Plausibility

by Jettie Woodruff

  Quill walked up the sidewalk with a smile. Liz was flipping through the mail as she entered.

  “You okay? You look a little flushed. Are you running a fever?” Liz asked in her motherly, worried kind of way.

  That’s because I just had amazing sex with the man I love. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m going to go study. I have a test tomorrow,” Quill replied, unable to look her mother in the eye. Would she ever understand? Would Seri ever understand? Why couldn’t they just love him as much as she did?

  Chapter 23

  Quill continued to sneak around and see Julius every chance she got, which was practically every day. She avoided Seri’s questions and made sure that she didn’t have any fresh bites when she and Reese visited for Thanksgiving. Christmas was another story.

  Quill had the weirdest family in the world. She was sure of it. Who stayed in a vacation home at the lake with their ex-husband and his fiancé? Connor was staying too. It was like one big happy family. Liz and Seri cooked in the kitchen of the cabin while Manny and Connor hung out watching sports. Who did that? Quill wasn’t complaining, she was just a little shell-shocked at the entire family under one roof.

  Seri went in to wake Quill on Christmas morning, wanting to give her her gift in private. Quill was already up and in the shower. She sat on her bed to wait, glancing at the screen of her phone, displaying JC. She didn’t answer it, thinking JC must be the secret boy. Why wouldn’t Quill tell her about him? She thought they were closer than that, not understanding her need to keep it secret.

  It was probably just the investigating in her blood, but she couldn’t resist. She picked up the phone, getting the locked keypad. She held it to the window and smiled at the smudge marks, 5 -2- 4 -3, it only took once for her to unlock it. She hesitated briefly, debating on whether or not to go to her messages.

  Seri shook her head as she read the very detailed messages of Quill and JC talking about the amazing sex they had the day before, the toys that they played with, the anal sex that he thanked her for, the amazing blow job that she finished, completely, the numerous amounts of I love you’s, and the I don’t want to be without you during the holidays.

  “JC—Julius Chavez,” Seri said out loud.

  She moved back to the bed and tossed the phone to the bed where she stayed with her elbows on her knees, head down, waiting for Quill. She couldn’t believe it. She had been seeing him all along. She should have known. What the hell was she supposed to do? Manny would kill him, well, probably not. Julius could break him, but nonetheless. He would be pissed. What the hell was she thinking?

  “Merry Christmas,” Quill said, coming in to the bedroom with wet hair, wrapped in a towel. “What’s wrong?” she asked, seeing the disappointment all over Seri’s face.

  “Nothing’s wrong, Quill,” Seri said, dropping the wrapped gift on the bed. “Your family is waiting for you to come to breakfast and open gifts,” she stated with a long face, leaving her alone.

  “What the fuck?” Quill said to her empty room. She sat on the bed and opened the box, not understanding what just happened. She held up the silver keychain, reading the inscription. (You and me – A single soul dwelling in two bodies).

  Quill pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head and quickly dressed. She wanted to talk to Seri. Something just happened. Something was going on, but what? Seri stared at her with a look that Quill couldn’t read as she entered the dining room with the rest of her family.

  Seri sipped her coffee, keeping her eyes on Quill while the family listened to Reese talk about cheerleading camp in… JUNE. Quill stared back with a puzzled look. She wasn’t interested in Christmas anymore. She wanted to know what the hell Seri’s problem was.

  Quill endured the chatter around the table, and then moved to the living area around the massive Christmas tree that they all helped decorate the night before. Seri was fine then. They had a ball the night before.

  As soon as the last gift was open, Seri stood and looked directly at Quill. “Bundle up, Quill, let’s go for a walk,” she demanded.

  “Sarah?” Manny questioned. All eyes were on Seri, wondering what the attitude was about. Manny sensed it earlier, but refrained from saying anything, not wanting to ruin the gift exchange.

  “We’re fine. I just want to talk to Quill ALONE.”

  Quill slid on her boots and warm coat. Had the circumstances been different, she would have whined about the cold. She didn’t. Seri was pissed about something and she was anxious to find out what.

  “What the hell, Seri?” Quill asked as soon as they were away from the house.

  “How the fuck is Julius? Quill?”

  Well, fuck.

  “Um, excuse me?” What did she know?

  “You’ve been seeing him this whole time, haven’t you?”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Seri?”

  “JC called while you were in the shower.”

  “You talked to Julius?”

  “No. I didn’t answer. I thought JC was the boyfriend from school that you lied to me about. It wasn’t until I read all of the text messages that I figured out that JC was actually Julius Chavez.”

  “You went through my phone?” she almost asked how she got into it, but didn’t need to. Seri was trained to do shit like that.

  “Yeah, Quill. I did. I can’t believe you.”

  Quill didn’t know whether to be pissed or what the hell to think. “What do you want me to say, Seri? I love him. I’m going to be with him.”

  “And are you just going to hide behind lies while you SEE him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What the hell, Quill? You could have told me.”

  “Told you what? Oh, by the way, I’ve been sneaking around, seeing Julius. Would you have given me your blessing?”

