Page 114 of A Me and You Thing
When I enter the house, it’s unnaturally quiet and still. Quinn must be sleeping. Without Jordyn and Josie, it’s downright silent and lonely. I jog up the stairs and pack a bag. I’ll come back for the rest later, when I have my plans firmed up. I have no idea what I’m going to do next. I’m homeless, jobless, and loveless. It doesn’t feel good.
I’m ready to head out the door. I want to symbolically slam it shut and prove this period of my life is over. The end. But first I need to face Quinn.
I glance into her room, hoping for my chance at a final apology and goodbye. But the choice is taken from me.
She’s not in there. I call out her name. “Quinn? Quinn?”
No answer. I glance in each room, imagining that she’s passed out somewhere and needs help. I conduct a thorough search of every nook and cranny. I quickly deduce she’s not lying in a pool of blood anywhere.
But I still can’t find her and I’m frantic. Her car’s in the garage, but she’s nowhere to be seen.
I’ve just been thoroughly dumped. I have a man to cry over, yet I’m worried about Quinn. I can’t leave without ensuring she’s okay.
I take out my phone and give Charlotte a call.
She hasn’t seen or heard from Quinn.
After spending five minutes making up reasons why she shouldn’t be concerned, I hang up. I hope I didn’t alarm her, but I’m not sure I was able to hide my apprehension.
What to do? What to do?
There’s no other choice except to call Sawyer and let him know I can’t find Quinn. He won’t take it well. I dread his response. Great. Just another way in which I’ve failed him.
As I click on his number, I think about the fact that I’ve had several days to come to terms with what’s happening. Quinn hasn’t. She has to be reeling. And all this on top of regaining her memories. It’s too much for her. I know it is. She’s fragile.
Sawyer answers right away. “Hello.”
“I can’t find Quinn anywhere. She’s not at the house and she’s not at her mother’s.”
“What?” he says, in an unnaturally low voice.
“Where would she have gone?”
Several beats of silence fill the airways. “The boat. She probably went to the boat and...” He stops midsentence and releases a few expletives I’ve never heard from his mouth.
“What?”
“My boat... if she went to the boat...”
“Oh my gosh.” He renamed his boat Breezy just a few weeks ago. It was such a sweet gesture. He told me it was an early wedding present. I knew it wasn’t an easy thing for him to do. He said it was part of letting go, something he needed to do. But if Quinn saw the new name of his boat, it would speak volumes. To her, it would have a greater impact than the news of our engagement. “I’ll check the boat.”
“Bree...”
“Just let me check it, okay? I’ll call you back.”
I hang up on him. He’s stuck at the urgent care. He can’t wander off and leave Jordyn. I’ll find Quinn, then get the heck out of here.
Fifteen minutes later, I call Sawyer again. “Did you call her cell?”
“She’s not answering. Was she at the boat?”
“No. But... she was there. One of your crew members saw her and said she had a suitcase with her.”
“A suitcase?” he mumbles. “Quiiiiiinn...” I hear him breathe.
His anguish cuts deep in my soul. I don’t want to be involved anymore. I don’t want to hear Sawyer’s voice or be anywhere near him. What am I doing?
But, what if Quinn needs help?
