“Q, you know, you’ve been sitting on that series about bullying.” Jake quirked an eyebrow at me. “This might be the perfect time to print it. I think enough time has passed that no one’s going to link anything to Nate’s incident. And it’s something that needs to be brought up.”
“Yeah.” I sighed, playing with a tiny scrap of paper on the desk. “I know, but . . . you know, the football players aren’t going to like that. I know most of those guys now, and they don’t see themselves as bullies.”
“But it’s not just them.” Gia spun her chair around, turning in slow circles. “Bullies come in every shape and size. I say we do your series and then we start talking about cyber-bullying. That’s becoming a real problem, too.”
“Hey.” We all three turned at the sound of Leo’s voice. “Quinn, you ready?”
I frowned. Leo liked both Gia and Jake, and he usually came in and sat down with us for a few minutes when he stopped to pick me up after school. Today, though, he hovered in the doorway, his jaw tight.
“Uh . . .sure, I think.” I glanced at Jake. “Are we done?”
“Yeah.” Jake glanced at Leo. “How’s it going, dude? Team working hard?”
“Yep.” Leo’s voice was clipped. “Quinn, let’s go.”
“Okay, okay. Sheesh. Give me a break.” I smiled at him, so he’d realize I was teasing, but he didn’t even meet my eyes. An odd sort of dread began to swell in my chest as I followed him out the door and down the hall. He walked so fast that I had trouble keeping up.
“Leo. Hey, slow down. Some of us aren’t record-breaking runners.”
He looked down at me as if he’d forgotten I was there. “Sorry. I need to get out of here.”
“What’s wrong?” I grabbed his arm. “Leo. What the hell’s going on?”
He didn’t stop moving, but he did slow his steps a little. “Simon just texted. Something’s going on with my mom. She’s rejecting the bone marrow, or something like that. I don’t know, I don’t understand it. But I need to get to the hospital.”
“Oh, God. Of course. Why don’t you just go, and I’ll call my mom to get me?”
He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. You’re on the way, anyway. I just—” He raked his hand through his hair. “I need to get there.”
We drove in silence to my house, and I jumped out of the car as soon as it had come to a halt. “Leo, do you want me to go with you?” Only immediate family was allowed to see Lisa at this point in her treatment, so I hadn’t been over to the hospital in weeks.
“No.” His hands gripped the wheel. “Thanks. But they wouldn’t let you see her anyway.” He glanced at me and then back at the road. “I’ll text you later, okay?”
“Sure.” I leaned back into the car to kiss his cheek and then jumped back, slamming the door as he raced away.
I kept my phone close to me the rest of the night, but I didn’t hear from Leo. My mom hadn’t gotten any news from Leo’s father, either, and we were all worried. Finally, the next morning, I messaged him.
Are you okay? What’s going on with your mom?
Nearly two hours went by before he responded.
Not sure. Call you later.
Later turned out to be about seven that night, and when I heard Leo’s voice through the phone, I wasn’t sure whether to be hurt or furious.
“Heyyyyyy, Quinn. Come on over, babe. I’m at Matt’s. It’s a party.”
I had been sitting at the dinner table with my parents when the call came in, and I marched out of the kitchen and up to my bedroom.
“Leo, what the hell? Are you drunk?”
“Maybe a leeetle bit.” He laughed, and in the background, I heard the sound of music and other people talking.
“I thought you were with your mom. I’ve been worried about her. And you.”
“Ah, no, babe. She’s gonna be okay. But I miss you. Come on over here, ‘kay? Guess what, Matt’s grandparents are away and there’re like, five empty bedrooms. We can use one of them.”
Since we’d been dating, I’d seen Leo tipsy at parties. But this went far beyond that. He was drunk and slurring, and it scared me. This Leo wasn’t the same guy I’d been dating for five months. He sounded like the person who’d ignored me for two years and forgotten about our friendship.
“I’m coming over there, Leo, but I’m not going into any bedrooms with you. You stay there, you hear me? Don’t go anywhere.”
“Waiting for you, babe. Always waiting for you.”
