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Ashley sat at home, brooding, still mourning the loss of her unborn child. No one even knew about her situation. The only person she'd told was of course Matt.
She was alone and wondered where he'd gone. It didn't seem fair that he would leave her alone for any length of time during such a rough ordeal. It had been his baby, too, after all. Where was he? He hadn't uttered a word to her as to his whereabouts or what he was doing.
She raised her head from the plush pillows on the bed at the sound of the phone ringing. That was probably him right now... She reached over to the nightstand for the receiver.
"Hello?" Ashley herself was easily able to detect the despair in her voice.
"Hey, Ash." It was indeed Matt. "I just wanted to check in on you. How you doin', baby?" he asked.
The blonde tried to smile, but it was difficult. In fact, she suddenly felt tears burning behind her eyelids. Although he obviously couldn't see it, she nodded.
"I'm okay," she answered, knowing it was a lie. Quite the contrary, she felt awful. Physically, she was pretty much fine aside from having no appetite, but emotionally, she was a trainwreck.
"That's good," Hardy said, but he had an inkling that she was only saying that for his benefit. Ashley was by nature a strong woman, but he knew the miscarriage had done a harsh number on her, in more ways than one. He knew she was hurting inside and that she was doing her best to keep it all together. He supposed a lot of it was for his own benefit. He appreciated that, and how very much she loved and cared for him. She was a doll.
"Listen, Ash..." he said, and he could hear his girlfriend begin to sniffle a little on the other end. He was positive she was crying. "... You won't be sad for too much longer." He grinned as he spoke to her. "I'm gonna make it all better."
Ashley raised her free hand to wipe some tears away. What was he talking about? As far as she knew, there really was nothing he could do to ease the anguish she felt. Time would take care of that.
"Wh-What do you mean, Matt?" she inquired.
The dark-haired man's grin grew, though she couldn't see it.
"I'm not gonna say," he replied. "But I promise, I will make it all better."
Despite her confusion, the blonde woman smiled. He was truly sweet to her, and she loved him for it.
"Okay," she said. "I'm looking forward to that - whatever you've got up your sleeve, Matthew."
Hardy let out a chuckle this time around. Oh, yeah, what he had planned for her would be well worth the wait. He was filled with a delicious sort of anticipation and couldn't wait to surprise Ashley. His plan would no doubt be the best thing to take away all of her pain and misery. She would certainly forget all about her current troubles.
"Good, because so am I," he admitted. He felt really good, because this time, his words actually elicited a small laugh out of his girlfriend. "I gotta get goin'. I'll call you later, baby."
"All right," Ashley said. She realized that, during the course of their conversation, her tears had stopped. She was actually feeling a bit better. "I look forward to it. Bye, Matt."
"Bye, Ash." He pressed a button on his cell phone to end the call and clipped the phone to his belt buckle.
Although he was still feeling wonderful after his phone call to his girlfriend, his smile faded. He had some very
serious business to attend to. And damn it, he was going to make sure everything went perfectly. He'd mapped it
all out, the entire plan, had gone over it countless times. He would not fail.