Chapter 29 Quinn #2
They asked me a few more questions but everything after the crash was blank. I didn’t even remember getting pulled out of the car. They asked about the fight that Aubrey and Max were having and with each answer I saw everyone in the room getting more and more tense.
Once they decided that there was nothing else to ask, they said they were going to find Max. Jaxson followed them out, and Will closed the door behind them.
Theo pushed off from beside me, went to the foot of my bed and started pacing the room. Noah looked at him and me a few times, Asher did the same. I didn’t know what they were waiting for but I tried to stand up again.
“Stay in bed,” Theo growled as he stomped toward me.
“I have to go find out how Aubrey is.” I shoved away his hand as he reached out for me.
“Her parents arrived, you need to rest.”
“No, this is my fault. I shouldn’t have let us get in that car. I shouldn’t have ignored it. I should have let Dane call us a cab and forced her to come with me. Actually I shouldn’t have been out at all. I was just so—” I cut myself off and let out a sigh.
Theo may be here now but I could feel the distance. It wasn’t like before, every time he touched me it felt different and it was making me want to crawl out of my skin. I didn’t want him to know how much he was affecting me. He didn’t get that. Not anymore.
“This isn’t your fault, Love.”
“Stop calling me that.” I winced as my raised voice hurt my ribs. His eyes narrowed slightly, like I was the one pissing him off.
“I think you should let her go,” Asher said.
“Stay the fuck out of this,” Theo growled without looking at his friend.
“Knight.” Noah took a step forward.
“No.” He whirled around on his friends.
I used his distraction to push up with my right hand and stand up. I stood there blinking as I wavered, my vision blacking out for a moment as pain radiated down my body.
“Quinn?” Will was the closest and caught me as I swayed.
“Head rush.” I rested my arm on the one he offered. “I’m fine.”
“Get back in bed, Quinn,” Theo gritted out as he moved Will out of the way. I softened my features and looked him in the eye.
“Please. Theo. I need to go, I need to be with her parents. I need to know if she’s okay.
Please let me do this.” I felt the tears building in my eyes.
I was sore, exhausted and seriously on the verge of losing it.
For the first time since I’d woken up, Theo’s eyes warmed as a tear fell down my cheek.
“Please don’t cry. It fucking breaks me to see you cry,” he pleaded as he brushed a tear from my cheek.
It hurt, I couldn’t hide my flinch. He’d said that to me before, said it to me when I still felt important to him.
I’d melted the first time, now it just confused me more.
I cried while he walked away from us in his office and that didn’t change anything.
And I’d been crying myself to sleep for eight days now. Why didn’t those break him?
We stood there staring at each other another moment before Theo’s eyes cooled again almost like he could hear my thoughts.
“You will sit in the wheelchair I bring and when you get tired you will come back here.”
I pushed my shoulders back and nodded at him.
“Got one outside,” Noah said with a smile as he moved out of the room.
“I think we should get a restraining order,” Will chimed in as he crossed his arms over his chest and Theo stood there glaring. At what, I wasn’t sure.
“Why do we need a restraining order?” I looked between the men as Noah came back in with the wheelchair.
“We should file an immediate order of protection for both her and Aubrey,” Theo grunted as he helped me sit down.
“Can someone explain why I’m getting a restraining order?” I asked, glaring at them as best I could. It kind of hurt what I’m assuming was a cut on my head.
“He drove you into a fucking car, Quinn, while he was drunk,” Theo said like it answered my question.
“I want to talk to Aubrey before I do anything.” Theo looked at Will who nodded and walked out. I let out an exasperated sigh as I let them push me.
Dane followed our little group, which I was too tired to question. Two floors down I was pushed into the waiting room and immediately pushed out of the chair.
“Shannon.” Aubrey’s mom came rushing at me, wrapping me in a hug. I flinched from the pain but I didn’t push her away. “Is she okay?”
“You should be sitting down,” Theo grumbled as he put his hand on my lower back. I tried to shake him off but it didn’t work. Aubrey’s dad, Joe, hugged me too but more gently.
“You look terrible, kid,” he said with an affectionate pat on my cheek.
I’d caught sight of my reflection in the elevator, he was right. There was swelling and bruising on my face, a bandage on my head and dried blood matting my hair.
“Aubrey?” I asked, looking between the two.
