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He remains silent for quite some time, and I think he may not answer, but my heart breaks once again when he does.
“The moment I left you, I was jumped from behind. I was so stupid because I let my guard down, and when I came to, it was because Polly slapped my cheeks, screaming at me to wake up because you were in trouble.
“They dumped me in the room next door to ours, so I grabbed what I could weapon-wise from our bags and searched for you. I was so worried about you. If anything had happened…” He adds, “I let you down. I’m so sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Yes, I do. I shouldn’t have let my guard down, and thanks to my carelessness, you and Tristan got injured.”
The mention of Tristan hurts my heart, and Quinn feels me freeze under his hold.
“He’s fine; the doctor stitched him up. He’ll be a little sore, but he’s okay,” he says, but I don’t fail to pick up on his robotic tone.
I know his bitterness stems from Phil’s misunderstanding about my reunion with Tristan being romantic. In reality, it was just two friends reuniting after being apart for so long.
Quinn needs to know that.
“What Phil said,” I utter, but Quinn shifts, loosening his grip around me.
“It doesn’t matter.”
I wish it wasn’t so dark because I can’t see his face.
“Nothing happened between Tristan and me,” I continue because it does matter. “I hugged him, and to onlookers, I can understand how one could misinterpret our exchange as being romantic, but it wasn’t. I was just so happy to see him.”
Quinn softly pushes me away, sitting up against the headboard. “I don’t want to talk about your reunion. Whatever happened, happened, and that got Tristan hurt. I mean, the fact they thought he was your boyfriend…”
The hurt in his tone is clear as day.
“Quinn—”
But he cuts me off. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it. We’ve got more important things to—”
I don’t let him finish. I crawl up his body, wrapping my arms around his neck. “It matters, Quinn.Youmatter. You’re everything to me. I’m sorry…for everything,” I say, not even sure what I’m apologizing for because I’m damn sorry for the whole evening.
“Shh,” he coos, resting his chin atop my head. “We just stick to the original plan, and we wait for Abi’s dad to come through. I called her, and she’s fine.”
I feel awful for not even checking on her.
“You told her everything?”
“Yes. She’ll be careful. She’s a smart girl.”
He’s right. Now that Abi knows it all, I have no doubt she’ll push her father even harder to prove our innocence.
“When will this end?” I whisper, closing my eyes and encircling myself around his body.
“Soon,” he replies, but I know he can’t guarantee that. “Besides, Tristan is here now, so that makes you happy, right?”
My eyes pop open. I have no idea what he means by that comment.
Yes, of course I’m happy that Tristan is here, but does Quinn think he was some kind of substitute while Tristan was away? Does he think I was using him until Tristan arrived?
I don’t understand why there is jealousy between them. I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever given Quinn a reason to think I want anyone other than him. Back home, I know he believed Tristan to be the better brother for me, but I never wanted Tristan.
It was always him. It’ll always be him.
Deep down, I can’t help but think this inexplicable jealousy has something to do with their childhood, which Quinn still refuses to fully discuss. The glimpses he has shared are painful, and I don’t blame him for being so reserved about his past. I have firsthand experience with how a tainted past can pollute a bright future.
