Love's Someday by Robin Alexander Page A

shaking hands. “Maybe she doesn’t want to. To be honest, I’m scared to ask. I’m not sure I can handle the answer.”

    Drew found the kitchen door unlocked and cursed under her breath as she pushed it open. The house was silent. “Ash,” she called out as she moved from the kitchen to the den. The only noise was the ticking of a wall clock. Drew took the stairs two at a time and cautiously walked into the open bedroom door. Ashleigh lay in a ball with the blankets pulled up over her face, only the top of her head was visible.
    “Ash,” Drew said loudly as she shook the bed. When the bulge under the covers began to move, Drew pulled them back. Ashleigh lay there with her eyes clamped shut.
    “Time to rise and shine.” Drew took Ashleigh’s arm and pulled her from the bed. “We need coffee.”
    Ashleigh climbed from the bed fully dressed in the jeans and sweatshirt she wore the day before.
    “Well, you at least took off your shoes before you climbed in,” Drew said with a grin as she took Ashleigh by the hand and led her to the kitchen. “I’ll lecture you on hygiene after you’ve had breakfast.”
    Ashleigh dropped into a chair at the table as Drew set the coffee on to brew. “Did Erica send you over here?”
    “No, she called Kaitlyn this morning needing to talk. I figured that you needed the same.”
    “I’m glad she has Kaitlyn.”
    “She has you too, right?” Drew set the cups of coffee on the table and took a seat.
    “I can’t multitask emotionally,” Ashleigh said before taking a sip. “I’m trying to cope with old memories. I can’t deal with her emotions too.”
    Drew raised a brow. “That’s not fair to her.”
    “Fair or not, it is what it is,” Ashleigh said, looking away.
    Drew reached over and took Ashleigh’s hand. “Work through it with me. What has gotten you so messed up?”
    “I feel exposed. When I look at Erica, I can see all the doubt in her eyes. She’s never looked at me that way before. And then, all the memories that I’ve kept locked away for so long have come back with a vengeance. I don’t feel like I even know who I am right now. How can I make it make sense to her? I think I need to get away for a while.”
    “You mean run away,” Drew said pointedly. “Isn’t that what you did when you ran away from your career? It didn’t help, honey.” Drew put her finger under Ashleigh’s chin and lifted her face until Ashleigh met her stare. “Look where you are now. Fighting old demons after twenty years of keeping them locked away. We’ll help you fight if you let us.”
    A tear streaked from Ashleigh’s eye. “To let you help me is to open up old wounds. I don’t want to do that.”
    “But you can just take on one wound at a time. What is the thing that troubles you most about the past?”
    Ashleigh closed her eyes as the tears began to fall. She turned her face away from Drew’s touch. “I’m a failure. I had it all in the palm of my hand, and I lost it over what? A broken heart? They never recorded again after I left. I ruined their hopes right along with mine.”
    Drew opened her mouth to speak, but Ashleigh went on.
    “The only accomplishments that I can truly admit to were ruining the careers of my friends and helping someone kill herself. That’s what Erica is partnered up with—a failure.”
    “You made some mistakes. We all do. You—”
    “No, Drew, this is not getting a speeding ticket or forgetting to pay a bill. My failures were colossal, and…for a while, no one knew.”
    Drew squeezed Ashleigh’s hand until she looked at her again. “We know your mistakes, and we still love you. We’re still here.”
    “I’ve hurt people,” Ashleigh said angrily as she pushed away from the table and stood to her feet. “Not just you and Erica.”
    “You mean Vicki?” Drew turned in her seat and watched as shock registered on Ashleigh’s face. “You were as close to her as you are to me at one time, and you walked out on