Chapter 17

Quinn – One Week Later

I smileas the kids all wave bye. It"s been a busy day full of playing with different kinds of weights using slime.

Never again.

Daisy poured some on Lizzie"s head after she laughed at her dress, and Billie decided to try to eat it, while a few other children started throwing it at each other.

Like I said, never again; live and learn, and all that.

I wipe up the last of the slime from my desk and smile at Noah, who"s still sitting in his seat. The little tyke has been extra good this week, though it may be more because Andrew is no longer shadowing my class. Apparently, Snake personally came in and caused havoc, so much so that Andrew doesn"t even walk over to this side of the building anymore. Then, there was something about several of the bikers holding a town meeting a few days ago, before he laid down the law with Ms. Holden over my situation.

According to several fathers who came in to see me, the MC made it clear I was one of them.

I"ll never know how I missed all that, though, in my defense, I have been busy packing and trying to find a cheap place to rent in California.

"Are you not supposed to be outside waiting for your grandma?" I ask the little boy who wormed his way into my heart.

He smiles wide, looking like his father, and proudly states, "Grams wants to see you."

I chuckle but nod. Shelly has become engrained in my life. She doesn"t take no for an answer, and calls me near enough every day with excuse after excuse why I can"t move to California.

It"s too hot there, even though we"re from Texas. It"s too dangerous, the men are mean, the women are catty.

Blah, blah, blah…. She"s even got Kennedy in on her schemes; she sends me news links of stabbings and muggings on a daily basis.

Shaking my head, I walk around my desk and start to pack up, ready for home, when the woman herself waltzes in. She grins wide at me, and I chuckle.

"Do you ever give up?"

She shrugs as Noah shouts, "Grams," before running over to her, veering off with an excited squeak. Crow grins from the doorway, making me laugh as Shelly pouts.

"Seriously, Noah?"

He grins as Crow picks him up, and I remind her, "It"s not every day his Gramps picks him up, Shell."

Knowing I"m right, she huffs before looking at the floor, then raises a brow at me. "Slime?"

I nod, admitting, "Never again."

She laughs, looking around the room again with a small smile, and I tilt my head, waiting. She doesn"t normally come into my class. Her nagging is usually done by phone, so she has something on her mind.

She sighs, looking my way, sadness etching her features, and says, "He"s not the same," and I swallow hard and look down. "He…God, I miss my son, Quinn."

This is the first time she"s brought him up this way. Most days, it"s subtle. She'll mention what he"d done that day despite him sitting outside of my door every night, telling me stories of his childhood, and the things he used to do with his dad before he was diagnosed with a tumor. He expresses his gratitude for Crow and how he now sees him as that role model, but feels guilty at the thought of calling him dad. He'll then fill me in on what he's gotten up to. He tells me a lot, letting me see a side of him many don"t, and he makes me fall for him even harder. I can"t stop the feelings, and having his mother mention him every day, made me realize exactly how much I miss him.

I"ve fallen. I knew I had; I didn"t want to admit it. I don"t want to be like my momma, I can"t, and Breaker…my Alex…makes me just like her.

He consumes me…and I am running.

Shelly clears her throat, and I look at her, trying to control the urge to cry the more she speaks.

"He"s down most days, darling, working a lot. The most he"s managed to do is half smile, and that"s only because of Noah." My tears burn my eyes. "I spoke to Kennedy; she"s concerned, too. She"s been calling him every day because she"s worried. She"s even looking at flights despite not wanting to be near the club." My heart pounds. "Now, I don"t know what has happened to make you scared of love and why you shy away from it, but you moving away won"t fix your issues."

I shake my head and deny, "I"m not moving away because of that, Shell."

Crow cuts in this time. "Maybe not, but it"s allowing you to run." I look at him, wiping away the tears that have fallen. "You"re in love with my son." I smile at that, making him smile back and continue, "You may not have wanted to fall as hard as you have but you have, darling, and moving won"t make those feelings disappear. If anything, they are going to make you struggle more. Your job here is safe, we all ensured it, including Lola who is banned from the clubhouse until further notice. We"ve done everything, so the path is clear for you two…only you"re holding back."

