A Broken Soul(40)

       
         
       
        

"It's nice to meet you too."

Alex was a pretty laid back guy, and the longer we all hung out at the bar, the more I enjoyed his company …  in a strictly platonic way. After beer number five, my cellphone vibrated in my purse. I knew I needed to switch to water when I pulled my phone out and had to close one eye in order to read the text.

They were two simple words that came two days too late. But they still hit me right in the chest.



Quinn: I'm sorry.



So much for leaving my stress back in Pembrooke. With a large sigh, I hit the button to make the screen go black and shoved the phone back into my purse.

"Everything okay?" Alex asked, his expression one of curiosity.

I tried to smile but knew it felt short. "Yeah. It's all good." My phone vibrated again, and like the masochist I was, I pulled it out and read it.



Quinn: And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to apologize. Can I come over so we can talk?



Well shit.

"Boyfriend?"

Alex's voice startled me back into reality. "What? Oh, no. No boyfriend." I exited out of my texts and sat the phone down on the bar top.

"So, if there's no boyfriend … " I really didn't like the way he trailed off and smiled. "Maybe you'd be willing to go to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Well shit.

I pulled in a deep breath and prepared to give my first ever rejection. Thank God I was a little drunk. "Look, Alex. You seem like a great guy-"

"Oh wow. The kiss of death."

"I'm sorry," I said sympathetically. "I really am. I've just got a lot going on in my life right now. I'm kind of a mess."

"Well, how about this?" Alex picked up my phone and started typing something out. "I've enjoyed hanging out with you tonight. If there comes a time when you're feeling like less of a mess, why don't you give me a call, yeah?"

He handed my phone to me and I saw he'd saved his number in my contacts. I smiled and answered, "I'll be sure to do that," even though I knew I wouldn't be calling him.





ELIZA HANDED ME a mug of hot tea and plopped down on the couch next to me later that night. We'd stayed at the bar long enough for me to sober up. By the time we got home, Ethan and I were both ready to crash, but Eliza had some sort of crazy hormonal surge which made her as alert as ever. Since Ethan had played earlier, he had an excuse to go to bed. I decided to stay up with her so we could catch up, just the two of us. "So … " she started with a sly grin. "You and Alex seemed to really hit it off." 

I rolled my eyes. Of course she'd think that. She and her husband had spent seventy percent of the evening with their tongues stuck down each other's throats, clueless to everything going on around them.

At least she wasn't totally wrong. We had hit it off enough to keep each other company while our friends went at it like horny teenagers.

"Not going to happen, Eliza. Drop it," I warned.

Her head cocked to the side as she regarded me, her face suddenly awash with concern. "What's going on with you, babe?"

I brought the mug to my lips and blew before taking a sip, all the while, keeping my eyes diverted. "What do you mean?"

"Something's off. You haven't been yourself lately. And I'm not just talking about this weekend. Every time I call you're …  I don't know, distracted or something."

I tried to look placating as I shrugged. I came to escape, not rehash all the bad shit going on in my life. "I don't know. I guess I'm just busy with the school and stuff."

She shook her head and leaned forward, sitting her own mug on the coffee table so she could turn her entire body to face me. "That's not it. I've seen you busy around this time of year. I know what that's like. This is different." She paused and studied my face, like she could read me. "Talk to me, honey. You've always been there for me whenever I needed you. Let me do the same."

I let out a deep sigh and placed my mug down next to hers as my nose began to sting. There was no point in trying to keep it to myself any longer. I knew Eliza well enough to know she wasn't going to let this go. I also knew I needed her more than anything at this very moment. For those reasons, I found myself opening my mouth and admitting, "Dad's dying." It physically hurt to say those two words out loud.

"What?"

"Cancer," I said in a raspy, pained voice. "It was too far gone by the time they found it. There's nothing they can do." My chin quivered as the first of many tears broke free. "He's dying."