by Meg Jolie
What she had said was true. Luke always had watched out for her. “He shouldn’t have to have my back when it comes to his brother. This isn’t Luke’s problem,” Quinn pointed out.
“Hey! That’s not a ‘problem’ in there. That’s my niece or nephew,” she sternly said.
“Shhh! Keep your voice down,” Quinn ordered. Her eyes darted to the door. Their mom was probably downstairs but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pop in at any moment. Or pass by in the hallway. “I’m not ready to deal with Mom and Dad yet.”
“Sorry,” Carly mumbled.
“Where could he have possibly had to go?” Quinn demanded. She threw her hands up in the air in frustration as she watched Carly pace.
Carly bit her lip and looked at Quinn with sympathy.
Quinn rolled her eyes. “It was a rhetorical question. I know the answer. Nowhere! He was just using it as an excuse.” She let out an aggravated sound that was reminiscent of a growl. She had sobbed for a good ten minutes. Then she had pulled herself together and had let frustration take over. “I can’t believe him! I didn’t expect him to be excited. I really didn’t. But I expected him to at least talk to me about it! To take some responsibility.” She paused, still keeping her voice low, despite her anger, which was just now starting to come to the surface. “But he wouldn’t even talk to me about it! He just…he walked out! He didn’t say more than a few sentences and then he just walked out!” Now she was the one with a raised voice and she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.
And the look on his face? She didn’t think he could’ve looked more surprised if she’d spontaneously sprouted wings.
“Bastard!” Carly repeated. But then she looked contrite as she took a place next to Quinn on the edge of her bed. “You know, really, maybe it’s not as bad as it looked. Maybe he just needed a few minutes to process. Don’t tell me that when I walked in on you in the bathroom this morning that you wouldn’t have run from the situation if you could’ve.”
So true, Quinn thought.
“Stop being so reasonable,” she grumbled. The truth was that she was as frustrated with herself as she was with Jake. While he was the one that had left…She was the one that had let him. She never should’ve just let him walk away like that.
Or maybe she should have.
Maybe Carly was right.
Again.
Maddening.
Because she was so confused.
Maybe he just needed some time to get used to the idea. In all honesty, she’d had a few days as she slowly realized just how late she was. She hadn’t mentioned it to him. She hadn’t wanted to worry him unnecessarily. Because of that, she’d been at least a little bit mentally prepared for the outcome.
But Jake? She realized she’d more or less dropped a verbal bomb on him.
“I think I know how this happened,” Carly said quietly.
Quinn looked at her with raised eyebrows.
“At dinner Mom brought up how sick you were a while ago. That case of bronchitis that you had? The one you couldn’t shake?” Carly reminded her.
Quinn shook her head and her eyebrows bunched daintily. “What about it?”
“You were on antibiotics?” Carly demanded and Quinn nodded. “Did you know that antibiotics can interfere with the birth control pill?”
“What?” Quinn asked. Her voice was low. She had needed two rounds of antibiotics to finally start feeling better.
Carly nodded, more to herself than Quinn. “I thought so. I can’t believe the pharmacist didn’t mention it.”
Quinn flopped backwards on her bed. “I was so sick…I was staying here. Mom picked up my prescription for me. I get my prescription for the pill filled right at the clinic. But Mom asked me to have my antibiotic prescriptions called over to Bergstrom’s. She and Dad still go there for everything,” Quinn said, citing the small family-owned pharmacy that her parents had always frequented. “He wouldn’t have had my prescription on file.”
“It’s probably written in the fine print,” Carly pointed out. “The stuff that no one bothers to read. Anyhow, I know you two are always careful but when Mom brought up you being sick…I remembered my roommate having strep last fall. She mentioned to me that it was a good thing she was too sick to be in the mood because she hated using condoms. Well,” Carly said with a shrug, “it just all kind of came together in my head.”
“The timing makes perfect sense,” Quinn admitted. “That had to have been right around the time it happened.” She moaned. “So this really is my fault. I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve read the fine print.”
“Who reads the fine print?” Carly demanded. “No one! Well, maybe senior citizens. But no one else! These things happen. That’s why the call them—”
“Accidents?” Quinn interrupted.
“Surprises,” Carly corrected.
Quinn peeked up at her. She was openly staring at her stomach. A small half-smile was twitching across her lips.
“You know,” Quinn pointed out as she grabbed a pillow and placed it over herself, “you would not be this happy if it was you.”
“I am not nearly done with school. And I am not in a committed, long-term relationship. Or any relationship, really,” she pointed out. “There is a huge difference between you and me.”
A sigh escaped Quinn’s lips as she pulled herself into a sitting position again. Even though she was continuously grumbling about Carly’s positive attitude, it was exactly what she needed.
“Thanks,” she finally said. “I couldn’t have gotten through this day without you.”
Carly pulled her into a sideways hug. Quinn leaned into her so she could place her head on her sister’s shoulder.
“You’ve always been there for me through all of my melodrama,” Carly readily admitted. Quinn forced out a soft laugh. While Quinn had always been the quiet, steady, stay-out-of-trouble sister, Carly was known for her melodrama. “I promise I will be here for you through absolutely anything.”
“Maybe I should call him…” Quinn finally muttered. She sat up straight again, wondering where she’d last left her phone.
“Maybe you shouldn’t,” Carly decided. She twirled her long hair around her finger as she released her sister. “Maybe we should go for a drive or something. We’re locked up in here like a couple of teenagers who have nothing better to do.”
“We don’t have anything better to do,” Quinn pointed out. “But, I told him I’d be here.”
“So does that mean he’s coming back tonight?” Carly demanded.
A soft knock on the door startled both of them. The doorknob jiggled but because Carly had locked it, it didn’t budge.
“Girls?” Margo asked.
Carly bounced off the bed to let their mother in.
“Oh, you are both in here,” she said with a soft smile. “Quinn, Jake’s here.”
“I didn’t hear the doorbell?” Carly pointed out. She wandered over to Quinn’s window to peek outside. As if she needed to check on the validity of Margo’s statement.
“He’s been here for a little bit but hasn’t gotten to the door yet. Your dad’s outside fiddling with the sprinkler system. He intercepted him. They’re out there chatting. I just thought Quinn would want to know he’s here. In case she wants to go rescue him from your dad,” Margo explained with a wink.
“Okay, thanks Mom,” Quinn said. She forced a smile onto her face. This is good, right? It has to be good, she thought. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“If he comes in, I’ll let him know,” Margo said as she retreated.
Quinn got up from the bed and checked her face in the mirror. She’d scrubbed off her make-up after she’d splashed her face with icy cold water. No sense trying to put more on. It wasn’t as though Jake hadn’t seen her without it plenty of times. She’d probably just ruin it again with more tears, anyway.
“You should definitely go rescue him,” Carly said from where she was peering out the window. “Dad’s yammering away and Jake l
ooks like he’s about ready to bounce right out of his skin. Come on,” she said as she turned away from the window. “You need to go talk to your man.”
