Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“Missed you at the game,” Quinn says when I sit down.
“Yeah, sorry. Some friends showed up unexpectedly.”
Quinn removes his feet from the table and sets his plate down. He doesn’t look at me and keeps his focus on the television. “Thought you had to work?”
Shit. So, Elle told her family I had to work and not that we’ve broken up. I suppose if I returned one of her million text messages, I would know this. We could at least be on the same page, but no, I’m left hanging on a lie, and I’m to blame.
Quinn sets this fork down and sighs. “Wanna tell me what’s going on?”
I shake my head and move the food on my plate around to make it look like I’m eating. Looking over at Quinn is a mistake. His gaze bores a hole into my façade.
“My sister is acting weird and so are you. Spill and eat. You look like you’ve lost a ton of weight.”
“There’s nothing to say,” I mumble.
“Clearly, there is.” He stands and takes his plate into the kitchen. The silence is nice, but I know it’s temporary. Quinn returns with another full plate and two bottles of beer. He sticks one in my face, and I reluctantly take it.
“Drink up.”
“Getting me drunk isn’t going to make me open up.”
He chuckles and takes a sip of his. “Look Ben, you missed Christmas and that was a huge red flag, worse than missing the Super Bowl. Elle hasn’t said boo. She has the same excuse, ‘you’re working’ which is clearly a lie, so you can either get drunk and tell me everything or you can do it sober. In my experience, liquid courage is nice. It softens the emotions.”
He’s probably right. I lift the bottle and take a sip, and then another until half of it is gone.
“So, what did my sister do this time? I know she can be bratty and headstrong, especially when it comes to work. I also know she hides her emotions, but when it comes to you, she’s genuine.”
I hang my head, mostly in shame. She didn’t really do anything, other than want to spend Christmas with her family, and was not willing to set a date to get married when I demanded she do so.
“It’s not really something she did,” I tell him. “I don’t even remember how it all started, except I asked that we set a wedding date and she said we would, but not until after she got these new bands off the ground and your tour started.” I shrug and take another drink. “I pushed the issue. I told her I didn’t want to be like your parents. She took offense, which she had every right to do because Harrison and Katelyn have made it work for a long time. Anyone would be lucky to have a relationship like theirs. Except, I want more, and I told her so. I pushed and pushed until I said some things I can’t take back.”
Quinn is quiet and when I look over at him, he’s staring at the ground. He finally inhales and reaches over to pat me on the back. “Elle loves you, Ben. I’m sure you can work this out.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to work things out, Quinn. I want our relationship to be a priority and it never will be, not with her career. And the things I said needed to be said, and part of me isn’t sorry I finally said them.” I relax against the couch, fully expecting Quinn to get up and leave. He’d never turn against his sister, and I can’t ask him to take sides.
“I told her I was done, and I meant it,” I say without him asking. “It was the hardest and yet, easiest thing I’ve ever said to her. My heart is broken, but I know I’m better off.”
Quinn sighs. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Right now, I’m mooching off Elle and I need to stop. I can’t expect her to continue to support me. I don’t deserve her kindness. I need to find a place to live, and it’s probably not going to be in California. This place is too expensive.”
“You can come stay with Nola and me. We have the space, and you can keep Nola company while I’m on tour.”
“She’s not going with you?”
“She’s going to come to a few of the shows, but she’s going to start working on her master’s degree.”
“Does it bother you that she won’t go on tour with you?”
Quinn laughs. “No. No one wants to spend hours upon hours traveling by bus or living with other people. The rooms are small, the bus smells after the third day, and we spend more time sleeping than anything. I don’t blame her one bit. I’ll miss her but seeing her when she is there will be worth it. Besides, she’s her own person and doesn’t need to be at my side all the time.”