Chapter 43

chapter forty-three

Quinn

"How is Gavin?" Liv asks as I hobble into the kitchen the next morning for breakfast. "Have you heard anything?"

"He's okay. They kept him overnight to watch him. He has a concussion but he's alright."

"Good," Ava sighs, striding in behind me. "That shit was scary. I tried asking Remi last night but he said the Coach wasn't allowed to tell them anything without Gavin's permission."

"That's fine," I say. "He called me from Levi's phone."

"Did you guys talk about what happened?" Ava asks, trying to fish for some information but not realizing she's opening a door for other questions from Liv.

"No," I say softly. "We didn't."

"What happened," Liv asks.

I exhale and give her the full rundown. I tell her everything.

"Wow," She gasps. "That's a lot. Have you talked to Grayson since the roof incident?"

"No, I said everything I needed to say. I need to stay away from him."

A small smile finds Liv's lips as she pulls me into a hug, "Jake and I were hoping eventually you'd see everything for what it was. Your therapist told us to be supportive but really, I just wanted to shake some sense into you."

I shake my head, "It took almost losing something good in my life to make me see it."

Jake looks around the kitchen at all of us, "You have a lot of good things in your life, Quinn. I was worried about you going to Ridge U but it seems like you found exactly what you needed there."

"Yeah, I was so bummed out about turning down Yale when Grayson and I broke up but I really like it there. Something about it feels right. Best wrong decision I ever made."

Liv laughs and plops a stack of pancakes on my plate. "Mom would be proud of you."

I usually feel sad when Liv talks about mom but for some reason it's different. It feels like knowing what happened created a little bit of closure.

"Me?" I say. "What about you! You are about to marry an angel of a man. You just started grad school. You make it look like I'm just surviving."

She points the spatula at me, "Well, two years ago we weren't sure if you were even living. So I'll take surviving."

I stick my tongue out at her and Jake laughs, "Yeah little sis, we will stop being so amazing so you can catch up."

"Y'all make me sick."

Liv winces and smacks her palm against her forehead like she forgot something, "Raelynn's court date was Thursday. I was going to tell you but I knew you were coming in this weekend so I waited."

"What happened?" I ask, wanting to know but not know at the same time.

"She got off pretty easy. Thirty days in jail, community service and a slap on the wrist. The other passenger in the car was able to confirm that Raelynn wasn't the driver."

"What about the guy who was driving?"

Liv looks at me like she's afraid to tell me, "He got eight years. He would've gotten a lot less had he not left the scene and made false reports about the car being stolen."

"Wow," I state. "It's crazy how he gets eight years and I get forever without my mom."

Liv pulls an envelope out of her purse on the counter and hands it to me. "This is from Raelynn. Her lawyer handed it to me in the courtroom."

I sigh, grabbing it from her. Part of me wants to toss it into the trashcan and the other part is curious.

I walk away from everyone and pull the letter from the envelope. I stare at it for several seconds before I unfold the paper. A picture of us falls from the inside and I pick it up to look at it. It's a picture of Raelynn, Grayson and myself. Well, it was. She's ripped him out of it.

Quinn,

I'm sorry.

The note is short and simple but speaks a thousand words. The picture's symbolism is enough. She didn't beat around the bush with a thousand words defending what happened. She didn't try to excuse her lies, she just apologized.

Is it enough to bring my mom back?

Is it enough to change what happened with Grayson?

Is it enough to make me want to be her friend again?

No. It's not enough, but I do appreciate it. Taking responsibility for fucking up is one thing I knew Raelynn would do. She isn't a bad person, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Had I not had Grayson on my ass that night, I probably would've been right there with her.

After everything, I don't blame her for what happened to my mom. I was more upset about her betraying me with Grayson, which sounds absurd I know.

I don't know what was running through her head when she was lying to me but I think it was Grayson's manipulation. Regardless, her taking responsibility is enough for me. I don't want to see her but I accept her apology.

I needed it and she knew I needed it.

I fold the paper and put it back into the envelope.

"Everything okay?" Liv asks as I wipe away a tear.

"Yeah, just very Raelynn."

She shakes her head, "Let me guess. Two or three words and pink ink?"

I laugh, "Pretty much."

"Well, for what it's worth. I don't think Raelynn meant to hurt you. She might've made some questionable decisions with Grayson but I don't think she went into it with bad intentions."

"It's over now." I shrug. "I'm gonna do my best to move on."

"Good call," Liv smiles. "Plus, we will be here for you every step of the way."

I nudge her with my elbow, "Better be."

"So…" She drawls. "You gonna bring a date to my wedding?"

I tilt my lips upward into a smile, "I hope so."