Fallacy (Apprehensive Duet Book 1) by Kimberly Bracco Page A

from this hole she’s in. You won’t be able to do it for her. I don’t want to see you lose yourself in grief and anger with her.”
    I needed to hear that. It’s nice to hear someone give a shit about me and what I’m going through. This month has been extremely hard, and everyone has been so focused on how Ashley’s doing. It’s nice to have someone care about how I’m doing through this. I’ve become her nurse, chef, servant, and for fuck’s sake, I help her shower. I’m glad to do it all because I’m grateful she’s alive, but fuck, it would nice to hear her say thank you. It would be nice to hear her speak without disdain. This is going to be a long few months while she gets herself back on her feet. If she keeps this up, I don’t know how long until I explode.

Quinn
     
    I STOMP BACK into my room and grab my phone off the bed immediately to call Alex. It only takes him a ring to pick up. Almost as if he’s been holding his phone knowing I was going to need him.
    “You okay?” he asks immediately.
    “I am. I’m upset, but I’m fine,” I tell him.
    “Okay. I’m sorry you’re upset. Talk to me,” he urges.
    I take another deep breath before I replay my entire tiff with Ashley.
    It’s been four months since her accident, and I deserve an award for the amount of patience I’ve used to keep from slapping an injured woman. Until now.
    Ashley has been a nightmare. She refused to eat and cried constantly. She has been a stubborn bitch. She’s still a bitch, and she’s still stubborn, but at least now she functions and eats. The crying has diminished as well.
    She’s only made those improvements because Tanner and I forced her into seeking help when she finally hit an all-time low. Ashley still holds Tanner responsible for her accident. He finally had enough of her constant abuse and gave up on her. I can’t say I blame the man. I’m about at the end of my rope with her too.
    But the fact she has Tanner so convinced that he won’t let his agent talk him out of the shit Melissa put him in is beyond crazy. And Ashley’s letting him. She’s letting the press run with this story Melissa told them about him abandoning Ashley and his child. Melissa told someone Tanner threw Ashley away, and because he refused to acknowledge her and the baby, she had to work a second job, and that job led to the death of his child.
    She said some awful things to him, and I’ve tried to get her to see reason, and so has her therapist. Ashley’s convinced herself Tanner’s leaving her led to her car accident, that if he hadn’t left her, she would’ve never been out that night. He’s convinced of it too. Christ, he’s heard enough from her so no wonder he blames himself. And I still get a lot of shit because I’ve allowed Tanner to keep helping her. She has never once thought about how all this is on us.
    It’s not what happened at all and Ashley knows it. She knows he wanted everything to do with their baby, but she’s not defending him. She’s letting him be blasted through the media as a piece of shit. I have a problem with it. A big one. No one else can fix this, but Ashley couldn't care less.
    I can’t believe I slapped my best friend but fuck if she didn’t deserve it. Someone needed to knock some sense into her. She’s an ungrateful bitch, and I’ve had enough of it.
    I put my entire life on hold for her for a month. I didn’t go to work. I didn’t leave her side. I planned her son’s funeral. I was her nurse. I was her shoulder to cry on. She needed round the clock care with all her injuries, and I was there to make sure she got it. But it also meant I was the only one there when the anger set in.
    After the first day she was home alone, Tanner and I decided Ashley was in no shape to be making any decisions for herself. Tanner and I rotated, making sure Ashley had someone with her at all times. Well, she didn’t care for that. It brought out this ugly side of her. She was capable of bitchy