Jessie sobbed, the sudden look of sheer disbelief contorting her sickly features. The woman was too thin and based on the state of their surroundings she probably wasn’t getting much nourishment. Unless of course the various types of liquor she consumed had enough calories to sustain life.
Alex took a step closer to Jessie, tilting her chin up so she had to look at him. “Go to rehab. For me.” He paused. “Please.”
Ashleigh watched as Jessie seemed to crumble at his feet, but she never actually moved. Whatever she felt for Alex, whether it was based on true love, or just a deep need to be loved, Jessie was giving in to his plea.
~~*~~
“I’m sorry you had to be here.” Alex said as they walked out to his truck. For the last two hours, they’d seen multiple sides of Jessie, ranging from hurt to rage and varying degrees in between.
At least she was going to get the help she needed. The help he never could give her. No matter how many times she’d said she would stop drinking, he knew she needed the professional help he couldn’t provide. This would be her second stint in rehab, and thanks to his brief conversation with one of the counselors, he now knew how to help his friend.
“I’m not.” Ashleigh told him, leaning into him. “I’m sorry she’s sick.”
And that’s what the counselor had told them. Alcoholism was a disease; one Jessie had no fighting chance of overcoming on her own.
“Do you want me to take you home?” He asked, realizing their day had been thrown so far off course, Alex wasn’t sure it would get back on track at that point.
“Sure.” She answered, sounding unsure.
And that’s what Alex did. He drove Ashleigh home, dropping her off and feeling at a total loss without her with him. Instead of coming in, he stayed in his truck. His emotions were all over the place, and it didn’t get past him that he had admitted how he felt about Ashleigh, and she’d never said a word about it.
Chapter Twenty Seven
One week later, Ashleigh found herself going stir crazy. Since the day of Jessie’s incident, she hadn’t heard from Alex. He’d dropped her off at the house, and because they’d been riddled with emotional churn for the better part of the day, she’d decided to leave him alone for a little while. Now she was beginning to question her decision.
Maybe he hadn’t meant what he said after all. And yes, she remembered every last word.
I’ve always loved her. I don’t want to choose between being your friend, and being with her because I will choose her, Jessie.
She couldn’t get the conversation out of her head. Why hadn’t he said anything? Alex had never given her the impression that what they had between them was anything more than some intense sex and a budding friendship. They had become close over the last few months, and the sex was phenomenal.
After the day he’d picked her up at the bookstore, Ashleigh had had high hopes that he was opening up to her once again. He had even asked her about becoming a member of the club, and she had acquiesced. Grinning on the inside, of course.
And now, as it would appear, he’d withdrawn from her both emotionally and physically. At least that was the impression she got from him.
Granted, she could call him just as easily as he could call her. And she hadn’t.
No, she’d been reeling from his admission, wondering how in the hell she hadn’t seen it. Or how she hadn’t been able to tell him exactly how she felt about him. How she had always felt about him.
Her phone rang, startling her from her thoughts and she launched at it, praying it was Alex.
It wasn’t.
“Hey.” Ashleigh greeted her brother when she answered the phone.
“How are you?” He asked, sounding a little more cheerful than he had the last time she talked to him.
“Good. You sound happy. What’s up?”
Dylan chuckled. “Let’s just say this move has been good for me.”
That was so good to hear, Ashleigh couldn’t help but smile. She wondered exactly what he meant, but she didn’t have a chance to ask before he started talking again.
“What did you do to Alex?”
“Ummm... excuse me?” What she had done?
“He’s moping around this place. I told him if he doesn’t stop, I was going to punch him. I guess I now know what it’s been like to be around me.”
Ashleigh didn’t say a word.
“Ash? Is everything alright between you and Alex?”
“I don’t know.” She answered honestly, surprised by her admission.
“You know how I feel about people interfering, but...” Dylan let the sentence linger as though he were waiting for her to say something.