We aren’t given an opportunity to respond before she steps out of the cabana and disappears. Josie comes over to me and wraps her arms around me. I sob into her shoulder. I knew everything with him was going to fall apart. Everything seemed to fit into place far too easily for us. It was too good to be true. I was right to second-guess my feelings for him. I should’ve listened to my head when it was screaming at me to stay away from him, but he assured me that we were solid.
He lied.
I’M bored.
I spin on my stool like I used to do with Quinn when he was little, waiting for inspiration to strike. Liam is at ‘work’. He forgot, in all his infinite wisdom, that it takes at least two people to run Josie’s store, so he’s working with Jenna for the next couple of days.
And I sit here, bored. The kids are in school. JD stayed in L.A. I came to work to get my mind off Katelyn and her not being here, but it’s not working. All I can think about after waking up next to her, is that being alone only solidifies my desire to be a part of her life. I’m not sure what step is next, except for telling the kids. But after that, what happens next? I know that I need to see her every day to feel alive. I just don’t know what she wants or needs. I plan to find out, though.
I pull my ringing phone out of my pocket. My heart starts beating faster thinking its Katelyn. I look at the unfamiliar number and hope soars.
“Hello?”
“Mr. James?”
I feel as if my heart suddenly stops beating. The voice on the other end is not Katelyn. I should’ve known better. We may be sharing ourselves intimately, but we have yet to talk on the phone, and I was hoping that would be rectified.
“Yes?”
“This Mr. Lumsden, Principal at Beaumont Elementary –“
“Is Quinn okay?” I blurt out before he has a chance to tell me why he’s calling.
“Yes and no. I need you to come down and meet with me. When can you be here?”
“I’m on my way.” I press end and pocket my phone. I bump into my drums as I move out from behind them. I knew public school was a bad choice, but my mom assured me Quinn would do well.
I take the stairs two at time and run to my car. I take a deep breath before starting it. My phone goes off again. I hit answer without even looking at it.
“What are you doing right now?” Liam asks.
I pull out of his driveway and head toward the school. “I’m heading to school. Something’s wrong with Quinn.”
“Oh boy,” Liam says. “Listen, the Principal just called and said that Peyton needs to come home. Josie and I are her standby when Mr. Powell can’t get the girls, and he’s not home. I’ll let them know you’re picking her up. I believe Katelyn added you to the list.”
My heartbeat picks up again. “We should call Katelyn.”
“No, we shouldn’t. She needs this vacation and he didn’t say what was wrong, so it might be nothing. Just go get her and take her back to the house.”
He hangs up before I have a chance to say anything. I try not to think about what both of them could’ve done for the principal to call, but I’m about to find out. I pull into the parking lot and take the closest spot I can find. I’m not sure my feet even hit the pavement as I run into the school and into the office.
“Dad!”
I spin around and find Quinn and Peyton sitting in chairs along the wall. Both of them have their backpacks sitting on the floor. I give Quinn a good hard look. He stands and shakes his head.
“It doesn’t hurt,” he says, stepping closer.
“You have a black eye.”
“It’s my fault,” Peyton says quietly.
“No it’s not, Peyton, stop saying that.” Quinn says through gritted teeth. Peyton looks like she’s about to cry, which spurs my desire to be there for her. She crosses her arms and looks away from me.
I put my hand on Quinn’s shoulder and give it a light squeeze. “Go sit down, I’ll find out what’s going on, okay?”
“You’ll be mad.”
I sigh and nod. “Thanks for the warning, buddy.”