“What, do you believe him?” Aimee said incredulously.
“No, I didn’t say that. It’s just that you’re asking me if you should believe him, and I need to know why you didn’t. If you didn’t believe him because you want to be mad at him, then maybe you should rethink your decision. However, if you didn’t believe him because he didn’t seem sincere, then you probably shouldn’t believe him.”
“The story just isn’t believable to me. It’s like saying she just appeared, materialized, in his room the second I got home.”
“I think it’s a believable story.” She sighed. “Look at Nick, Aimee. Have you ever known him to lie to you? And like you said last night, you don’t remember him ever intentionally hurting one of his girlfriends. Why would he hurt you, out of all of them? You’re his best friend.”
“Maybe he wanted to get rid of me and Caitlin.”
“Nick loves you both to death.”
“He SAID he was in love with me…” she trailed off, going into her own world.
“He probably is. Last night, when he called, he sounded more upset than I’ve ever heard him sound in his life. He sounded like his heart had been ripped in two.”
“Too bad for him.”
“Why don’t you call Steph and see what she has to say?”
“Because I hate her, she hates me, and she’d never tell me the truth! She’s jealous of me for taking all her time away from Nick. I’m sure she thinks that if I move out, Nick will have time for her, and they’ll start dating again, and she’ll be happy. She has no motive to tell me the truth.”
“Morals.”
“Morals and Steph do not go in the same sentence. I don’t think she has any morals.”
“Be fair, Aimee.”
“She doesn’t!”
“You can try calling her anyway.”
“Not an option.”
“Fine, I’m going to call Nick and see what he has to say.”
“Knock yourself out. I’m going to go outside with Caitlin.”
Ashley was just about to pick up the phone when it rang. She reached for it. “Hello?”
“Ash, it’s Nick.”
“I was just about to call you.”
“Oh. Okay, why?”
“Aimee told me what happened this morning, and I was wondering if what you said was true.”
“God, of course it’s true! I wouldn’t dream of hurting Aimee! I would never wanna lose her! She’s my best friend and my girlfriend, or she was. I would never do anything to jeopardize that.”
“I think you’re telling the truth. I wish I could get my sister to see that, though.”
“I wish you could, too, because she’ll never listen to me. She hates me. She won’t even talk to me. I had to jump out in front of her car to get her to listen to me this morning.”
“I know, that’s what she told me.”
“So what should I do?”
“I think you just have to wait for a while. Send her flowers. You know she’s a sucker for roses. I’ll try to talk to her and see what happens, too. I’ll work on it.”
“Okay, thanks, Ash. I owe you one.”
“I gotta go. Bye.”
“Bye.”