Page 111 of A Me and You Thing
“Yes. But I’m more worried about Quinn.” His face is a hard mask, a look I’ve never seen on him until now.
It’s time to attempt a subtle backtrack and make amends. “Sawyer... I think I owe you an apology. For a lot of things, but I’ll start with Quinn’s mental state. One look in her eyes and it’s obvious she’s all there. I can see it, and I know you do too. She’s fragile, but she’s fine. I’m sorry I worried you over the matter.” Subconsciously, it was my last-ditch effort to keep him. If I insisted she wasn’t fine, it preyed upon everyone’s fears—including her own. I’m not feeling very proud of myself right about now. As a matter of fact, I feel like a monster. “I’m sorry I implied Jordyn’s injury was Quinn’s fault. I... shouldn’t have said that. I know she would never hurt her children.”
He shakes his head in the negative. “No, she wouldn’t. Absolutely not.” There’s no love in his expression. None whatsoever. I’ve burned my bridges so well they’re already washed down river.
I might be losing his love, but I don’t want to lose his respect. The only way to fix this mess is to turn this claustrophobic waiting room into a confessional. But the words I need to say are having a hard time passing my lips.
Minutes of tense silence pass, the air in the room filled with unsaid words waiting to be spoken aloud. My chest burns because the distance between us is a huge chasm. Everything changed the second Quinn returned home. I’ve tried, but I can’t recapture what we had. I want it back so much.
The doctor chooses that moment to enter the room. If he can’t feel the tension, then he’s just another oblivious male inhabiting the planet.
The doctor examines Jordyn’s arm briefly and says she’ll need an x-ray.
No kidding. I don’t need a medical degree to tell me that.
“A nurse will come and take her to radiology shortly.”
In emergency room speak, that means in an hour, maybe two. We’re going to be stuck in here all day.
The heavy silence weighs on me as my thoughts wander to the look on Quinn’s face as we burst into the backyard after our ill-fated walk and, in essence, took her daughters from her. It’s haunting me.
“Sawyer, why didn’t you leave Josie with Quinn?”
A trickle of surprise crosses his face at the query. “She’s supposed to be resting. She already did too much today. I’d already left her alone too long while we went on a walk. I don’t want her to overdo it.”
“Do you think she knows that?” At the time, I assumed Sawyer agreed with me and didn’t trust Quinn with the girls. I was so wrong.
His eyebrows furrow deeply. “What do you mean?”
Huh. Men can be so clueless sometimes. “When you denied her, it nearly knocked her flat. She turned white as a sheet.”
“She did?”
“Yeah.” He’s so worried about Quinn, he can’t see straight.
Concern overtakes his features. “You think she thought that I don’t...”
“Trust her? Yes.”
He rests his head on the wall behind him for a moment, letting out a deep breath that conveys frustration. “I better check on her.” With Jordyn settled in the crook of one arm, Sawyer reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone.
Uh-oh. I’m in trouble now. It won’t take much for him to realize the call he received when we were still in the car was Quinn. I watch his eyes move back and forth as he reads his messages. I see his eyebrows furrow deeply. He turns his phone to one side, sees that it’s switched to silent and flicks it back on.
It was on when we were in the car. I was the last one to touch his phone. He’s about to realize it was me.
He taps his screen a few times. I see the realization dawn on his face, the spots of red that appear on his cheeks.
Then his eyes deliberately move up to my face and if possible, his expression is even harder than earlier. I meet his gaze, ready to face what I’ve done.
“Why? Why would you do that?”
I don’t need him to explain, and I’m not going to play dumb. “Because I’m about to lose everything. You. The girls. My dream wedding. My life.Everything.” My eyes fill with tears, but his face doesn’t soften. He’s no longer sympathetic to my plight.
“Quinn has called eleven times. This has nothing to do with us. She’s worried about Jordyn. Why would you deny her?” He looks at me like I’m a particularly annoying bug he’d like to squish.
I’m quiet while he places a call. He seems upset when it doesn’t go through. “Quinn’s not answering,” he mumbles. “Why wouldn’t she answer?”
A nurse bursts into the room, making me jump. “Jordyn Denali.”
