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“Oof! You are probably going to have to help me, Quinn, when I decide to get back up. I forgot how soft these chairs were.” She chuckled.
Quinn smiled softly and nodded. “Of course.”
Quinn could tell that Helen had been a beautiful woman at one time, not that she wasn’t beautiful now, because she was, but she was probably a knockout when she was younger. Her hair was pure white and just a wild mass of short curls on her head, she wore tortoise shell glasses that were too big for her slightly rounded and wrinkled face, and every day she was wearing a different sweatshirt, all with pictures of kittens on them. She was the cutest damn old lady he’s ever seen.
“You know, I am still trying to figure out what a handsome man such as yourself is doing in my bed and breakfast all by himself,” Helen asked, peeking at him over the top of her glasses.
Quinn sighed and scrubbed his beard, which was in much need of a trim. For whatever reason, he felt compelled to talk to Helen. “It’s complicated. I just needed to get away by myself, without anyone I know bothering me.”
“Why did you need to run from your family and friends? Would they not have helped you?”
“They wouldn’t know how to help me. Like I said, it’s complicated.” Quinn sighed.
“Define complicated,” Helen said.
Quinn glanced over to find her watching him shrewdly. He opened his mouth to tell her but snapped it shut and shook his head. He didn’t want to taint her lightness with his darkness.
“Honey, nothing you say is going to shock me. I’ve seen and heard everything in my old age, believe me.”
Quinn took a deep breath, about to tell a complete stranger his secret that wasn’t so secret anymore. “I…uh…I was raped by my cousin when I was ten. I just saw him for the first time in twenty years a few days ago; I almost strangled him to death. My family had no idea it happened so they were finding out for the first time what screwed me up for life…I just couldn’t stay there and listen to them talk about it or ask me questions.”
“Screwed you up how? You seem like a very sweet man.”
“I don’t like anyone touching me,” Quinn admitted quietly.
“Ah, I see.” Helen nodded in understanding. “Do you have a girlfriend, Quinn?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Did she know about your secret?”
“Yeah, I told her one night when I was drunk.” He snorted.
Helen smiled. “How is she about your situation?”
“She’s extremely understanding and patient. We have been trying to work on it, but it hasn’t been easy.”
“Nothing ever worth it is. Let me give you some advice, Quinn. If you want to have a future, then you must let go of your past. Make peace with it. Yes, it happened, and I’m sure it was horrible because it shaped how you are as a person, but you cannot let it rule you. You are an adult now; no one will ever hurt you like that again because you are strong enough to defend yourself. You understand? You saw the man that abused you, proved that you were stronger than he is, so now it’s time to put it to rest. Let it go, Quinn. Let it go so you can be happy,” Helen said, reaching over to pat his forearm. “You deserve to be happy.”
Quinn swallowed hard and nodded. “Thank you, Helen.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Now, help an old lady up,” Helen murmured.
Quinn chuckled and stood. He put his coffee on the side table, took both of Helen’s hands, and helped pull her out of the chair. She grunted as she stood. “Whoa, you are a strong one. That girlfriend of yours is one lucky girl, mmm hmm, so handsome…” she murmured as she shuffled away.
Quinn smiled and shook his head. He sat back down to finish his coffee. Helen was right. He needed to put his past to rest and move on. No one was going to hurt him ever again. A weight that Quinn didn’t even know that he has been carrying lifted, leaving him feeling lighter. No one was going to hurt him ever again, he repeated to himself. Damn, that felt good to say even if it was only in his head. Quinn wasn’t a little ten-year-old boy anymore, he was a thirty-year-old man, and no one was going to hurt him ever again. Those were the words that he needed to hear, and they came from a least likely source – a complete stranger. He knew he came here for a reason. Her name was Helen.
~~~~~
Christian groaned as he flushed the toilet and dropped his ass to the floor. He has been throwing up for the past hour, with his anxiety through the roof from this whole Quinn being missing thing. The police found nothing, other than a three thousand dollars withdrawal from the bank around the corner from his apartment. It was from the night that Margot took him home. He had left only half an hour after she did.
