Page 74 of Waiting For You
“Yeah, I’ve learned that about him.”
Quinn’s eyes shutter and he turns back to Hailey. I met Joshua’s girlfriend once before and liked her almost immediately. She seems different than the girls Joshua usually brings around, and from what I know of her, I think she’s good for him.
Finding out that she’s the reason they’re here now makes me like her even more.
“Oh god, and that dog, Dad,” Joshua says with a laugh. “I can’t believe you adopted him.”
I see Winter raise his head from where he’s lying on the ground. It’s almost as if he knows he’s being talked about, and I can’t help but bend down and pat his wiry head.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Thought you didn’t like dogs,” Joshua says.
“Nah, I just knew I’d never be home enough to have one. Wouldn’t have been fair to the dog.”
Joshua eyes me. “And you will be now?”
I shrug, not really sure what the fuck I’m gonna do. I don’t know if I can go back to the way things were before all of this happened. “Well, Quinn and I found him, so I figured we’d split custody.”
Joshua snorts, his lips turned up in a smile. “Yeah, I’m sure Quinn will be thrilled about that.”
“Thrilled about what?” Quinn asks, walking up and nudging Joshua with his elbow.
I glance over his shoulder and see that the tent has been assembled and Hailey is crawling inside, her dark-blonde hair braided down her back.
“Thrilled that you share custody of this dog.”
Quinn’s eyes meet mine and he smiles softly, a shared secret moving between us.
“I don’t mind. Winter is cool,” Quinn says, moving up next to me, his arm brushing against mine.
Just that small amount of contact has tingles shooting through me, and I feel my heart burst alive. Fuck, the next few days are going to be torture.
I’m not going to survive it.
Winter hears his name and wags his tail harder, his one eye blinking up at us.
“Yeah, well, I’m sure he’ll grow on me,” Joshua says, reaching out and patting Winter on the head just as Hailey calls out, asking Joshua to bring her something from his car.
We watch him walk off and Quinn’s smile drops.
“Was he insulting Winter?”
“Don’t take it personally,” I say. “Shouldn’t you know by now? You are his best friend, after all.”
Quinn looks at me, those dark green eyes so fucking expressive. I want to reach out and bury my face in his neck, but instead, I just shove my hands into my pockets and stare intently at the trees in the distance. I wonder what kind they are—probably birch, maybe maple. Should go over and have a real long look.
“Yeah, well, I do. Just…I’m just tired already, Grey, and it’s only been an hour.”
“Been more like thirty minutes.”
Quinn rolls his neck and I hear a pop.
“Fuck this, let’s just leave while they’re sleeping,” he says, his voice low. “Let’s just go and never come back.”
I start to chuckle and then realize he’s deadly serious. Oh shit. He’d so run away with me. He’s not even joking.
He watches me as I shift on my feet because fuck, I do want to leave. It was so nice living in our own little world and now that it’s been invaded, it feels like a special kind of carnage.