  “Fuck no. And neither would your mother and father.”

  “Exactly my point, did you think I was actually going to tell you? You’re engaged to my dad. Do you keep secrets from him?”

  “You know I don’t.”

  “Hence the reason I didn’t tell you. Are you going to tell him now?”

  “Jesus Christ, Quill. Fuck. I don’t know. He’s going to be livid. I can’t believe you put me in the middle of this shit.”

  “I didn’t put you in the middle of anything. You shouldn’t go snooping through people’s phones if you don’t want the truth.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Why?”

  “I just want to know. Is he living close to you?”

  “Are you going to go after him?”

  “No. I told you, his name is clear as long as he stays out of trouble.”

  “He’s not getting into trouble. He’s not doing anything. He doesn’t even smoke weed, and gets mad at me for doing it. He’s clean.”

  “So he is living near you?”

  “Yes.”

  Seri shook her head, un-fucking-believable. “Now, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

  “Nothing, keep your mouth shut. I’ll be 18 in less than six months.”

  “And then what, Quill? Are you going to run away with him?”

  “I don’t know what, Seri. I love him. I can’t live without him. Can’t you understand that?”

  Seri ran her gloved hands over her face. Yes. She could understand that. She felt it for the first time in her life with Manny. Her father understanding, that was going to be a different story.

  “I’m so mad at you right now. Why couldn’t you go off to college and fall in love with someone that your father would approve of? I have to live with him.”

  “I can’t fall in love with anyone else. Julius has owned my heart since I was a little girl. Julius and I have a bond that can’t be replaced by some guy in college. I don’t know how to get you to understand that. Julius and I are always going to be tied together. I can’t change that. I don’t want to change that.”

  Seri placed her arm around Quill’s shoulders, trying to understand and be her friend, not the adult
that she was turning into since Manny came into her life. “We’re still a single soul dwelling in two bodies,” Seri said, bumping her head with hers.

  “Thanks, I loved that, but I don’t get it,” Quill questioned.

  “Get what?”

  “Why the keychain? Where’s the keys and the car? You told me my dad was going to buy me a car for Christmas.”

  “Shit, Quill. You ruin everything. Why do you always have to put things together? You’re dad’s going to kill me.”

  “I’m getting a car?” Quill asked excited.

  “No. I didn’t say that.”

  <><><>

  Quill did get a new car, well not new, but new to her. It was a used white Honda CRV, and she loved it. She hated having to drive Reese to school every day, but loved not having to share her mom’s car. She spent a lot of weekends with Whisper (Julius), and Seri kept her secret. She was glad that Seri knew. Although she still didn’t like it, it was nice to have her friend to talk to when he pissed her off or she wanted to share something funny that they had done.

  “Let’s go somewhere this weekend, Julius,” Quill suggested, wanting to get out of his house and do something outdoors now that the weather was cooperating. She really did hate winter, and would probably never get used to that.

  “I can’t. I’m going out of town tomorrow.”

  Quill sat up from, leaning on him on the sofa. “Where you going?”

  Julius pulled her back to him. “It’s a secret. I can’t tell you.”

  “No. Fuck that. We don’t have secrets. Where are you going? What are you up to?” she argued, pulling away again.

  “Okay, it’s not a secret, just a surprise, and I’m not telling you, so lose the attitude. I’ll be back tomorrow night. You can come over then if you’re allowed.”

  “Is it a surprise for me?”

  “Yes. Now, stop. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “I hate you, Julius Chavez.”

  “I don’t care. I love you.”

  “I’m going to graduate high school again next month,” Quill said, laughing at the fact.

  “You are, and I am so proud of you.”

  “Then what, Julius? My mom wants me to go to college.”

  “Do you want to go to college?”

  “No. I mean. Why would I need to? We’re rich, aren’t we?”

  Julius laughed. “We have plenty of money. Now, get naked before you have to leave me.”

  <><><>

  Seri knew the voice before she ever turned around. Her heart dropped to her feet and her defenses automatically kicked in. Julius grabbed her arm and swung her around to keep from getting decked. He didn’t know who he was messing with. She was quicker than him and had her knee in his throat right there in the hallway of her and Manny’s apartment building.

  “Jesus Christ, Seri,” he choked.

  “What are you doing here? Where’s Quill?”

  “Get the hell off me and I will tell you.”

  Seri, cautiously moved off of him. “What do you want?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Okay, talk.”

  “Can we go somewhere?” he asked, not wanting to discuss business with her in the hallway. They would be lucky if someone hadn’t already called the cops.

  “Is Quill okay?”

  “Yes. Quill is fine. This isn’t about Quill, well not completely.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “Are we going to talk right here?” he asked, waving his hand animatedly in a circle.

  “I guess we can get coffee.”

  “I kind of wanted to show you something.”

  “Show me what?”

  “Oh my God, you’re worse than Quill. Trust me, will you?”

  Seri laughed a nervous laugh. “Trust you?”

  “Yes. Trust me. Move it,” he ordered, nodding toward the elevator.

