16. Quinn #2
I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to say when my phone started vibrating in my purse. Aubrey knew where I was and so did all the guys, I didn’t expect them to be texting. I grabbed it out of my bag to silence it, but I frowned looking down at the screen.
“I’m so sorry, I need to take this,” I said as I slid out of my chair and made my way quickly toward the front of the restaurant where I’d spotted the restrooms on our way in.
I could feel Theo’s eyes on me as I made my way to the women’s washroom and was grateful to find all the stalls empty.
“Dad,” I answered, my spine already rigid, anticipating this going wrong.
“Quinn!” I closed my eyes and lifted a finger to my temple. I could tell by the way he said my name, and the loud music in the background, that he was drunk.
“What’s wrong?” We only ever talked when something was wrong. This had been our relationship since I refused to go to his house just before I turned eighteen.
“Nothing is wrong…” I didn’t say anything as I waited because I knew he wasn’t done. “But I’ve hit a slight snag.”
“How much do you need?” Usually, the thing that was wrong was that he needed money.
My father was notorious for ‘forgetting’ his wallet when he went out.
“Well, pumpkin,” I hated when he called me that. I closed my eyes and bit my lip as I shivered and tried not to snap at him. “I needed money for my next business… I had this great idea to—”
“Dad.” I stopped his story because it would go nowhere. It never did.
“Right. Anyway, so I came to this casino, you know how good I am. How lucky. But things have taken a turn.”
“How much?”
“I need five thousand dollars.” My shoulders tightened at the amount, the biggest in a while.
I had it, but it would put a big dent in my savings.
I didn’t spend much money, rented a small apartment, didn’t eat out more than two days a week and didn’t buy many nice things for myself.
It was hard to save when your dad was always pulling from you.
“And I need you to bring it to me now, they won’t let me leave. ”
“I can’t take that much out in cash at an ATM and the bank is closed.” I moved toward the wall and turned to rest the back of my head against it.
“I told them that. They said as long as you bring in a thousand as security, they will take a cheque for the rest. I have your cheque book on me, you left it at my place.”
Of course he’d already figured it out. I'd left my cheque book there because I had to drag his drunk self up the stairs and forgot to grab it on my dash back out the door the last time this happened. He couldn’t keep his head above water to save his life but organizing it so his daughter could pay off his debts he could figure out no problem.
“Where are you?”
“The casino on the corner of Fourth and Park. How far away are you?”
There was a bank across the street that I could hit which would save me time. Thank god I had thought to tuck my cards in my purse before Theo got there, otherwise it would’ve taken me a lot longer.
“I don’t know. Thirty minutes at the most.”
“Thanks, Quinn.” He let out a relieved sigh that grated on my nerves. “I’ll be at the bar. I promise I will pay you back.”
He said the same thing the last four times he borrowed money. I heard him order another drink which I’m sure was just what he needed. I hung up without saying goodbye.
I took a few deep breaths looking at myself in the mirror, trying to force the angry tears down.
“God damn it!” I ran my hands through my hair and let out a sigh, tucking my phone back in my purse as I walked out the door. I ran right into the hard chest of a man.
“We should stop meeting like this.” Theo’s low voice hit me in the chest, making the tears spring back to my eyes. I looked up at him and he instantly frowned as he took in my face. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m so sorry but I have to go.” I tried to step around him, but he matched my step.
“Who called you?”
A weariness had settled over me. I couldn’t tell Theo, we were just getting started and my father could never learn who he was.
“I have to go.”
He didn’t move and we glared at each other in the small hallway in a silent standoff.
“Not until you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you.” His voice was low.
I hated how well he knew me already.
“Can you just let me go? Please?” I pleaded, the tears threatening to spill out.
“Not happening, Love, tell me what happened that’s made you look pale and lost and on the verge of tears.”
“No.”
“Fine, then I’m coming with you wherever you’re running off to. Not ending the date that easily.”
I could tell by the stubborn set of his jaw and the tension in his shoulders that he wasn’t going to let this slide, not going to let me leave here alone. If I didn’t get there soon, my dad would just keep racking up his bill.
“If you come with me you get no questions and you stay in the car.” I crossed my arms over my chest willing him to agree with me. I would need to drive Dad home anyway, since he always drove himself and then got too drunk to drive. At least he did that well.
“I’ll call Arthur and settle the bill.” He started to move me out of the hallway.
“I need to stop at the bank across the street. Why don’t you pay and I’ll—”
“Not happening.” He threaded his hand through mine, leading me to the hostess stand.
It was smart, I was considering abandoning him. I hardly registered anything as he paid and we maneuvered out of the restaurant. I racked my brain trying to figure out how to stop Theo from seeing this.