He sent it and waited and…
Nothing.
Quinn: Do you need me to send Bea out to act as a bodyguard?
Quinn: If you’re too worried about coming back in, I could give you the keys to my car so you don’t get cold.
Quinn: Is your nose still bleeding? Do you need help? I think Eren left a shirt in my car that will fit if you need something else to wear.
That was stupid. It was the middle of winter, and August had been wearing a jacket, so a shirt would be pointless because he wouldn’t have any blood on it.
Quinn was too worried to think rationally, and his worry only continued to climb when minutes ticked by without a response from August, or even a sign that he had read his messages.
“Quinn, seriously,” said Bea. “I have the girls if you want to leave. I swear on my life that I’ll get them home safe.”
Quinn shook his head. “It’s fine. There are a thousand reasons why he’s too busy to answer me. His agent is probably freaking out and calling him, plus he’ll be too embarrassed to come back after scaring those kids with the blood. I’ll call him after practice.”
A thousand reasons. A thousand excuses.
But a nagging, singular thought kept repeating in his head that Quinn could not seem to shake.
What if it was because of him?
What if that was the first time that August had seen proof of their non-relationship with his own eyes, and it had scared him again?
Again.
Fuck, Quinn couldn’t do thisagain. He couldn’t lose him again. He couldn’t—
He really was a goddamn idiot. All the talk of not allowing himself to end up in the same position he was in ten years ago was pointless, because there he was, losing his mind over a guy who was ghosting him for the second time.
No. August wouldn’t do that.
Quinn refused to believe that August was cowardly enough to ditch him and run. Not after he had been trying so hard to prove Quinn wrong.
His phone buzzed, and Quinn ripped it from his pocket and held it up to see, but it was only Niko texting him.
Niko: August is home. He’s okay.
Quinn read the words five times before he managed a reply.
Quinn: Was it the blood? I feel bad for not following him, but I thought he would text me if he needed help.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty.
An hour.
It wasn’t until Quinn had the girls in the car and was about to turn it on that his phone buzzed again.
Niko: Yeah, he’s good. He has a headache, but he’s taking a nap.
The nausea gripping Quinn’s stomach settled after reading Niko’s words, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to relax until he saw August for himself. He had a few hours to kill before Eren returned home to take the girls, but that would give August enough time to nap off his headache for a visit.
“Quinn, where’s Snowy?” Alara asked, looking around the car as if six-foot-seven August could be hiding under one of the seats. “Did he watch us skate?”
“He did,” Quinn lied because he was fucking flustered. “He was pretty impressed, but he had to leave for a Bigfoot thing, so he couldn’t stay long.”
