Page 97 of Wolf

“Ash? You’re on your way,right?”

“Anna…” Ash’s voice came softly from the other side, and having known Ash for over twenty years, I didn’t need to hear any otherwords.

“No,” Isnapped. “No!”

Everyone in the room spun around to face me, flinching at the sound of my voice as I hugged the phone closer to my ear. “I’ve gottago,Anna.”

“No, you don’t, Ash!” I yelled, my voice cracking on the words as my throat tightened as if a hand had reached out and was trying to squeeze it shut as I forced the words out. “You can’t do this! You can’t keep walking into my life, turning it upside down, then walking out again! You can’t keep leaving me on my ownlikethis!”

“You’re right. I can’t.” Her voice was soft, almost wistful, and when I heard her next words, I felt my heart drop. “So, let’s make a promise. Like we used to when we werelittle.”

“No,” I pleaded, “Ash, I—” But Ashcontinued.

“I promise no more walking into your life, turning it upside down, then walking out of it again,” Ash promised, and I could almost feel the smile on her face. “Neveragain.”

“Ash—”

“And I promise to never ever leave you on your own again,” she said softly. I heard the rush and beep of a horn as it raced passed on the other end of the line. “So turnaround,Anna.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I don’twantto.”

“Turn around, Anna,” Ash repeated. “Turn and look at all the people around you. You’re not on your own anymore, Anna. You don’tneedme.”

“If you do this, I’ll hate you forever!” I hissed but couldn’t stop my feet as I turned toward the room, looking at the faces of each and every person Iloved.

“I was never meant to be liked, anyway,” Ash said, the line beginning tocrackle.

“Don’t you dare say it!” I whispered. Wolf’s brown eyes looked at mine, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet them, couldn’t bring myself to think further than her voice on the other end oftheline.

“I won’t,” Ashwhispered.

“You promise?” I demanded. “Ash? Tell me your promise. Tell me you won’t sayit.Ash!”

There was a long silence, but I could hear the soft whispers of her breath as I stood there, holding on to the phone with my strongest grasp, fingers clasped around theplastic.

Please, I begged,please don’tsayit.

Don’tsayit.

“Goodbye.”

The phone clicked off, and just for a moment, everything wasquiet.

And then I felt the softest, foreign touch as I looked down to the tiny, beaded dot on my hand. It slipped over my skin and down my hand, the water gone. And then a second fell onto my hand, and I knew. As I reached up and felt the dampness on my cheeks, as I saw the way Wolf’s brown eyes widened in painful sympathy,Iknew.

I wascrying.

And like a pin in a bubble, my world broke into sound, my sobs wracking through my body as Wolf’s arms dove around me, not knowing what had happened but pulling me to his warmth, holding me with all of his strength as my world was rockedaroundme.

The phone dropped to the floor, but it didn’t matter now. Its usewasover.

Shewasgone.

Goneforgood.

Epilogue

Wolf

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