person has to wonder how many shards of glass it takes to tear open your soul and rip it to shreds. Until there’s nothing to hold it together, and all it can do is fall apart.
The keys make a clattering sound as I drop them on top of the marble island at my place. The five-mile run did nothing to help clear my head. All I want to do is talk to Ashley, beg her to hear me out, and give us a chance to sit down and talk.
I start pacing the living room, muttering how I need to come up with a better plan to talk to Ashley. Ambushing her isn’t the answer. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”
I spin around when I hear the doorbell. Opening the door, I see a younger version of Ashley on the other side of the door.
“Leigh?”
She nods. “That would be me. I think you and I need to talk. Can I come in?”
I open the door wider. “Sure thing.”
She walks in, carrying her purse over her shoulder, and takes a seat on the couch.
“I’m sorry if I seem rude. I wasn’t expecting you to come here. How did you find me?”
“I may have bribed Will with food for your address. I know we haven’t met. I’m Leigh, which you already knew. I wanted to come over here and let you know something.”
I’m a little nervous. This isn’t the kind of meeting I wanted with any of Ashley’s family. “What is it that you need to say?”
My stomach tightens.
“You coming back into Ashley’s life is causing her so much stress. You see that, right?”
“That’s not something I want to happen.”
“I get that. No one wants to hurt another person, but you did. You hurt her. I know Gina talked to you, and now it’s my turn.”
I open my mouth to speak, but Leigh keeps going.
“You don’t let someone leave your life and then come back years later. She’s a much stronger woman today. She’s successful and fought through obstacles by herself. My sister doesn’t allow anyone to cross her walls. Besides Alex, there’s no one else in her life. I think you need to leave her alone.”
I freeze. “What?”
She leans forward, keeping her eyes focused on mine. “You heard me, Clayton. You need to leave her and Alex alone. They’ve been completely fine without you, and they’ll continue to be fine without you. I won’t let you come into their lives to make them fall in love with you, then you leave for whatever reason. If you want to be in Alex’s life, then send him a birthday and Christmas card. Give him presents. Your presence in his life will only confuse him. He’s been asking about you for years.”
“And now I’m here.” I interrupt her. “I realize my mistakes, and I want to make up for them. I know I’m asking for the world.”
“You’re right. You’re asking for the world, and you might be used to getting what you want, but not this time. There’s nothing you can do to make it right. You let her walk out the door, and she went through a very complicated pregnancy by herself. She went through labor by herself. That little boy, my nephew, was hanging on to dear life while she was trying to heal. You have no idea of the stress everyone felt, especially Ashley and Alex. So, yeah, you can’t make it right.”
My patience for Leigh is dwindling. “I get it that we don’t know each other, and you’re trying to protect your sister, but you don’t know who I am and what I’ve been through. I’m here now to make it up to them. That’s what’s important.”
The fantasy of Ashley and Alex being back in my life becomes a firm reality. The reality I’ve been thinking about nearly every day since the day I let her go.
I was a hot-headed, stubborn twenty-three-year-old. My life was only starting, and we’d been together for six months when she told me the news. Hearing her tell me she was pregnant made all my wishes and dreams fade away. I watched my hard work fly out the window, and I was left with nothing. I’m a Turner, and Turners always amounted to something. Everything I worked hard for would’ve been for nothing. I told her to take care of the problem. I called our child a problem. I cursed myself for being an asshole to her and taking this long to come face-to-face