“She’s in surgery. She was hit by a large shard of glass that cut her pretty deep.
She’s lost a lot of blood and has some internal injuries.
We’re waiting for an update from the doctor.
” Shannon’s voice was tired; Joe grabbed her hand in support.
Both had tears in their eyes, and I tightened my good hand into a fist at my side.
“I am so sorry.” My voice cracked.
“This isn’t your fault, sweetheart.” Both parents moved forward and helped sit me down in a chair between them.
“I shouldn’t have let her get in the car.” My voice broke as I looked down at my lap.
“Darling,” Shannon said as she brushed her hand over my head gently. “She would’ve gotten in that car regardless, you couldn’t have stopped her. She called us the other day and said she was thinking about moving out or coming home. Her and Max were fighting a lot. He hit her.”
“What?” My eyes whipped over to her. “She didn’t tell me.”
“She said it was an accident, that he apologized but he was drinking a lot. She said he was trying to blame your boyfriend for giving her unrealistic expectations of how he should be acting.” I saw Shannon’s eyes bounce to where Theo was still standing near my wheelchair.
Silence hung over us for a while as I digested the information that Aubrey wasn’t telling me.
“I’ve just heard. Max got some stitches but is otherwise fine, better off than Quinn. He was discharged but police caught him on the way out,” Jaxson informed us as he came into the room with Will. I could feel the gaze of some other people waiting for news of their families.
“I’ve got the protection order here,” Will said, coming forward, looking at her parents. “Since Aubrey is unable to sign for herself, you can both sign. Quinn, you need to sign yours.” He passed us each a stack of paper.
I had no idea how the men in this group got things done at such a shocking speed.
“If police have him, why does Aubrey need a protection order?” I asked.
“Just to be safe, so she can have some distance from him.” Will looked at me with a nod.
I looked over at her parents. “Sign it, he hit her and she didn’t leave and she didn’t tell me.
She may have been thinking about moving out but I’ve seen them together, she defers to him.
She’s lost herself. Plus, he’s going to be pretty pissed when charges are filed.
He’ll lose his job. Sign it, just to be safe.
” I watched her parents look at each other, nod and sign where Will had left tabs.
I followed suit even though it was unnecessary, I doubt he would care about me.
Will nodded and took the paperwork saying something about going to get a judge’s signature. I sat there, growing more uncomfortable in the hard plastic chair with my injuries, as we waited for news.
The others settled in the room except Theo who just stood there. I couldn’t make eye contact with him so I stared at the floor.
“Mr. and Mrs. Howell.” Both parents shot up as a doctor came into the room. I was slower but stood up and winced.
“That’s us,” Shannon said, clutching Joe’s hand.
“Your daughter is out of surgery, she has a small brain bleed we need to monitor closely so there is a chance she’ll have to go back in but for now she’s stable. We’re getting her settled in the ICU, but you’ll be able to see her soon.”
I let out a breath and stepped back, feeling a little dizzy, before I could fall over or find a chair, Theo’s arm wrapped around my back.
“Thank you so much, Doctor.” Shannon sniffed.
She wasn’t out of the woods yet but at least she was alive and stable.
“We need to get you back to your room,” Theo grumbled from beside me. I nodded, the effects of the pain meds were warring off.
“I’ll come see her in the morning,” I told both her parents as I hugged them before me and everyone else all went back upstairs.
As I got back into bed, the guys muttered something about getting coffees and they left Theo and I alone in the room.
I was exhausted. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.
And it was harder with him around because he was here, I could touch him but the man I fell in love with was too far away for me to reach.
“Quinn—”
I held up my uninjured hand to stop him. “Please don’t. Whatever you have to say, I just can’t right now.” I closed my eyes and rested my head against the pillows.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, forcing me to look at him. He wasn’t one for apologies. He stood at the foot of my bed, jaw tight and hands clenched so hard on the frame that his knuckles were white.
“You being here doesn’t change anything, right?” I hated how hurt I sounded.
“I needed to make sure you were okay.” His voice was rough, dark circles under his eyes.
I squeezed my eyes shut as silence fell over the room. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find the words to ask him to leave. But after what felt like an hour, I heard shuffling. I dragged my heavy eyes open to see him walking out of the hospital room.
It was exactly what I expected him to do.
Yet somehow it hurt more than any of my injuries.