Promise Me by Heather Parsons (win 10 ebook reader .txt) 📕

do exactly what he'd planned months ago. To protect both Amy's fragile state and his own state of mind.
Caleb opened his office door and stood aside, closing it immediately behind Thomas and started pacing the small interior. “If I know you, there's nothing I can say to change your mind but damn it I'm going to try anyway. You and I both know that when Amy recovers she'll be searching for you and when she finds out you're not there. What do you think will happen?” He didn't wait for an answer, “She'll be devastated, she'll want to know why you left. And she'll figure it out, don't doubt it. She'll know you left her because of her disease and then she'll ask why didn't I just let her die.”
Thomas flinched and knew what his friend said was true but at the same time he knew what he was doing was right. Even if it tore his heart up inside, he'd protect her even from himself. Quickly masking his expressions before Caleb saw right through him, Thomas walked over to the door, opening it and spoke firmly, “what I'm doing is

the right thing.”
And with those words said Thomas slipped out the back door of the hospital and left. The moment he was securely in his car the tears spilled over. His eye sight was blurred as he looked up to the floor and saw the window that held his heart.
Amy would live a long and healthy life now that he couldn't compromise her health with his emotional state. Taking one last look, he turned on his car and left the hospital one last time. Taking in a deep breath, he headed home to organize everything he needed to start his new job and his new life. One that he couldn't see at the moment.