Rolling my eyes and clenching my jaw, I picked up my handbag and jogged down the stairs. My mom met me in the foyer.
“What’s going on?”
I heaved a deep sigh. “I don’t know, really. Leo’s at Matt’s house, and he sounds . . .” I hesitated. I hadn’t been completely honest about everything related to my relationship with Leo—I hadn’t shared that we were having regular sex, for instance—but I tried not to lie to them about anything I could avoid. “He sounds drunk. I’m thinking something’s going on with Lisa.”
“And you’re going where?” My mother cocked her head.
“If it’s okay, I’m going over to Matt’s to take him home. I’ll try to find out what’s going on.”
My dad was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what else to do, Dad. He needs me. I’d do the same for Nate.”
“Nate would never make you do that.” My father’s voice was even, but his words still annoyed me.
“Leo’s mother is in a life-threatening situation. I’m not saying he’s reacting the right way, but I’m not going to judge him right now. I’m going to help him.”
“Be careful. And if you need us for anything, call.” My mother kissed my cheek.
I nodded and hurried out to the car, my anxiety levels rising the longer I drove.
The Lamperts’ huge house was surrounded by cars, and I smothered a groan as I found a spot to park as close to the front door as possible. I could hear the thump of music even before I climbed up on the porch.
The door flew open, and Tim Stewart came stumbling out, his arm around Trish Dawson.
“Look! It’s Quinn the queer. Come to find your little doggy, queer queen? I think I just saw him go upstairs with Sarah. You better find him fast.” She lowered her voice, like she was telling me a secret. “He used to be Leo the Lion, but since he’s been with you, he’s just Leo the lapdog.” She giggled at her own joke.
I didn’t believe anything that came out of Trish’s mouth, but she damned sure knew where to hit. Ignoring both of them, I went inside and began searching for Leo.
The living room was only dimly lit, and on the recliner in the corner, two people were hooking up. Not just making out; the girl, who I recognized as a senior, was riding the football player beneath her. Her shirt was off, and he was pawing at her breasts.
I turned away as fast as I could and made my way to the kitchen, where to my tremendous relief, Leo was sitting in a chair at the table. His face lit up when he saw me.
“Babe! You got here.” He pushed the chair back a little and patted his leg. “C’mere and sit on my lap. I missed you.” Only his words were slurring, and it came out, “I mitthed you.”
I took his hand but didn’t sit down. “Okay, Leo. Party’s over, dude. Time to go home.”
“Nooooo . . .” he wailed. “I don’t wanna go.”
I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “Leo, baby. Come on. I’m going to take you home and put you to bed.” I skimmed my fingers through his hair. “Don’t you want to go to bed?”
He raised bloodshot eyes to me. “With you?”
“Of course.” I was willing to say anything to get him moving. “My car’s right out front. Let’s go.”
Moving close to two hundred pounds of solid man—solid drunk man—through the house, across the porch and down the steps wasn’t easy. A couple of times, Leo stumbled and nearly fell on top of me. But in the end, I managed to settle him in t
he car and fasten his seat belt. Before I could get into the driver’s seat, I heard a shout.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Matt Lampert stood on the porch, staring down at me belligerently. “Where are you taking him?”
I narrowed my eyes, scowling up at him, hands on my hips. “I’m taking him home, Matt. And I’m not very happy with either of you right now. Leo’s mom is sick, and you got him drunk? What the hell?”
Matt smirked. “Dude wanted to forget. It was his decision. I just gave him a hand.”
“Do you know how worried I was about him, all day?”
“Chill, Quinn. You’re not his mother. You’re not his fucking wife. You’re just a girl, and you need to give Lion some room, or he’s gonna dump your ass.”
“You.” I pointed at him. “Stay out of this. What happens between Leo and me isn’t any of your business.” I knew that even though Matt and I mutually tolerated each other, he didn’t like how much time Leo spent with me. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to sabotage our relationship.
“The Lion’s gotta roar, sweetheart. You get in the way of that, and we’ll see who wins.” Matt chucked an empty beer can off the porch, narrowly missing my feet.
