I strip down to my boxers and climb in bed, mind going a million miles an hour now that I have nothing to distract myself with. I toss and turn for what feels like hours, but in truth is probably only a few minutes. I never had issues sleeping before.
My life wasn’t a fairytale, but I thought I had things figured out. Turns out everything I thought I knew was a big fucking lie.
Giving up on sleep, I get up and go downstairs. One of the guys on the construction crew makes his own moonshine, and that shit is strong. Strong enough to not need much to help me pass out, and I know there’s a jar or two stashed in the back of the pantry.
A few cats come running when I open the panty door, thinking I’m going to give them treats. I gently shoo them away, closing the door behind me once I get the jar of moonshine, and go to the counter, grabbing a glass from the cabinet.
I down my first drink too fast and feel the burn right away. Closing my eyes, I try to silence the voices in my head. Soon enough, there will be nothing, and the numb, empty void is almost worse than the pain.
Refilling my glass, I sigh and turn around. I sip this one slower this time, and right as I’m almost done, soft blue light glows from the stairwell. What the hell? I narrow my eyes. I didn’t drink that much.
Setting the glass down, I push off the counter and walk over to the stairs and see Quinn slowly creeping down holding a lightsaber.
“It’s me!” I say when she startles.
“Dean!” she exclaims and comes down the last few steps. “The fuck?”
“Hello to you too, sis.” I go to take the lightsaber from her and she jerks it back.
“You scared me! What the hell are you doing here?”
“Archer didn’t tell you I was staying?”
“No! I didn’t know he left either. Aiden kicked me in the face—that kid sleeps like an octopus—and it woke me up. I assumed you both were still playing games in the basement, but then I saw his text about being at work. I thought you would have left too.”
“Wait a minute,” I laugh. “You thought someone was in your house and you come downstairs with a fake lightsaber? You do know the sheriff of this town is our brother, right?”
Quinn purses her lips. “I didn’t think it was a person. The alarm would have gone off if it was.”
“Ohhh, you thought it was a ghost.” I’m laughing even harder now. “And that would have saved you? Quinn, it’s just plastic.”
“Shut up.” She whacks me with the lightsaber. “I wanted to make contact with the spirit and thought if I turned the light on it would go away.”
I go back to the counter and put the cap back on the Mason jar. “Ghosts aren’t real, Quinn.”
“They are, and I’m pretty sure one is in the house.”
“You have all those high-tech cameras and motion sensors. Wouldn’t they have set them off?”
“Eventually they will. I just ordered an infrared camera and a thermal scanner. They’ll be here in a few days and I’ll prove to everyone I’m not crazy.”
I sweep my hand out at the five cats that are now in the kitchen, thinking Quinn is up to feed them. “We already know you are.”
“Hah,” she quips, and then notices the moonshine in my hand. “Why are you down here, drinking alone in the dark?”
She doesn’t have to ask; she already knows and is trying to get me to admit it.
Just like Mom does.
Weston too. He’s been through a divorce as well, and out of all my siblings, comes the closest to knowing how it feels to give everything to someone who takes it all and then some…only to have the floor give out beneath your feet.
“You want to talk?” Quinn asks gently, setting the lightsaber on the counter.
“You know I don’t like to talk.”
“Too bad. You’re standing in your boxers drinking moonshine in the dark. We’re talking.”
She picks up a tabby cat and motions for me to follow her into the two-story living room. Letting out a sigh, and feeling the alcohol start to take effect, I follow her into the living room.
“Why are you drinking alone?”
“I didn’t think you or the kids would want to drink with me.”
“Dean,” she says sternly, looking and sounding so much like Mom it’s not funny. “You’re starting to remind me of Owen before he and Charlie got back together. Maybe you—”
“I don’t want to get back together with Kara,” I interrupt. “Owen broke up with Charlie because he was young and dumb. Kara cheated on me…for weeks before I found out.”
“Trust me,” Quinn starts, bringing her hand up. “No one wants you to get back together with Kara. If you even had the slightest notion, I’d have Archer check you into a psych facility. She’s a cunt,” she says bluntly. “Even before the…the…incident we didn’t like her. She never wanted to hang out with me and I’m a really fun person. But what I was going to say is maybe it’s time you stop with the one-night stands and look for something more serious. It’s been over a year,” she adds gently.