♥`♥`♥

Terrance and Ashley spent the night huddled together in the waiting room in Mercy Hospital. Wrapped in his arms Ashley cried over what she'd witnessed happen to Amy. His touch soothed her and caused her heart to beat faster but as she thought about it, it made sense. She'd been so upset finding Amy in the state she was and now she couldn't stop crying. This had to be the reason.
What scared her most was this time Amy might not be walking out of the hospital, and this thought caused her body to shake uncontrollably and tears to invade her eyes again. Feeling weak to the point of exhaustion, Ashley hid her face in his chest. Taking in shaky breaths of whatever it was he smelled like. But nonetheless it helped her as well.
Finally all the tears had run dry and anger bubbled up inside her, rising from her seat Ashley started pacing the floor. “I can't just sit here and do nothing. There has to be something I can do. Maybe...” She grabbed the hem of her shirt, tightening her fists around it and stared at the door that lead up to the floor she knew Amy was at.
It had been hours since they'd first stepped foot in here and no one had come down and said anything to them. Why hadn't someone told her something? Was something wrong? Oh, my, God there was something wrong. She knew it.
The way Amy looked, laying on the ground and Terrance had been doing CPR on her, oh God, NO! Amy needed her, she knew this. Something was terribly wrong, that's why no one had said anything to her. Her friend was in trouble.
“Something's wrong, something's wrong. I know it. I can't-” Ashley started walking towards the double doors, needing to find out what's happened. Desperate for any news.
“No, nothing's wrong. She's strong, always has been. She'll make it through this, you'll see.” Terrance stood up and held on to her while fighting off his own emotional roller coaster. Fear is what gripped him more than anything else. Seeing Amy laying on the pavement in front of him, her not breathing and her face pale was something he never wanted to see ever again. As long as he lived he never wanted to witness anything like that again. Especially not from a friend.
Saying this out loud brought back memories of days long past. They'd gone to high school together and managed to end up at the same college. They were each others best of friends, someone to rely on when you needed to talk about anything. And later on they both decided they wanted more from each other, more than friendship.
But their relationship never progressed more than a few months. Terrance had pushed too soon, asked for things she couldn't give him and left. Leaving behind school and himself in the progress.
A year had gone by and he finally moved on with his life but he could never get the thought of her out of his mind. Always wondering what happened to her, where she ended up and if she was alright. So, after graduation he decided to look for her. Spending every last dime he had until he found her in New York City and then it took two days to find out where in NYC she was. And when all expenses were dried up, he found her only to end up sitting in the hospital waiting room, waiting on word if she's alive.
“What are you thinking about?” Ashley asked while she watched his facial expressions change drastically.
“About the past,” he mumbled.
“Is that how you know Amy?”
“You could say that.”
“Funny she never mentioned you. Were you friends or more?” Ashley looked up to see his face. She wanted to see his reaction and as she watched her stomach twisted in knots.
“More or less.” He flinched at his own admission. They'd never been given the chance for the more he wanted.
Ashley's grip on him loosen and she pulled back, hurt. In the short time she'd been sitting with him, waiting on word about their friend, him having a relationship with Amy sat nestled in the back of her mind. And thinking about it made her want to cry.
Piecing together the reason why he was here tore at her heart. She thought he'd agreed to come with her to comfort her through this rough time when really he'd come to see if there was a chance with Amy.
They stood in silence for a while until the double doors opened and Dr. Cutler entered the room. The first thing Ashley noticed was his face. The sadness behind his eyes and how pale he was. She'd never seen him look so bad.
“Ashley, I would have come down sooner but there was complications I had to attend to first. Please have a seat and I'll explain.” Caleb sat down across from them both and stared at the wall for a few minutes. How was he going to explain about Dr. Ellicott? Should he even try?
“Is she okay?” Ashley's voice shook with fear. Something in his eyes told her the news she was about to hear was not good.
“First off I need to ask does she have any family?”
“Her mother lives in California and her father I'm not sure where he is. Why?” Tears choked through her. “Is she that bad? Do I need to call her mother?”
A slow nod from Dr. Cutler had Ashley in tears, rocking herself back and forth.
“I'll explain so you can relay the message to her mother. Earlier tonight Amy went into cardiac arrest, we stabilized her but she's in a medically drug induced coma until the transplant is complete. She's not strong enough to breathe on her own so the ventilator is helping her do just that.” Dr. Cutler waited for recognition of what he'd said before saying anything more.
Ashley sat back now in the chair and stared out in front of her. The words just spoken to her had her in a daze. Her heart punched into her chest so hard it felt like it would break through.
What she really wanted was for someone to pinch her and tell her this was all a dream. That Amy was waiting for her to come to work. She wanted to think about something other than what she'd just heard. And how was she supposed to relay that message to Amy's mother without first breaking down in tears? Would she even be able to say the words?
“Doctor, how long will she be in this state?” Terrance held on to the hope that tomorrow she'd be laughing again and he'd see her blue eyes shining bright.
“I don't know exactly.” Dr. Cutler said in almost a whisper, “months maybe more.”
“Can we see her?”
“I'm sorry. Only family members can see her.” And that's only while she's stable, he wanted to add but didn't.
“I don't think her mother even knows she's sick,” Ashley whispered to herself.
All the sudden her breathing slowed, her heart stopped pounding in her chest and she sat back staring at the wall. Her face paled while her mind dissolved all the information flooding her brain. Ashley knew she was sitting in the chair, could feel it around her but all other noises faded in the distance. Only the sound of her own heartbeat was what she heard, everything else was gone.
After everything was said and done, Dr. Cutler stood up and walked out of the waiting room. There was nothing more to say and telling them about Dr. Ellicott would only make matters worse so he kept that information to himself.
Seeing the light in Ashley's eyes fade, Terrance grabbed hold of her and shook her hard enough to snap her out of it. “She's going to be okay. You've got to believe that.” He stated firmly trying to convince himself of this as well.
“I'll call her mother and tell her the news, you don't have to worry about it.” He soothed her back with one hand while grabbing his phone with the other and dialing.
After relaying the message about Amy to her mother, Terrance replaced his phone with tears in his eyes and laid back. With one arm around the now sleeping Ashley, he too tried to close his eyes only to see the image of Amy, her face staring up at him. Silent tears fell from his eyes as he sent up a prayer.
“Dear Lord, please look after my friend. She's in need of help right now and she'd ask of it if she could. Help her recover from this disease and bring her back to us. She's too kind a person to lose and I'd give myself in her stead. She's a long life ahead of her if you'd lend