“Nice, Matt. Real nice.” I turned my back on him and got into the car. Leo had already fallen asleep, and he stayed that way on the drive to his house.
When I pulled into the Taylors’ driveway, I almost cried with relief. Danny’s car was there. I ran up to the front door and leaned inside.
“Danny! Are you here?”
A slightly older version of Leo, with lighter hair, came padding into the foyer, in jeans and bare feet, blinking at me. “Quinn? What’s up?”
“Your brother is in my car, passed out drunk. I need you to help me get him inside.”
If Danny was at all surprised, he didn’t show it. He also didn’t waste any time before he followed me out the door, where he was able to hoist Leo to his feet with ease. I trailed behind them upstairs to Leo’s bedroom.
Danny dumped his brother unceremoniously on the bed. “He’ll be okay now.” He yawned and rubbed his face. “What the hell happened? He left the hospital last night, and I thought he was heading to see you.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He called me from Matt’s just now. He wanted me to come party with them.” I bent over and took off Leo’s shoes. “I’m going to get him comfortable, and then I’ll head home. Are you going to be around to keep your eye on him? Oh, and how’s your mom?”
“I’m staying until tomorrow night. Mom’s out of the woods now. She had some kind of host-graft deal, like a rejection. Doesn’t usually happen so early in the process, but they caught it, and it looks like she’ll be okay. But it was frightening as fuck.” Danny gazed down at the sleeping form of his little brother. “Leo doesn’t do so well with this kind of stuff, in case you haven’t noticed. Try not to take it personally, Quinn, okay? We’re all doing the best we can under some shitty circumstances.”
I nodded. “I understand. I’ll just get him undressed and then take off.”
Danny held up both hands. “Hey, you know, you want to stay with him, no problem from me. Dad’s sleeping up at the hospital tonight, and Simon’s there, too. No judgment on this end.”
I flushed. Talking about my sex life with a guy who’d known me since I was in diapers wasn’t the most comfortable deal. “Thanks, but my parents would kind of freak out if I didn’t come home. Just promise me you’ll check on him every now and then.”
“Will do.” Danny turned and closed the door behind him.
I unbuttoned Leo’s jeans and managed to get them off his legs. At least he’d be more comfortable sleeping, I thought. I covered him with a sheet and kissed his cheek.
“Mia?” His voice startled me as I stood with my hand on the doorknob. “Mia? Don’t leave me, ‘kay?”
My heart broke a little bit. “Shhhh. You’re all right, baby. Go to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Please don’t go.”
I sighed. “I can’t stay all night, but I won’t go yet. I’ll sit here with you for a little bit.”
He held out his arms. “Lay down with me, babe. I just want to hold you. I need you.”
There wasn’t a chance on earth I could resist those words. Kicking off my shoes, I pulled back the sheet and slid underneath with him. Immediately, Leo wrapped me in his arms, his lips skimming the top of my head.
“I love you, Mia. So much.” His eyes didn’t open, but his words were clear.
“I love you, too, Leo. Always.”
Leo
“Dude, you are so fucked.”
I groaned, holding the pillow to my head. “Danny, get the hell out of my room. Leave me alone.”
“Oh, you’ll thank me later. Get up. Get a shower. Quinn’s on her way over, and she’s not going to be happy if you’re still sleeping off your drunk.”
I blinked in the sunlight streaming through my windows, as memories of the last few days filtered into my head. Shit. My mom. Driving to Matt’s Friday night after I’d left the hospital and getting wasted. We’d both slept the next day away, and then he’d said, “Man, you have to stay for the party. We don’t hang enough anymore, all the team together. We need you. Team building, buddy.”
Somehow that had made sense, and I’d been drunk again by the time most of our friends arrived. I hadn’t called Quinn, because I knew she wouldn’t be happy; she hadn’t wanted to come to Matt’s tonight anyway. I was okay with putting off that conversation for a while.
