August’s face had gone slack during Quinn’s ramble, and he appeared seconds away from crying again.
“I don’t—” August’s bottom lip wobbled, and he squeezed his eyes shut, forcing more tears to fall and mix with the blood. “I don’t know what’s happening anymore. I don’t know if I’mreal.”
Quinn felt his mouth fall open as he watched August break down, his snuffles turning loud and his tears carving a path through the drying blood on his face. His nose was bubbling with more red liquid, and his shoulders were heaving with deep breaths that inevitably turned into sobs.
Quinn was scared. He was scared for himself and August.
“What did you take?” Quinn demanded. “I’m calling an ambulance.”
“No!” August moved faster than Quinn was prepared for, shoving himself out of the car and onto wobbly legs. “No ambulance. I’m alright. I just need to go to sleep, and I’ll feel better in the morning.”
Quinn backed away, staying out of reach in case August tried to grab him. He didn’t know how anyone could say they were okay when they looked like they had walked away from an attempted murder, but August had always been stubborn to the marrow of his fucking bones.
August stumbled and bumped against his car, cursing as he was forced to use it as a crutch to keep his massive frame standing.
Quinn was left with no choice. He unlocked his phone and hit the call button, his foot fidgeting as he waited for the line to pick up.
“Quinn?”
“Is August going through some shit?” Quinn asked Eren, scowling when August narrowed his icy blue eyes on him. “He’s in rough shape, and I need to know if he does drugs, or if he’s a drunk, so I can decide if I’m driving him home or to the hospital.”
There was a pause on Eren’s end, and Quinn held his breath. There was so much noise in the background that he wasn’t sure Eren had heard what he said, but then the sounds faded, a door clicked, and Eren sighed.
“He’s going through something. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but I think it’s bad. Gusty isn’t the kind of guy who likes drugs or alcohol, and the only pain meds I’ve seen him take are Tylenol and Advil.”
August made a gesture as if to say,“See?”
Quinn rolled his eyes. “I’m going to drive him to his house. If I go missing, you’ll know who killed me.”
“Quinn, you don’t have to—”
“Ido,” Quinn insisted. “I’ll spare you the gory details and refrain from switching to video call. Don’t get all alpha male on me, Callahan. I’m doing this to get you that fucking cup.”
Eren didn’t finish his sentence before Quinn hung up. His patience gone, he turned to August, giving him a look that said everything he didn’t trust his voice to.
“Don’t fuck with me.”
August lifted his chin, as if he needed any help to show that he was bigger than Quinn, and remained silent.
“Get what you need, lock your small-penis car, and get in my fucking Civic.”
Quinn could tell that August wanted to argueso badly, but now that his captain had been brought into the mix, he was quick to obey Quinn’s command.
August grabbed his phone and jacket from his car and locked it, silently following Quinn to his vehicle.
The moment Quinn turned the engine over, he blasted the heat and hit the button for the seat warmers. August folded himself into the passenger side, teeth chattering and blood still dripping lazily from his nose as he stared blankly out the window.
“What’s your address?” Quinn asked, pulling up his GPS to enter the location.
August mumbled his response, and Quinn was surprised to see that the destination was thirty minutes away in a nice suburban area. He expected August to live in a penthouse that matched his expensive car, not an old gated neighbourhood surrounded by young families.
Quinn made sure August was buckled in before he put the car in drive and began their journey. His guest was leaning his head against the window, eyes shut and peaceful as he dozed. Now and then, August would hiss and grab his head like it was hurting him, making Quinn’s heart jump in panic.
“We should go to the hospital,” Quinn stated. It was the first time he had said something to August since they’d gotten in the car. “Your nose is still bleeding.”
August groaned and slowly shook his head. “I used to get nosebleeds like this all the time when I was a kid. It’s bleeding bad becauseI’ve been taking a fuck-ton of Advil to deal with this migraine that won’tgo away.”
Ah, there was the petulant tone Quinn had missed. To be fair, if he had a never-ending migraine and played an intense sport like hockey, he would probably be grumpy too.
