Quinn
I smile when Finlay gets off the bus. Her guitar hangs over her right shoulder, just the way I remember her.
“Finlay,” I call as I walk closer.
“I made it,” she laughs, but I can see that she’s tired from the long ride down. I should’ve taken Eli up on that offer for a ride. I hug her tightly, glad to have her visiting. It’s been too long.
She switches a heavy bag to her left hand, and I reach for it.
“Let me take that. I’m just going to make a call to get us a ride.”
When I dial Eli’s number, it goes straight to voicemail. I shrug and dial Ethan’s number.
“Hello,” he answers, sounding out of breath. I hope I’m not interrupting something.
“Hey, Ethan. Are you busy?”
“No, I just finished a class at the gym. I’m heading to my truck. Why? You need something?”
“Yeah, we need a ride. My cousin came to visit. Would you mind picking us up at the bus stop?”
“Sure, no problem. Give me five minutes and I’ll be there.”
I shove my phone back into my pocket and smile at Finlay. “How are you? It feels like I haven’t seen you in years.”
“That’s because it’s been years,” she laughs. “I’m good. I just needed some time away from home. How are you? How’s your dad?”
“He’s good. Still driving trucks. I don’t think he’ll ever retire. Listen,” I say, tucking some hair behind my ear. “I’m staying with Eli. Will you be okay crashing at his place or do you want to sleep at Dad’s house?”
“I don’t care as long as I get a bed really soon.”
“Great, you’re going to love Eli.”
She looks around her and asks, “He’s your friend right?”
I smile and say, “Well…”
“Oh, friends with benefits?”
I laugh out loud. “No, I guess he’s my boyfriend. We haven’t had time to talk about it yet.”
Ethan pulls up next to us and gets out of the truck. He’s still wearing his gym clothes.
“Thanks, Ethan,” I say as he reaches us. “This is my cousin, Finlay.” I point to Ethan. “Ethan is Eli’s brother.”
They stare at each other before Ethan reaches his hand out to her. “Nice to meet you.”
She shakes his hand. “Same.”
Ethan takes the bag from me and places it in the back of the truck, then he looks at Finlay. “There won’t be place in the cab for the guitar.”
“Oh, yeah.” Finlay quickly pulls the strap from her shoulder and hands it to Ethan.
When I open the door, I say, “You can sit in the middle.”
She glances at Ethan and whispers, “No way, he looks scary. You sit next to him.”
I chuckle as I get in. I’ve gotten used to the Jackson men. I remember thinking the same thing when I met them.
Finlay and Ethan get in and an uncomfortable silence falls around us.
“You should come for dinner, Ethan,” I say and Finlay elbows me in the side.
“No offense, Quinn, but I’ve tasted your food.”
“Hey, I told you my hand slipped. Besides, you didn’t have to eat the sauce. I did warn you.”
“Quinn, I had to freeze my toilet rolls. Your jalapeno sauce could be used as a weapon.”
I start to laugh until my stomach aches.
“Okay, fine. I’ll order in.”
He stops in front of the house and says, “In that case, I’ll stay.”
He helps us carry Finlay’s things in. “Where do you want this?” he asks once we’re inside.
“I’ll show you.” I lead them to the room I’ve prepared for Finlay.
He places her guitar on the bed and the bag on the floor.
“I’m just going to go home and shower. I’ll be back in time for dinner. Oh, and don’t get burgers. I had that last night.”
When I start to walk with him, he says, “I’ll close the door on the way out.”
“Great, see you later.”
Only when we hear the front door shut, does Finlay say, “Please tell me he’s the scary brother and Eli is the nice one.”
I pull a face and shake my head. “Eli is the older brother,” I say. “Don’t worry, they’re very nice once you get to know them.”
I help Finlay unpack and when we’re done, we hear the front door open.
“That must be Eli. Come, I’ll introduce you.”
She hesitates and I grab her hand. I pull her behind me, and as we come down the stairs, Eli shoves a hand through his hair. He looks worried.
Finlay yanks at my hand and before she can run, I say, “Hi, I didn’t expect you back so early. This is Finlay.” I pull her closer.
“Hi, Finlay. Welcome,” he says, and he reaches his hand out to her. I instantly notice the bandage.
“What happened to your hand?” I ask as I take hold of it. I lightly brush my fingers over it and look up at him.
“I hurt it while working,” he says.
He won’t look at me and it makes me frown.
“I’m going to go shower,” he says and he pushes by me.
Finlay’s eyes are huge as she stares at me. “I’m going to go sleep. Maybe they won’t look as intimidating once I’ve had some sleep.”
