Quinn
3 months later
Squeezing Brody’s hand, I leaned forward and peered through the window of the plane as we came in to land at LaGuardia airport. I’d never flown before, and despite being terrified when we boarded, I’d loved every minute of it.
It had been just over three months since I’d been discharged from the hospital. My shoulder still ached from time to time, but other than that I’d been lucky and made a full recovery. Everyone had been amazing, and no one would let me lift a finger, fussing around me and making sure I took my pain meds. As grateful as I was for everyone’s concern, I’d been itching to get back to normal, wanting to put all that had happened behind me. Knowing I couldn’t quite do that yet, I sighed.
“Are you okay, Quinn, you’ve gone quiet?” Turning to him I smiled. It was nice to be able to finally smile without my cheek feeling like it was going to explode.
“I’m fine. I was just lost in thought.” I leaned over and brushed my lips against his.
“Are you sure you want to do this, sweetheart? I was more than happy to come on my own.”
“I know, but I needed to come.” He nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side.
An hour later and we were pulling up outside my old home in Westwood. After Evan had died, the rental payments on the house had stopped. The news of what Evan had done made the national press, and the old lady who we’d rented off for years had contacted me via the police. She’d told me she was happy to wait until I was well enough to come and sort through all of my mom’s and my belongings. It had taken until now for me to face coming back. Brody knew I was struggling and had insisted on paying the rental until we were able to come.
Sitting in the car, nerves bubbled in my stomach and I felt Brody reach across and place his hand on my knee. “You okay?”
“It looks so different from the last time I was here.” The garden had been well maintained and brightly colored flowers filled the borders. The garden had always been something my mom had loved doing. After she’d died, Evan hadn’t bothered, and the garden had become overgrown and messy. “It’s like it was when my mom was alive. She loved the flowers.” I smiled sadly. I still missed her terribly and I knew I always would.
“Are you ready to go in?” he asked, squeezing my knee. I turned to him and nodded. Reaching for the door handle, I slowly climbed out of the car. Standing at the end of the driveway, I watched as he came to stand at my side, his hand reaching for mine. Walking down the driveway together, we came to a stop at the front door. I didn’t have a key, but the landlady had hidden one under a plant pot for us. Kneeling down, I lifted the pot and picked the key up. Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the door and walked inside. The house looked like it always had. It was nothing special, just a small family home, but up until things had gone to shit, there had been so much love within these walls and those were the memories I wanted to take away with me.
Glancing around there was no evidence that three people had been killed here, and for that I was grateful. Pictures of me as a child hung on the walls and I turned around to see Brody smiling as he looked at one of them. “You were a cute baby, Quinn.” He pointed at one of the pictures. “Is this your mom when she was younger?” He gestured to another picture where I was sitting on my mom’s lap. I nodded.
“Yeah, I was about two there,” I told him with a smile. “Mom was only a year older than me when that was taken. It’s hard to believe she was a single parent at my age.”
“She was beautiful. She looks just like you.”
“As I got older, people would often mistake us for sisters. She used to think it was hilarious.” I burst out laughing. “Obviously she’d go along with it, pretending for hours after that we were sisters!”
“I wish I could have met her.” He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me against him.
“Me too. She would have loved you.” I snuggled into his side and let him hold me for a few minutes before pulling out of his embrace. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. As happy as I was here, Evan tainted that. It’s no longer home; home is with you on the ranch.” He smiled widely at me and kissed my head.
“I love you,” he mumbled against my hair.
“I love you too.”
Four hours later and I’d cleared the house of everything I wanted to keep. All of my mom’s clothes, I was donating to charity. Everything of Evan’s was being burned. I couldn’t imagine anyone would want anything that belonged to him. It was better that it was gotten rid of. Other than pictures and a few keepsakes, I wasn’t taking much. My memories were safely locked away in my heart. I didn’t need a load of stuff to remember her. I would always remember her. A house clearout company was coming in to deal with everything I didn’t want. I was happy to let them take everything that was left.
Doing one last sweep of the house before we left, I opened the closet in her bedroom which was now empty of all of her clothes. There was a shelf higher than I could reach, and I could just see the edge of a box had been pushed to the back. Shouting for Brody, I asked him to get it down for me. Moving to the bed, I sat down, my legs tucked underneath me. Gasping as I opened the box, I picked up a picture of my mom with an older man and woman. She looked about fifteen and all three of them were smiling at the camera.
