Page 127 of When We Were Reckless
“Jesse? Why are you calling me on Quinn’s phone?” I could hear the panic rising in her voice, so I rushed in to reassure her.
“Quinn is okay.” I didn’t even know if that was true, but I knew she’d race right over here, and I didn’t want her to drive when she was panicking. “We had an accident. But she’s going to be okay.”
“An accident? What kind of accident?”
“She got thrown from the back of my motorcycle.”
“Oh, my God. Where are you?”
After I gave her the information, she said she was on her way and cut the call.
I tucked Quinn’s phone into my pocket for safekeeping and took a seat in the waiting area.
Fuck. I leaned my elbows on my thighs and held my head in my hands. If anything happened to Quinn, I’d never fucking forgive myself. She’d been so pale in the ambulance, and she’d been drifting in and out of consciousness, her body’s way of blocking the pain, no doubt.
That car had pulled out right in front of me. The woman hadn’t even looked before she’d pulled onto the road. And what were the fucking chances there would be a pickup in the oncoming lane? So I’d been left with no other choice but to make a dead stop. It had prevented a crash. But my rear wheel had lifted off the ground, and Quinn had flown off the back.
Fuck. I couldn’t get the vision out of my head. Quinn lying on the road, looking so small and broken in her little white dress and gold Nikes.
Why the fuck had she let go? Why wasn’t she holding onto me?
I should never have taken her for a ride in that damn little dress. It barely covered anything.
A woman’s voice had me lifting my head and looking over at the desk where Quinn’s mom was speaking to a nurse. I hadn’t seen Abby since Thanksgiving, which was strange, considering I’d been spending so much time with her daughter.
When her gaze landed on me, I stood up from my seat and walked over to her. Like Quinn, Abby was petite, and tonight she looked much younger with her blonde hair in a ponytail, wearing a T-shirt and yoga pants.
“Abby.” I tipped my chin. “I’m sorry—"
She held up her hand, indicating that she didn’t want to hear my apologies. We moved away from the desk and stopped near the entrance. “Was she wearing a helmet?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she was. And a motorcycle jacket. It helped, but….” I cleared my throat. “She was wearing a dress, so her legs were exposed."
“How could you let her ride on your motorcycle in a dress? Or at all? I told you tonevertake her on your motorcycle. Do you remember that conversation? I told you to say no. I told you that, Jesse. Youpromisedme.”
I ran my hand through my hair. Quinn had always begged me to take her for a ride. Saying no to an eleven-year-old Quinn hadn’t been easy. Saying no to eighteen-year-old Quinn was virtually impossible. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Abby cried. “After everything she’s been through… how could you?”
Abby shook her head in disappointment and started to walk away, but then she stopped and, slowly, she turned to face me again. “It was your T-shirt, wasn’t it?”
“My T-shirt?”
“She came home in a T-shirt that was too big for her. She lied and said it was Declan’s. I thought maybe… It was a boy from high school. When she was a little girl, she used to tell me everything. But now she’s growing up, and she’s keeping secrets. Quinn’s always had a good head on her shoulders, so I never worried that she’d do something stupid. I thought she knew better. But you…” Her face twisted in anger, and I heard the disgust in her voice. “You’re nine years older than her, Jesse. You’re the same age as Mason. You’ve known her since she was a baby.What were you thinking?”
I opened my mouth to answer but didn’t get the chance.
Mason came to stand next to his mom. “How’s Quinn?” He looked from his mom to me.
“Did you know that your sister has been riding on the back of your friend’s motorcycle?”
Mason winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I did. I thought it was a one-off, but—”
“You were so worried about keeping her in Texas, but you didn’t stop to think how dangerous it was to ride on a motorcycle? Jesse has always been daring and reckless. And now look….” She waved her hand at me. “He doesn’t have a scratch on him, but your sister is—” She broke off on a sob and covered her face with her hands while I stood by, feeling like the world’s biggest fucking asshole.
Mason pulled her into his arms and looked at me over her shoulder. “Is Quinn okay?”
“They think her wrist is broken. So they’ve taken her in for X-rays.”
