a decade away from the doors. I jogged across the lot to the door, and grabbed a basket once I got inside. I strolled down the dairy aisle, grabbed a bottle of whole milk, some eggs... swung up the baking aisle for the bread crumbs... My phone vibed, and I looked down at it. It was a text from Ashley.

egl;;p

I stared at the message. What the hell was that?

nice typing skillz ;)

I turned back to my mission: Get meatloaf supplies. The grocery store was crowded so it took me a couple minutes to get to the back of the store where the meat counter was. I ordered a pound of lean hamburg from the counter and pulled my phone back out of my pocket.

help

My brow stitched together. I opened my contacts and found Ashley's listing, pressed it and waited as the ringback tone played...

She's a good girl... loves her mama
Loves Jesus... and America too...
She's a good girl... crazy 'bout Elvis...
Loves horses and her boyfriend too

"Hamburg," called the guy from the counter.

I grabbed the ball of paper-wrapped meat from him and dropped it into my basket. Why wasn't she answering?

My phone vibed again, reminding me that I had an unanswered text message.

help

I hung up and pressed the call button again.

She's a good girl...

When she didn't answer again, I called Rochelle. She was gonna go get her nails done with Rochelle. That's what she'd said, wasn't it? It took Rochelle three rings to answer. "Hello?" she asked. I could hear Ava shrieking in the background.

"Ro, it's me, Nick," I said. I was still standing in the meat department at the grocery store. People were passing by me, like colorful blurs.

"Oh hey, Nick, what's up?"

"Is Ashley there?"

Rochelle was quiet a second, "Umm, nope. The only person here besides me is Ava."

"Sorrythenbye." I hung up, and just like that panic was starting to settle into my gut. Ashley could be anywhere in the city. Ashley could be alone. She could be laying on a street corner having the baby. She could be....

I felt my stomach flip and I dropped the basket right there. It clattered to the floor. I'm sure the eggs broke. Some people looked over at me with nervous or angry expressions. "Hey, you, you okay?" asked the guy from behind the meat counter. But I didn't respond. I darted between a couple people pushing their buggies by and rushed up the aisle to the front of the store. People were turning, watching me run. I slammed into the automatic door because it didn't open quite fast enough.

As soon as the door opened, I bolted across the parking lot. Car horns honked as I only just dodged them as I ran. I came about an inch from having my knees taken out by a Chrystler. I slammed my hands on the hood, stopping myself from falling, and continued running to my car. I threw myself in and pulled out my phone, calling again.

She's a good girl... loves her mama
Loves Jesus... and America too...

"Answer!" I yelled. I started the car. I didn't know which way to go.

The phone picked up.

"Ashley? Ashley?!"

"Don't call her again."