“Is it broken?” Quinn asked Sebastian, his voice hollow and emotionless. Quinn was staring down at his own busted up knuckles, which were resting in his lap.
“I don’t think so,” Sebastian answered.
“That’s good,” Quinn said quietly.
Margot glanced back at Christian, worry creasing her brow. She turned back to Quinn and asked if he wanted anything to drink. He just shook his head, his eyes downcast. He hasn’t looked at anyone since walking in. Christian was becoming increasingly concerned for his mental health.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Anne whispered.
“Mom, now is not a good time,” Henry said softly from where he was standing near the door. His blonde hair was sticking out in all directions, most likely from him constantly running his hand through it.
Anne’s eyes flicked up to look at Henry. She opened her mouth to argue but Henry cut her off before she could start. “He can’t talk about it right now, mom. Please just let it go for the moment,” Henry pleaded softly.
Anne glanced at Quinn, her eyes looking him over before she sighed and nodded. Christian blew out a breath he didn’t even realize that he was holding. He was afraid his mother would push it like she used to, and Christian didn’t think that Quinn could handle it if she did. She let it go, thankfully.
“Margot?” Henry said, “Why don’t you take Quinn home.”
Margot nodded. “Okay.”
Sebastian removed the peas from his face and leaned in toward Quinn. “Had I known what he did, I would have let you kill him and then helped you bury his body in the backyard.”
Christian watched in shock as one side of Quinn’s mouth curled up just a hair. Sebastian smiled and patted Quinn’s thigh before putting the peas back on his nose. Quinn stood and headed for the door without saying anything to anyone. Margot went over and said goodbye to their parents before giving Henry, Sebastian and him a kiss on the cheek. She went into the kitchen and said goodbye to Claire, Raelynn, and the kids before heading out after Quinn, who was most likely already in the car. God, he hoped Quinn was going to be okay.
~~~~~
Margot took Quinn back to his studio apartment; he went right to his bed, which was hidden behind a decorative screen. His apartment has a total of four doors - the entrance, the bathroom, his efficiency washer and dryer, and his walk-in closet. Margot thought his apartment was beautiful, with the perfect amount of space for one - or even two - people to live comfortably.
Quinn sat on the end of his bed, his head hanging down. She was still in shock about what happened today, so she could not imagine what was going on in his mind. Quinn almost killed a man today, almost strangled his cousin to death. If Sebastian had not pulled him away, he would have succeeded.
Margot sat down next to him, no idea what to do for him. He has not said one word since leaving his parents’ house. “Quinn, do you need anything?” Margot asked.
“Can you just go? I just want to be alone,” he whispered.
“Really, Quinn? Are you sure?” Margot asked with a frown.
Quinn nodded.
Margot did not like it, but she would do as he asked. She stood, kissed him on the head, then left. She went home, hoping that he just needed some space, and not something more permanent. Their relationship was new and still somewhat fragile. She hoped that this did not change the way he felt about her, but she had no idea what was going on in that head of his.
Margot barely slept that night because all she could think about was what happened, and how Quinn was handling it. She got up when her alarm went off the next morning and got ready for work. She waited for Quinn to show up to bring her to work, but he never did. Margot called him multiple times, but it kept going right to voicemail, which meant that either his phone was off, or dead. She ended up driving herself to work, thinking that maybe he just needed a day to himself. She walked into her office, sat down at her desk, and turned on her computer. Peter showed up a couple of minutes later.
“Morning, Margot,” he said, smiling at her. He looked around, a quizzical expression on his face. “Where’s Quinn?”
Margot raised an eyebrow at him. “Did he not call out?”
Peter frowned. “No, he didn’t.”
She frowned harder.
“Don’t you two usually drive together?” Peter asked tightly.
“Yes, but something very serious and personal happened yesterday. He did not come to pick me up this morning, and he has not been answering his phone. I thought maybe he needed some time, but I figured he would have called out if he was not coming in today.”