  <><><>

  Seri had never seen Manny this mad before. She was almost afraid he was going to kick her out of their new home. He couldn’t believe that she lied to him all these months.

  “I never lied to you, Manny,” Seri pled.

  “You did lie to me, Sarah. You not telling me that my daughter has been seeing that low life for months is the same as lying.”

  “He’s not a low life, and he loves your daughter. Manny, you’re not going to keep her from him.”

  “You can’t seriously be defending that bastard.”

  “I am defending him. Will you just hear me out?”

  <><><>

  One down, one to go. Seri was sure Liz would have an asthma attack and die right there on the floor.

  “I’ve known for months, Sarah,” Liz explained, pouring them both a cup of coffee.

  “You have?” Seri shockingly asked.

  “Yup,” she replied, sitting in front of her at the table. “I can even show you his house.”

  “You never said anything to Quill?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was sure she was going to take more from Liz than she had Manny, and then she was going to kick Julius’s ass for talking her into this shit. Liz wasn’t mad at all. She knew.

  “No, I was waiting for her to tell me. I’m not going to ruin our relationship because she’s in love with a man that I’m not sure is good for her or not.”

  “I know how you feel, but I honestly think he is good for her, and I know he loves her.”

  Liz took a sad, deep breath. She already knew this fact. That’s why she hadn’t said anything. She wasn’t about to lose Quill over Julius. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to welcome him with open arms, but she would do what she had to do in order to keep her daughter close. She lost her once, she wasn’t about to lose her again.

  “I just wish you weren’t going to take her to New York,” Liz voiced her concern. “She and Reese have become pretty close.”

  “We’re not that far away, and Julius is going to keep the house here. They’ll be back.”

  “I know that this is going to make Quill happier than anything. I’m not extremely happy about it myself, but I do understand. You have my blessing,” Liz offered.

  Seri couldn’t have been happier. It did, however, make her want to body slam Manny after the way he acted. He had her scared shitless, telling her how Liz was going to blow her top. Now, all they had to do was get Quill to New York without too many questions. That would be a job for Julius. She wasn’t touching that one. She did her fair share of the dirty work.

  <><><>

  Of course, Julius had to pass the buck back to Seri. She should have known she would get suckered into this.

  Quill wanted to go home. She didn’t care about this stupid graduation party. She didn’t want to be at the lake, and she would have much rather been staying with Julius than at the cabin. She had a graduation party once. She tried to tell her mother she didn’t need another one. Seri was the one that talked her into it, telling her that it meant a lot to her mom to do this for her. Quill had to walk away after a bit. Why was her mother crying like she was. Geesh. It wasn’t like she was getting married.

  Seri followed her down to the lake, ready to get it over with. She might as well let her scream away from her family.

  “Hey,” Seri said, plopping beside her on the ground.

  “Hey,” Quill repeated, throwing a rock into the lake.

  “How does it feel to finally be out of school?”

  Quill looked at her with a tilt and a frown. “The same way it felt last year when I graduated.”

  “Stop being so mean. This is a happy day, and I’m taking you back to New York with me in the morning.”

  “No. You’re not. I’m spending the entire day with Julius. You guys already made me spend three days here. I’m going to Julius.”

  “You’re going to New York. Your mom and Connor are going away for a few days now that school is out, Reese is going to cheerleading camp, and you and I are going to spend a few days together in New York,” Seri demanded, wa
iting for the blow that didn’t come.

  “I can’t wait until I’m 18 and can tell you to go fuck yourself.”

  Seri laughed. “You do that now.”

  “But I’m going to mean it when I’m 18. Let’s burn one.”

  Seri laughed again. Some things just never change.

  <><><>

  Quill – I’m not coming home for a few days. Quill texted Julius before going to bed.

  JC – What do you mean? Yes, you are.

  Quill – No, my parents are making me go to New York tomorrow.

  JC – Why?

  Quill – Because I am three. My mother and Connor are going away and they don’t want me home alone.

  JC – Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you when you get back.

  <>

  Quill rode in the backseat and pouted the whole way. She didn’t even have the city to occupy her time now, not with the new house in the suburbs. She would be bored to death. She hated her life. Her life sucked. She glanced at her smartphone and groaned. It was only noon. What the hell was she supposed to do all day? Seri caught her frustration from the corner of her eye. She couldn’t wait to put her out of her misery.

  “Please tell me we’re not stopping in the city,” Quill asked, wondering why they were parking right in downtown Manhattan.

  “Are you in a hurry to get home?”

  “Yeah, back to my home. Why do we have to stop here?”

  “Your dad needs to meet a client real quick. It won’t take long.”

  “Great. I’m hungry,” Quill whined, getting out of the car. She followed her dad and Seri, holding hands as they walked. She rolled her eyes, and dropped her head to her phone.

  Quill – I hate New York. I hate being here. I want to be with you. She texted Julius, not paying attention to the looks Seri and Manny were exchanging.

  JC – Why? What’s wrong?

  Quill – Oh, I just have to tag along while my dad does work stuff. This is so stupid. Quill texted, while waiting for her dad to unlock a store front door.