But then I’d seen all the guys hooking up. Taking girls up to the bedrooms, fucking on the damn sofa, and suddenly I wanted my girl with me. Matt had tried to talk me into taking someone else into one of the bedrooms, but I wasn’t interested in anyone but my Mia.
After that, everything was hazy. I had a vague memory of Quinn showing up. Had she hauled me home, or had I imagined that? I groaned again and rolled over.
“In case you’re wondering, Mom’s doing much better. She was asking when you’re planning on getting your ass back over there to see her.”
I nodded. “Good. I’m glad she’s okay. Did you say Quinn was coming?”
“Yeah, she texted me fifteen minutes ago and told me she was on her way.” I heard a door slam downstairs. “Well, that’s probably her.”
“Shit, Danny. Go talk to her while I get a shower.”
He pointed at me. “You owe me big, bro.”
***
When I went downstairs ten minutes later, freshly showered and mostly steady, Quinn was sitting at the kitchen table with Danny, drinking a cup of coffee. I came around and kissed her cheek.
“That’s not the cheek you need to be kissing,” Danny muttered, smirking, and Quinn glared at him.
“Shut up, Danny.” I snarled the words.
“Shutting up. Actually, getting the hell out of dodge. I’m going to see Mom and then heading back to school from there. Later, dude. Quinn, go easy on him.”
As soon as Danny was out of earshot, Quinn turned on me. “What the hell was that, last night? Actually, come to think of it, this whole weekend?”
I had come downstairs planning on begging her forgiveness, but something contrary seized hold of me. “Oh, you mean when I was hanging with my friends? That was called having fun, babe. In case you didn’t know what that looked like.”
“Really? To me it looked like an orgy. People were having sex in the living room, Leo. Out in the open. Everyone was drunk. Why would you want to be there, part of that? Why didn’t you call me?”
I shrugged. “I did call you, didn’t I? I asked you to come over.”
She snorted. “Yeah, after you were drunk and horny.”
“Could’ve been worse. I could’ve gotten horny and decided to scratch that itch with someone at the party. Believe me, there were plenty who were willing.”
She stared at me, deep hurt in her eyes, and panic filled me. “Babe, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that. I wasn’t even—I o
nly wanted you. I only want you.” I slid out of my chair and knelt in front of her. “Mia, God. I’m so sorry.” I buried my face in her lap.
It seemed like an eternity before her hand came down to stroke my head. “Leo, you can’t do this. I can’t handle it. If you’re hurting or worried about your mom, you need to come to me. Not to Matt. You don’t run off and get drunk. We deal with it together, okay?”
“I just—I was scared.” My voice was muffled against her. “I wanted you, but I didn’t want to be scared in front of you.”
“You can’t think that way. I love you, Leo. Not just for the good times. Not just for the championship games. I want to be part of all of you. All your life.”
I nodded. “All right. Yeah.” I let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Yo! I’m heading out. See you guys later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Danny’s voice floated back to us just before the front door slammed behind him.
For the space of a few minutes, we stayed still. Quinn combed her fingers through my hair, and I relaxed, my eyes closing as breathed in her scent.
“Hey, Mia?” I turned my head to look up at her.
“Hmmm?” She smiled down at me, and by the gleam in her eye, I knew she’d already guessed what I was going to say.
“You know what we haven’t done yet? Makeup sex. I mean, I’ve never had it, and neither have you, so we’re both makeup sex virgins. And right now, we have an empty house. And my bed.”
Quinn lifted one eyebrow. “I’m still a little mad at you.”
I snaked a hand up to cup her tit. “I can work with that. I’m willing to do anything to make you feel better. Think, like, multiple orgasms.”
Her cheeks flushed and she rolled her eyes, but I knew I had her. “Well, I guess it would be mean-spirited of me not to give you a fighting chance to make it up to me, hmmmm?”
“Definitely.” I stood up, congratulated myself silently that I didn’t sway at all, and scooped Quinn into my arms. “Let me remind you how much I love you. Over and over again.”
***
Quinn forgave me for fucking up that weekend, and on the surface things between us went back to normal. But deep down, something had shifted.
The Keeping Score Box Set Page 26