I walk to the kitchen to get some water and whisper, “Wait until you meet Mr. Jackson.”
I look from Finlay to Ethan. Both have been really quiet.
“So, Finlay,” Eli says. “Quinn tells me you’re the same age.”
“Yes, She’s a week older than me.”
“Will you be here for your birthday?”
She nods. “I was hoping to visit a while.”
Eli smiles at her. “You’re more than welcome.”
I smile at him, grateful that he’s trying with her.
“I’m going into town tomorrow to look for a job, if you want to come along and see if you can find a part-time position somewhere.”
Finlay looks at me. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
“You should try at the gym,” Ethan says, before he takes a bite of his pizza.
“Oh, are there positions open there?”
He swallows and says, “They’re looking for someone at the reception. There might be something in admin as well. I can ask tomorrow.”
“That would be great. Thank you, Ethan.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Ethan only stays a while longer before he gets up. “I have an early class tomorrow, so I better get going. Thanks for dinner, guys.”
Eli walks him to the door and Finlay gets up. She looks jittery and it makes me ask, “Are you okay?”
She nods. “Yeah, I just didn’t expect the men. I thought it would be just the two of us.”
Before she can walk away, I take hold of her hand. “Finlay, what’s wrong? You’re not yourself at all.”
She shakes her head and her bottom lip starts to quiver.
“Quinn.” A tear rolls over her cheek and I quickly place an arm around her.
Just then, Ethan walks back into the living room. Finlay quickly turns her back to him, but not before he sees her tears. His eyes dart from her back to me. I quickly shake my head.
“I forgot my keys,” he says. He grabs them off the table and as he walks by me, he gives my arm a quick squeeze.
I wait for him to leave before I push Finlay towards the stairs. “Let’s go to your room before Eli comes back inside.”
When we’re in her room, I close the door behind us. I turn to her as worry gnaws at my insides.
“What’s wrong, Finlay.”
“I’ll be okay,” she whispers.
I take her hand and pull her over to the bed. We sit down and I hold her hand as I say, “Maybe I can help.”
She shakes her head and whispers, “It’s already done. No one can help.”
“What do you mean? What’s done?”
I start to worry that she might have done something bad, but then she says, “I can’t prove it, Quinn. It’s no use talking about it.”
“Finlay, you’re scaring me. What can’t you prove?”
She turns her face away from me and her voice is broken when she whispers, “I can’t prove that he drugged me.”
My lips part and I suck in a harsh breath. “What do you mean? Who drugged you?”
Her shoulders slump and right now my cousin looks so fragile that I pull her into my arms. She breaks down and starts to cry. Once she’s calmed down a little, she pulls her phone from her pocket. I frown as she searches something online.
When she hands the phone to me, I’m confused. I look down at the screen and all the blood drains from my face.
I can’t see her face, but I know it’s Finlay. She has the same birthmark on her arm.
She’s lying on a bed, and she’s naked. I feel sick as a guy crawls over her. I have to cover my mouth to keep from crying out as I watch her getting raped. My eyes dart to the time on the recording and I see that it’s almost an hour long. What makes it so much worse, is that she’s not fighting back. She’s just lying still while he does what he wants.
I switch the phone off when I can’t bear to watch any more of it.
“He works at the local grocery store. I’ve seen him pack bags before. He must’ve followed me home. I came home from work and he was waiting for me inside the house. He forced me to drink something and after that.” She points to the phone. “I couldn’t move, Quinn. I knew what was happening but I couldn’t make myself move. I have no proof it was forced. Besides, it’s not like I want to tell the cops that it’s me on that video. I wish I could get it taken down.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last week. I’m scared he will go back to the house.”
“Finlay, you stay as long as you want.”
“I brought everything I have, Quinn. I don’t want to go back there. When is your dad coming home? Maybe he’ll let me rent a room from him?”
“Dad won’t take your money, you know that. He should be back in a couple of weeks, we can talk to him then.”
She nods and looks at me pleadingly. “Please, don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t.” I get up and pull her covers back. “You need to sleep. You look exhausted.”
“I am.” She gets up and kicks off her shoes. “I’m sorry for being weird around the guys. It’s just hard.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I understand. Get some rest.”
She crawls under the covers and I tuck her in. I lean over her and press a kiss to her forehead. “You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Thanks, Quinn,” she whispers.
“If you wake up –” I clear my throat as tears push to my throat, “If you have a nightmare, my room is right next to yours.”
She nods, and I wish there were more I could do for her.
I close her door softly behind me and take a moment to just breathe. I close my eyes, wishing I could erase what I saw.