Jax sits next to me. “Willow and I have decided to move out of the townhouse.” My head snaps up. They’re moving? Is Quinn moving too?
“Quinn’s staying,” he says, answering my thoughts. “She’s been looking for a place, but she can’t afford anything in Kinsley’s school zone.”
“She hasn’t mentioned anything to me about moving.” We’ve talked about her work, mine, Kinsley, a lot about her past, but thinking about it, we don’t ever discuss the future.
“She probably didn’t want to say anything until she found a place. We bought the townhouse during the recession and fixed it up. It’s now paid off, thanks to Quinn who insisted on paying it off when she sold her ex’s condo and moved back in with us. She’s been through enough. It doesn’t make sense for her to have to find another place and switch Kinsley to a new school that might not be in a good area, when Willow and I can live anywhere.” Jax shrugs like it’s no big deal, and it makes me wonder something.
“Why didn’t you guys get Quinn away from that asshole?” My question isn’t meant to come out as an accusation, but even to my own ears, I hear the blame dripping from my words.
Jax sighs, scrubbing his hands over his face. “I know she was with him for four years, but it feels like it all happened so fast.” He exhales harshly. “One minute she was dating him and the next she was living with him. He was rarely home, and when he was gone, she would come over. She would never complain or say anything bad about him. Her smile never faltered.” He looks at me dead in the eyes. “I didn’t see it, and I hate myself every day for it. I thought she was just busy doing her own thing. I should’ve looked deeper, asked more questions. It wasn’t until her wedding when I knew something was wrong.”
“What happened at her wedding?”
“Quinn is several years younger than us. She got her first tattoo at sixteen. I shouldn’t have let her, but…” He shrugs, and I nod. We’re tattoo artists. “She walked down the aisle in this hideous, frumpy-looking dress, man. It was white and expensive, but it wasn’t Quinn. It covered every tattoo on her body.” He curses under his breath. “She was proud of her tattoos before she met him. She used to wear clothes that showed them off. I used to yell at her all the time to put on more clothes.” He laughs. “But she wouldn’t listen. She lived in cut-off jean shorts and tiny shirts. An older brother’s nightmare. When Celeste asked her why her dress covered them all up, she said she’s older now and they look immature and trashy. She should’ve been beaming at her wedding, but she looked awkward and nervous.”
“She’s not proud of them now,” I tell him. “Her tattoos…You know she’s only gotten one tattoo since she’s been with him? And it says, ‘this too shall pass.’”
“Yeah, Gage tattooed that one. I don’t think she wanted us to know, but Gage was worried about her. They used to be good friends. She wouldn’t discuss anything with us. When she gave up her photography business to stay home, I could tell she was devastated, but she made excuses, saying it was for the best because they planned to start a family, and she wanted to be home with their kids. Looking back, that’s all those four years with him were…one excuse after the next.”
“I’ve never hated someone so much in my life,” I admit. “Every time she questions herself or gets nervous. Every time she makes a comment about being fat or ugly. I want him to rise from the dead, so I can slowly murder him all over again.”
“Yeah, well, I’m just glad he died before finding out about Kinsley. I can’t even imagine what would’ve happened if she had to raise a baby with him. She said she thought about running, but the guy was loaded. He would’ve found her and fucked her over.”
“Hey!” Willow exclaims, joining Jax on the couch. “What’re you guys talking about?”
“Us moving this weekend.” Jax throws his arm over Willow’s shoulders and pulls her into his side. “We found a nice two bedroom condo and are renting to buy.” Jax tells me. “We want to make sure it’s what we want before we commit.”
“Nice, need any help moving?”
“That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you. Quinn is going to throw a fit when she learns we’re moving, so we aren’t going to tell her.”
“So, you’re what? Going to move out while she’s gone?” I wince, imagining how pissed Quinn is going to be when she comes home and finds all their stuff gone.
“I know it sounds bad, but trust me, it’s the only way. Otherwise, she’ll try to move out first,” Jax says.