“Who is that?” Brody asked, as he sat down next to me.
“I think it’s my grandparents. I’ve never seen a picture of them before, but the older woman looks so much like Mom.”
“She looks just like you too, Quinn.” I nodded. He was right, I did resemble the older woman in the picture. Looking back in the box I saw an envelope with my name on it. Opening it up, I began to read.
My Darling Quinn,
If you’re reading this letter, then I guess for whatever reason I’m not around anymore. I am so sorry I had to leave you, sweetheart. Please know if I could have stayed with you, I would have in a heartbeat. You are the most important person in my life and you always have been. I hope wherever you are now, you are not alone, and that you are surrounded by people who love you.
Not long after I found out I was pregnant, my parents forced me to leave home. A few months later, my mother—your grandmother—wrote a letter to me enclosing a check for $5000. She knew the day I left I only had a bag full of clothes and $100 that she’d hurriedly pushed into my hand as my father threw me out. I’d always known it had been my father who had wanted me to leave. He couldn’t bear the shame of his only daughter getting pregnant at seventeen. My mother never could stand up to him, not even for me. But I loved you from the second I saw your tiny heartbeat on the screen. I knew I would fight to keep you, even if that meant fighting on my own. I never once regretted my decision to keep you.
I had no idea where my mother had gotten $5000 from and I guess I never will. What I did know was as a young, single mom, I was going to struggle to provide for you. And you should know, Quinn, I wanted to give you the world. What mom doesn’t? If you’re a mom yourself by now, then you’ll know what I mean. If you aren’t, all will become clear when you are. Anyway, I’m rambling. What I’m trying to say is, I took that $5000 and invested it for your future. I added to it over the years and it steadily grew.
As I write this, you are almost sixteen years old and my health isn’t the best. My hope is you never get to see this letter. When you turn twenty-one, I plan to hand the money over to you to do with as you wish. If you’ve found this letter and I’m no longer here, the money is yours, darling. The account details are in the envelope.
I hope I did a good job at being your mom, Quinn. You made me proud every day, and I know you will have grown up to be the most beautiful woman inside and out.
I love you always,
Mom
xo
Brody had taken the letter off me after the first paragraph as I couldn’t see the words through the tears that were falling. He’d read the remainder of the letter to me, his voice choked with emotion as he reached the end. Dropping the letter, he pulled me into his lap and held me.
“Shhhhh. Don’t cry, baby,” he said, stroking my hair. Sobs racked my body, and I cried against his chest, my tears soaking his shirt. The letter was so bittersweet; it was almost as if she knew she wasn’t going to be here and needed to write a final farewell.
After a few minutes, I sat up and dried my eyes. Picking up the envelope, I reached inside and pulled out a wad of paper which must have been the account details. There were yearly statements going back to the year after I was born, right up until the year I turned seventeen. Looking at the last statement I gasped. The closing balance on the account that year was over $26,000.
“Oh my God, Brody. I can’t believe this. She’s been saving all of her life.” I shook my head. “She worked so many hours to provide for us, and she still managed to save a little of her wages each month to add to this.”
“It sounds like she was amazing. She really loved you.”
“She did,” I whispered. “This will pay the medical bill, and I’ll still have some left.” I paused and shook my head. “If only I’d known about this before. I could have used the money to pay for mom's and my surgeries… Evan never had to borrow money. I could have stopped everything that happened.”
Brody shook his head and picked up my hand. “You don’t know that, Quinn. Evan was a dangerous man. Even if he hadn’t had to borrow the money, it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have gone on to hurt you at some point.”
“I know you’re right. And if I had found the money, I might never have met you.” I reached over and kissed him, my hands going around his neck as I pulled him closer to me. Pulling out of the kiss, I rested my forehead on his. Leaving this house in the middle of the night all those months ago, I’d thought my life was over. Little did I know it was only just beginning. There had been obstacles to overcome, some tougher than others, but now all that was behind me. I couldn’t wait to see how the next chapter of my life unfolded, and I couldn’t wait to do it with Brody by my side.
“Let’s go home,” I whispered against Brody’s lips.
“Yes, baby. Let’s go home.”
THE END