Chapter 2
chapter two
I haven’t even taken my sweater vest off when there’s a knock at the door. I frown and check the time, wondering if it’s later than it should be.
It’s not.
Quinn is on the other side, but I know for a fact that she isn’t supposed to be here until five. Her bleach-blonde hair is curled today and she’s wearing a bright pink sweat suit.
“Hey,” she says and holds up a bag of unpopped popcorn. “I hope it’s okay that I’m early.”
I blink and try to adjust my plans in my head. “I can make it work. I don’t have everything ready, though.”
She sighs as she walks into the house. “I’m sorry, I had to come early. I have a few birthday plans that I have to make it to, so I can’t stay that late. Mom’s insisting, or else I would cancel.”
Andrea is not the kind of woman who takes no for an answer, and both of us know it.
She’s been a part of every single moment of wedding planning, including picking the date.
She said that if the entire family was coming into town for something, she also wanted it to be near another big event.
Quinn is turning thirty in a little over a week, and her party is going to be as big as the wedding .
I’m not upset that Quinn’s birthday is going to be a massive event.
This is just how things are in this family.
What I am upset about is the fact that her party is the day after I get back from my honeymoon.
Technically, it’ll all work out. But there’s a feeling of discomfort that’s grown as I get closer to my big day.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s persistent.
It’s not like I can call it off. I have to get this over with.
“It’s fine. We’ll have time for a movie.”
“Good,” she says with a sigh of relief. “I can’t wait for girl time.”
I close the door and make popcorn before walking back over to the couch. The original plan was to change and be in comfortable clothes when we did this, but I don’t want to delay us since she has to leave early.
“So, what do you wanna watch?” she asks.
I’m terrible at keeping up with movies. Nate likes them far more than I do.
Usually, he finds one he likes and I watch it out of duty.
“There’s a new rom-com out. I can’t remember the name of it, but Nate sent it to me.
” I open my phone and go through our many messages.
“Here. This one.” I show her the poster.
Quinn loves a rom-com. Coincidentally, so does Nate.
If only he were here.
“Oh yeah,” she says. “I think it’s on Netflix. We can use my account.”
She pulls it up and I try my best to focus on the movie. I’ve gotten my love story, so I’m not all that interested in other people’s. But I can make an effort.
Today, however, I feel far more bitter than I want to. My own love feels like a jumbled mess. I can’t tell if it’s not seeing Rob or if it’s Nate’s words from earlier.
We’re about halfway through the movie when Quinn pauses it. “Something’s bothering you, isn’t it?”
“Am I that obvious?”
She shrugs. “A little. ”
“I know you’re enjoying the movie. We can continue it and then talk when it’s done.”
“I’m not worried about the movie, I’m worried about you.” She says it like it’s obvious. “What’s going on? Is my brother being dumb again?”
I wince. Quinn’s always quick to be on my side when Rob and I fight. It’s not something I ever expected when I started dating her brother, but she assured me that she knows him best, and that includes the fact that he can be a selfish moron. At the time, I defended him, but now, I find it hard to.
I don’t even want to think about what Nate’s doing, nor do I want to bring Quinn into it when it’s only a hunch. But I do have one other issue I need to talk about.
With a sigh, I stand and grab the magazine off the table and hand it to her. “He wants me to move in with him. Into his apartment complex.”
“Oh.” She takes the magazine and flips through. “Yeah, this place is ... something.”
“And expensive. He’s offered to pay for most of it, even if we get a new unit, but I prefer for finances to be more even. And ...” I gaze around my own home. “I like it here.”
Quinn hums. “What does Nate think about this?”
“Nate? I haven’t told him yet.”
“Really?”
I shake my head. “We don’t tend to talk about relationship problems unless it’s pretty serious.”
“I’d say where you move is pretty serious. And didn’t Nate specifically choose his apartment because it’s close to you? He’d want to know.”
“You’re not wrong,” I admit. “I have a feeling he’ll tell me Rob and I should have talked about this a while ago. Or Rob should let it go, considering I own this place and he rents.”
“Rob doesn’t let anything go,” Quinn says.
“Then I should move in with him.” My shoulders sink as I say it, and I know I don’t like that answer.
Usually, I’m better about bucking up and dealing with things, but where I live is the one thing I’ve fought back on.
Rob has gotten nearly everything he wanted from me.
