I felt so lost and confused trying to meld together the version of Sasha who pretty much tried to destroy me and my business, and the Sasha who was dying in her home.
Leaning forward, I rested my arms on my knees and dipped my chin toward my chest. Blindly, I reached for my phone and brought up Alex’s number again.
“Hey,” she said hesitantly. I could hear the cackles from her sisters in the background.
“Hi.” To my own ears, my voice was unfamiliar. It sounded defeated. Today felt like I lost both my best friend and the mother of my girls. It was too much.
There was a sound of rustling and then silence. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, do you think you can come by?”
“Are the girls in bed already? It’s still early.”
“They’re still up. I need to talk to you about something important.”
“Oh… okay. Um… I’ll be there in a bit.”
Ending the call, I tucked all the loose papers into the manilla folder and carried it back to the dresser. Downstairs, I checked in on the girls and told them Miss Alex was coming over. When they asked about kissing, I couldn’t hide my cringe. I wished that was the reason I needed her to stop by the B&B.
Thirty minutes later, Alex slipped into the house. Autumn and Colton trailed behind her, and neither made eye contact with me.
“Hey, Autumn. I know it’s a big ask, but could you keep an eye on the girls for a few minutes? I need to speak to Alex about something.”
“Yeah, no problem.” She and Colton moved toward the family room, and she looked at me over her shoulder and sent me one of those pitied smiles.
“Can I talk to you in my room?” I asked Alex.
She looked toward the family room, then back at me before nodding. We hadn’t had the best experience of keeping our hands to ourselves when we were alone in the room. Unfortunately, this time, I was pretty sure we wouldn’t be getting sidetracked.
As we climbed the stairs, I didn’t even stare at Alex’s ass swaying in front of my face. That’s how out of sorts I was. Nothing mattered except making sure my daughters had the chance to spend some time with their mother.
“What’s going on, Nate? Is everything okay? You sounded weird on the phone.” She turned to face me as she stepped into the room. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and it sounded like it was taking all her strength to hold it together. I hated I was about to send her over the edge.
“I’m going back to California. The girls and I leave on Tuesday,” I said monotonously as I grabbed the envelope.
“What? Nate, Andrew is going to come around. You don’t need to leave. Please. I….”
Turning around, I held out the envelope for her to take. She asked what was inside before reaching out to take it from me.
“Just read through it. It explains everything.”
Slowly, I approached my bed and sat on the edge. Suddenly, my T-shirt felt like it was two sizes too small and was cinching my chest. I ripped it off over my head, hoping it would help the panic subside.
Beside me, the bed dipped.
“Nate, I don’t know what to say.”
“She’s dying, and there is nothing I can do.”
“I’m so sorry.” Alex gently rested her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arm around mine.
My eyes blurred as I told her how I worried my girls would have no memory of their mother. It killed me inside. Like a boulder crushing me, my heart and lungs punctured by each individual rib.
“What can I do to help you and the girls?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have them pack up their things that aren’t in storage. I guess I should ask Autumn about doing some laundry.”
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
