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“I remember stopping dead in my tracks, waiting in the hallway for any signs that someone was in the house, and that’s when I heard it,” he confesses, swallowing past the lump in his throat.
“I heard the faintest whimper coming from inside her room. I waited, thinking it was my fucked-up mind playing tricks on me, but then I heard it again—louder this time. I panicked and charged into her room, using the beer bottle as my weapon, ready to attack whoever was hurting my mom. But what I saw, it made me sick.”
Quinn takes a deep breath while I’m on tenterhooks, waiting for him to continue. I don’t have to wait long.
“My mom was on her knees, getting right royally fucked by my uncle Brandon.”
“What?” I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth as I sit up in shock.
Quinn nods, his jaw clenching in anger. “Yes. I just stood there, not knowing what to do because surely what I was seeing couldn’t possibly be true. The moment she opened her mouth, guilt and excuses came pouring out, but I didn’t want to hear it.
“She was fucking my uncle, my dad’s brother, while she was still married to my father. I know they had long separated, but he was still my dad, and I saw what she did as the ultimate betrayal to not only him but also to me and Tristan.
“Even though Dad was a deadbeat, he was still my dad, and I knew what she was doing was wrong, and so did she. I could see it in her face.
“I ran from that house and stayed with my grandparents for the night, as they were back from their six-month vacation. The next day, Mom came over, guilty as all shit, begging for forgiveness. She said that what I thought I saw, I didn’t, and to forget it. But I couldn’t. And I never did. But we never spoke about it again, and I never told Tristan.”
This story grows more awful by the minute, but sadly, I know the worst is yet to come.
“After that, I looked at her in a different light. She was my mom, for fuck’s sake, and she wasn’t meant to be the bad guy, but both she and my dad were a huge disappointment. So after that, I really rebelled.
“I was just so angry all the damn time. I rebelled against any form of authority—school. Police. Work. Uncle Brandon, but most of all, my mom.
“I hated her for pretending everything was fine when, in reality, it wasn’t. She saw how out of control I was getting, and when she tried to discipline me, I just threw her infidelity in her face. After a while, I think she just gave up.
“Uncle Brandon, he tried to discipline me too, but when I threatened to ruin his little charade and tell Tristan what I saw, that shut him up immediately.
“As much as I hate to admit this, Red, I hated my brother,” he confesses, looking utterly ashamed. “I hated him because he was the perfect son. And that’s how Uncle Brandon treated him, like his goddamn son. And he treated me like a piece of shit.
“I resented Tristan when, really, he just wanted to belong.
“When I turned sixteen, I was out of control. I was failing school and on my last warning, but I didn’t care. I stopped seeing Hank, the only good adult in my life, a decision I wish I could take back,” he says with regret.
“I got sent home for lighting firecrackers in the girls’ locker room and was expelled.
“I decided to drop past the diner and tell my mom the good news. I wanted to let her know what a great job she did at raising a delinquent, but I should have just gone home.
“As I snuck round the back to have a cigarette, I saw her with him again, and I just lost it. They were only talking, but in my eyes, they may as well have been fucking. The first punch caught them both unawares, and after that first strike, years of anger just exploded out of me, and I couldn’t stop.
“Mom tried to pull me off, but I could only focus on the anger because it felt so fucking good. The way my fists felt connecting with his face made me feel liberated. How sick is that?” he spits out, shaking his head in disgust.
“How did you stop?”
“I only stopped when she told me who he really was,” he replies, the pain slicing across his face.
“Who was he?” I ask, my voice wavering in fear.
He takes a deep breath and confesses, “He was Tristan’s dad.”
“What?” I gasp, not understanding what he was saying.
Quinn nods sadly. “Yes, he was my uncle but also Tristan’s dad.
“She met my dad in college and decided to give in to his endless pleas to go out on a date. They had been seeing one another for a few weeks, and that’s when she met Brandon. She said it was love at first sight.” Quinn scoffs.
“Brandon apparently felt it too, but he stayed away because she was his brother’s girl. He wasn’t interested in a family feud. Their attraction grew and grew, but she swore they never did anything. She said she always loved Brandon, but because of his commitment to the Army, she couldn’t stand in the way of his number one love—his country.
“Brandon went away for a few months to train in Texas, and they wrote to one another the entire time. He told her he wanted her to leave my dad and marry him once he returned. They were sick of hiding their feelings for one another and would tell my dad they had fallen in love.”