We’re getting married where he chose, on the date his mom wanted. And the honeymoon is for him , not me.
“No, I think you should be the first to make him let something go.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Yes. It doesn’t make sense for you to move when you own your place. I’m not saying the two of you will be here forever, but he can’t bulldoze you over it. And you can’t afford his apartment complex.”
“Thank you.” A breath of relief escapes me as I say it. “I needed to hear that. Do you think it’ll be hard to convince him?”
She scrunches her nose. “I’d get used to the idea of living apart for the time being. You might have to outlast him on this one.”
He isn’t going to like that idea, and I can easily imagine the fight that’ll start. Rob can get mean when we disagree. He always apologizes, but over the years, I’ve learned not to start anything.
But this is something I can’t let go.
“You’ll help with this, right?”
“Of course I will. He needs pressure from all sides.”
“Definitely.” I bump my shoulder against hers. “Thank you. I really needed this. Should we get back to the movie?”
She nods right when a text comes through her phone. After pulling it out, her smile fades. “Actually, can we finish this another time? Mom has something else for me to do.”
I’m really starting to dislike Andrea. But Quinn doesn’t need to know that.
“Absolutely.”
She apologizes for our night being cut short and hugs me one more time before she has to leave. She’s gone by the time that she was supposed to arrive, and my stomach is still in knots about my living situation .
At least I have backup. And Nate will be on my side once I tell him.
I finally decide to get out of my work clothes. I swap my slacks for pajama pants and my top for a button-up, part of a set. But I don’t feel better.Things feel so off even though I’ve gotten reassurance that I’m right when it comes to where I move.
Out of habit, I pull up Nate’s location. He should still be at the bar, and I wonder how long he’ll watch Rob.
The stalking of my best friend is interrupted by a FaceTime call from my mom.
“Hi, guys,” I say. “What’s up?”
My mom and dad live in my childhood home about thirty minutes away.
Mom works at the same school Nate does and Dad is a carpenter.
Mom volunteers with her free time, but still schedules her shifts to be the same as Dad’s.
They would have just gotten home and finished dinner by the time they called me.
“Hi, honey,” Mom says with a smile. “I hope I’m not interrupting your movie night.”
“Quinn had to leave early. Andrea. ”
Mom nods. “She’s a ... special woman, isn’t she?”
I hear my dad huff and I know he’s sitting next to her, ready to enter the conversation whenever he has an opinion.
He always does this when Mom is on a video call, purely because he hates seeing himself on a camera.
But I can picture him. His arms are crossed tightly and he’s probably doing all he can to keep his face straight.
He makes it a habit to be as stoic as he can be.
There are some things that he lets loose on, though.
His hatred for Andrea is one of them.
“I feel the same as you, Dad. Hope you had a good day at work.”
“It was decent.” That’s all he says. It’s about all I’ll get from him too. I know he loves me and I love him. He’s just a man of few words .
“What’s Nate up to?” Mom asks. “I’m sure he would help salvage your night if you asked.”
“Nate’s out. He had plans.”
“Does he have another date?” She gets close to the camera. “You’ll have to tell me how it goes. I’ve been dying for him to not be single anymore! He’s far too handsome for that.”
Once upon a time, they’d thought I was the one for Nate, but with me staying with Rob for a decade, Mom’s been hoping Nate would find someone too.
“Not with a woman, unfortunately. It’s a date with ... himself.”
I don’t usually lie to my parents, but I know they’ll have questions about why he feels the need to make sure Rob doesn’t say or do anything stupid. They have the same worry as Nate does, that Rob will betray me and we’ll break up.
It’s been long enough to prove that wrong.
He’d agreed to no strippers. He said this was just a night with the guys where he would let loose and have fun. Things were fine . And the twisting in my stomach is just Nate’s worry bleeding into me and the fear of fighting with Rob over where to live. That is all .
Mom hums, but Dad has another question for me. “Getting ready for the big day?”
My marriage to Rob is the next step in our lives. This was expected and natural. I’d always wanted to be married before I was thirty, after all.
“I am. It’s gonna be ... busy.”
I can’t say I’m excited to see all of Rob’s massive family.My own is tiny, and the people that are coming from my side aren’t enough to fill up the huge venue Andrea booked.
“It’s your wedding, honey. You have to at least pretend to be excited.”
“It’ll be the best day of my life,” I say with a fake smile. “Is that better?”