Shelly sighs, walking over to me before cupping my cheeks and whispering, "Don"t destroy what you two could have out of fear. He was set up and fell apart when you ended things. It doesn"t make what he did with that bitch right, but he needed you."

Some more tears fall as she kisses my forehead before going to Crow. She takes Noah, who goes to her reluctantly, before she walks out.

Crow walks to me and kisses my head, then states, "If you leave, you will regret it, I promise you. What you feel for him is consuming, and it frightens you. Don"t let your fear take away from your potential happiness." My tears fall as he turns and heads toward the door. As he goes through it, he states loudly, "We won"t allow you to take that job, Quinn. Alex needs you too much, and just like you, we need him, too," before he disappears.

I slump down on my chair, trying to control my tears. I know he"s right, but what I went through, what I had to live through, I can"t allow that to happen, not to Noah and not to any potential kids I may have in the future. I just can"t.

Wiping away my tears, not willing to deal with these feelings right now, I stand, grab my bag, and walk away from my desk, completely forgetting about the slime on the floor. My heel slips out from underneath me, and I screech as I try to grab my desk before I hit the floor. Unfortunately, I end up bashing my wrist on the desk, then landing with a thump.

"Ouch," I gasp as I squeeze my eyes shut at the throbbing pain going through my wrist.

"Quinn!" I hear cried, and I look up to see Amanda, Daisy"s mother and the main woman seeking to have me removed, rush in.

I stutter in pain, "Is-is Daisy okay?" She shakes her head and runs to me, but I snap, "Careful," causing her to stop and look at the floor before wincing.

"That was Daisy, wasn"t it?"

I chuckle as a few tears fall. "I have to admit, as the teacher, I was stern, but as a person, that shit was funny."

She giggles before carefully stepping over the slime, and helping me up. I wince at the pain in my wrist as she gently takes it, flinching at the swelling.

She states, "You need to go to the ER. I"ll take you." I go to decline, not wanting to put her out of her way, but she gives me the stern mother look and says, "You"re going, and I will take you. It"s the least I could do for the crap I said."

I sigh, not willing to argue because, damn, my wrist hurts. I nod and rasp, "That would be helpful, thank you."

She smiles before grabbing my bag and helping me across the slimy floor.

We"re quiet as we walk out of the school. I don"t really know what to say to her. She was the ringleader of the witch hunt that made me quit.

When we get to her Rover, she sighs, holding the door handle, before whispering, "I was right about my husband sleeping with a teacher, I just got the wrong one, and for that, I am so sorry."

I furrow my brows as she looks at me, her brown eyes shining with unshed tears as she rasps, "Mrs. Caller had a pregnancy scare and knew it couldn"t be her husbands since he"s been away for the past four months on deployment. It"s the only reason why Tatum told me. Despite everyone, including me, demanding you lose your job, he kept silent until then. I kicked him out when he told me, told him I wanted a divorce despite him pleading otherwise." She wipes away a tear. "I"m so sorry."

I sigh and give her a one-armed hug, rasping, "It"s okay; men are jerks."

She shakes her head and pulls back, stating, "But it"s not. You"re Daisy"s favorite teacher, and you"re leaving. I came to see you to hopefully convince you to change your mind. However, I didn"t quite expect to see you on the floor because of the mess my child made." I go to speak but wince instead because of the shooting pain through my arm. She flinches and quickly opens the passenger door. "It"s okay. I"ve got the next ten minutes to try and convince you to stay."

I snort as I climb into her car, knowing that no matter how much she tries, I won"t change my mind about leaving. California Prep seems like a nice school to work at, and a fresh start may be good for everyone.

