She stopped at the doorway. For once, I want to do something for myself. I looked at her. Then do it. She said nothing.
That night, we barely spoke. 2 days later, Ashley finalized the arrangements for the trip. I helped her carry the suitcase to the car when the morning finally came. Before she closed the trunk, she looked at me. You're still angry.
I'm disappointed. At me? At the situation. She nodded slowly. I'll call you when I land.
Okay. She kissed my cheek. Then she got into the car and drove away. I stood there until the car disappeared around the corner. At the time, I thought our argument was going to be the worst part of that trip.
I was wrong. Ashley called me that evening after she landed. The airport was crowded, and I could barely hear her over the noise. We made it. How's the hotel?
Beautiful. She sounded excited. I asked about the flight, the room, and whether she and the girls had eaten. Everything seemed normal. Before we hung up, she said, "I miss you. " "I miss you, too.
Don't stay up waiting for me. " "I won't. " The next morning, she sent me a picture from the beach. Ashley was standing between Marissa and Tessa, all three of them wearing sunglasses and laughing. I smiled when I saw it. For the first day, everything was fine. She called me that night while they were getting ready to go out.
"We're going to this place near the water," she said. "What kind of place? " "A bar. There's music and food. " "Have fun. " "You sound tired. " "I am. " "I'll call you later. " "Okay. " She hung up. I went to bed. She didn't call later.
I woke up around 2:00 in the morning and saw no messages. I told myself she was out having fun. The next morning, I finally got a text from her. "Sorry, we stayed out late. " I replied that it was fine. Then I asked how the night went.
There was a long pause before she answered. "Good. Nothing crazy. " I didn't think much of it. But something had changed. Her messages became shorter.
When I called, she rarely answered. When she did, she always seemed to be somewhere noisy. On the third evening, I called twice. No answer. An hour later, she called me.
"Hey. " "Everything okay? " "Yeah, why? " "You didn't answer. " "My phone was in the room. " I looked at the clock. "It's almost midnight there. " "I know. " "Where are you? " She hesitated. "I'm downstairs. " "With Marissa and Tessa? " "Yeah. " I heard a man's voice in the background. I stopped. "Who was that? " "What? " "A guy just said something. " Ashley laughed.
"There are people everywhere, Jack. " "I know. I was just asking. " "He works here. " "Okay. " There was another pause. "I have to go. " "Already? " It's loud. She ended the call. I sat there staring at my phone.
I didn't call back. The next afternoon she sent another beach picture, but this time something caught my attention. There was a man standing several feet behind her. Dark hair, white shirt. He was looking directly toward the camera.
I didn't know who he was. I didn't ask. That evening Ashley finally called. She seemed unusually cheerful. We're going out again.
Another late night? Probably. Who are you going with? She sighed. Jack.
What? You're doing it again. Doing what? Checking up on me. I asked a question.