Fifteen minutes later, I"m sitting in an ER cubicle, waiting to be seen. Amanda had to get back to Daisy but, as promised, she spent the whole ride trying to convince me to stay. Apparently, instead of a petition to remove me from my position, there"s a petition going around to keep me at the school that, according to Amanda, they plan to send to California.

Ms. Holden opened her big mouth about my soon-to-be new position. Thankfully, it won"t work; if anything, it"ll make the new school want me more—not that I told her that.

I sigh as I look at my bruised and very swollen wrist that"s currently elevated on a few cushions, praying it"s not broken. Suddenly, the curtain opens roughly, making me look up in shock only to wince at my father"s extremely panicked eyes. His gaze drops straight to my wrist as he grabs his phone and messages someone, making me furrow my brows in confusion. I don"t have a chance to question him because he"s next to me, inspecting my injury as soon as his phone is tucked away.

I wince as he gently picks my arm up, his hand holding my hand, as he gently looks over my wrist. "Uh, Dad, don"t you think we should wait for a doctor?"

Crap…that came out wrong, but come on…. I have barely said ten words to him in years. I"m a bit shocked he"s here.

My dad raises a brow at me and states, "I am a doctor, pumpkin. Now, how in the hell did you manage this?" He looks over my injury again, frowning.

I clear my throat. "I stupidly thought doing measurements with slime was a good idea, but then the kids started to throw it. I slipped, and uh…you"re head of cardiology, Dad."

He hums, moving my wrist gently to one side where I don"t feel any pain but wince when he moves it to the other side.

He says, "I"m also a general surgeon, Quinny. I guess I shouldn"t be surprised that you forgot that, huh?" He looks at me. "I was once your hero; you were a daddy"s little girl, coming to work with me as much as I could allow, wanting to be a pediatrician. And now, well, I ruined your image of me all those years ago, though I am proud of you for sticking with children." My eyes tear up, but I look down, not wanting him to see, though, as perspective as my father is, he notices. "I want a chance to speak with you, pumpkin, with no one else around. You and me, so we can finally talk about the past. I miss my daughter."

I shake my head and look down as he continues to inspect my wrist, and I whisper, "Why should I?"

He mumbles, "Because I love you, sweetheart. It"s been nearly eighteen years, and you"ve never forgiven me. I want my daughter back, Quinny." I blink several times as he says, "I believe it"s just badly bruised, but you will need a splint on for a few weeks. We"ll do an x-ray to be on the safe side; I won"t chance anything with you."

I nod as I look at him to see he"s writing something up on my chart, before putting the chart down. Then he looks at me. His eyes show so many emotions that I can"t decipher them before he"s leaning down, kissing my head, and rasping, "Caramels, one town over in two days, I"ll be waiting at noon. I love you, Quinny."

He turns and goes to walk out but stops when I rasp, finally letting him understand why I never forgave him, "Did you know three days after I caught you and that nurse and Grams had died, Momma tried to kill herself?" He turns my way in shock, his eyes filling with tears. I continue, "At seven years old, not only did I witness my grandmother have a heart attack and my father cheating on the woman he claimed to love more than anything in this world, but I also walked in on my mother slitting her wrists." His tears fall along with mine. "At seven years old, Dad, I had to stop the bleeding and call 911, all while she cried, asking why she wasn"t good enough anymore, why you had to destroy her; why you didn"t love her enough to let her go instead of betraying her."

He stands near the curtain, staring at me for a good couple of minutes in silence, shocked at my secrets—mine and Momma"s—before the curtain is pushed back again. This time, my heart stops at seeing Breaker standing there, looking disheveled. He halts, looking at me with pure panic before relief etches his features.

My father rasps, "Noon, two days, Quinny, and no, I"m not giving you a choice; you will be there."

With that, he leaves, shocking me, as Breaker rushes to my side, his hand grabbing my uninjured one as his lips go to my head. And that petrifying feeling of being consumed, along with feeling "home" hits me, and I close my eyes, taking in his strength. I"m going to miss this so much when I leave.

My mind wanders.

Can I meet my Dad?