Through The Dark (Sequel, Andley)

Chapter Twelve- Andley

-Later that same night-

Quinn's POV

I was sitting in the back room, drawing a sketch of a person in my notebook but then I heard the door open. I looked up and saw Justin standing there. He quickly came in and closed the door behind him.
"Thought I'd sneak back here before your mom catches me." He smirked as he say down on the bed.
"Justin, I don't want my mom or dad coming back here and seeing you.. I'm not even supposed to be hanging around you." I said before sighing.
"Don't worry Quinn, nobody's gonna come back here." He assured me. I just looked back and continued sketching.
"What's wrong?"Justin asked.
"I don't know," I shrugged, "I guess I'm sort of depressed."
Justin nodded and kissed my cheek.
"If you need anything, I'm here for you babe." He told me.
"Alright." I nodded.
"I love you." Justin said softly.
"I love you too." I said, smiling slightly.
"I feel like the luckiest guy in the world." He smiled.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Cause I'm with you." Justin said which only caused me to smile brighter.
"Babe, why don't you go before you get in a ton of trouble?" I suggested. He nodded and pecked my lips before he stood up.

Not too long after, I heard the door open and I looked up to see my dad.
"Hey dad." I said before returning to sketching.

Ashley's POV

I stood in the kitchen area, fixing myself a cup of coffee. Andy got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen, then opened up a cabinet.
"Hey, love." I said before taking a sip of coffee.
"Hello there mister." Andy said, smiling a little. He looked a bit sad which was sorta unusual.
"What's wrong, beautiful?" I asked, setting down my mug and getting closer to him.
"It's nothing." Andy answered looking down at his feet.
"Andy, I've known you for 18 years, I can tell when you're lying." I said before placing my hands at his waist.
"I'm fine, I swear." Andy said, giving me a some what sad smile. I knew he was still lying but I let it go. I released Andy from my grip on his waist and he kissed my cheek before grabbing fruit snacks out of the cabinet and sitting back on the couches.

I stood there, drinking coffee and wondering what was wrong with Andy. It sort of worried me..

Before I could think anymore, I saw Justin come from the back and that left me wondering about Quinn. Andy told me that he and Quinn were talking and stuff and that he just needed to be alone for a while. Well, I figured maybe I should just go see him anyways. So, I set my mug down on the counter and walked to the back room. I opened the door and saw Quinn sitting on the bed sketching in a notebook. He looked up at me.
"Hey dad." Quinn said before continuing what he was doing in his notebook.
"Hey Quinny." I said and closed the door behind me. I sat next to him on the bed and look over at his notebook. I saw that he was sketching pictures of Batman.
"This is like the only thing I know how to draw." Quinn said, shading in a part.
"It's okay, that's the only thing Andy knows how to draw too." I chuckled. I watched him shade in another part then he closed the notebook and set it down.
"Quinn, I've been wanting to talk to you." I said.
"About what?" He asked curiously.
"About what Cassidy did to you. About the bullying. About everything." I sighed.
"No," he shook his head as he pulled his knees up to his chest, "I don't want to talk about it. At least not with you.." He mumbled the last part. What did he even meant by that?
"Why not?" I questioned.
"Because you just wouldn't understand, dad. You don't know what it's like to be bullied. From what I've heard, you actually bullied other people." Quinn snapped in response.
"Okay, yes, I was a bully but I still know what you're going through, hell, I've been through worse." I said, trying to stay calm.
"No, you don't. I don't understand why anyone should feel the need to bully. Why did you bully?" He asked angrily, "Did it feel good to kick and punch people until they wanted to end their lives? Did it feel good knowing you were a monster just torturing other people?"
"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" I shouted at him.
"Tell me! Tell me if it felt good to be slowly killing people on the inside! I don't even think you still understand what you did to those people!" Quinn started sobbing and I started feeling guilt. The kind of guilt I got when I used to bully and torment other kids. Especially Andy.
Then Quinn stood up and began talking again,"And mom! You bullied him for no reason! Do you have any clue how bad you messed mom up? Do you even know what he said to me earlier? He told me he still cries when he thinks about all the times you bullied him! He told me he still gets severely depressed at times all because it's just stuck with him. You don't understand that mom told me he wanted to kill himself so many times, even after I was born! Even after the twins were born! So no, I don't think you really understand how I feel. You'll never understand how I feel. Bullies don't just don't get it. They don't know when a person has reached their limit and when they can't take it anymore. All bullies are just the fucking same!"

I sat there, taking everything all in. Everything he told me.. It was true. Of course, I'd never understand how Quinn or Andy feels, I mean I've been bullied in like middle school but I've never been bullied to the point where I wanted to end my life. The only times where I wished that I were dead were the times when I thought about my parents and how much I missed them.

I stood silent for a moment before saying,"Quinn, listen. I know what I did was terribly wrong. You don't understand how long it took for me to be able to look at your mom without feeling any guilt. I still feel bad for it all, I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could take it all away so Andy never experienced that. I just- I never knew I could love Andy so much, I never knew we'd end up being together. Don't you think it's a bit hard on both of our parts? I was so fucking stupid as a teenager, but I'm against bullying now, I never want to be part of anything like that because now I truly know how it affects other people. And Quinn,. I'm so sorry that you're going through all this. I hate seeing you this way. I hate seeing you so sad and depressed. I wish I could take it all away, I wish I could make you happy. But I can't. I can't do anything to make you happier. I feel like the worst dad ever, I can't make you feel better and you see me as some monster. I'm just.. I'm sorry Quinn."

We were both in tears at that point and it stood quiet for a few moments.
"Daddy, I'm so sorry." Quinn choked out and sat in my lap. I held him in my arms as we both just cried.
"I'm so sorry.. I was just angry, Daddy.. I was angry at all of my bullies, not at you. I'm sorry I took it out on you." He sobbed.
"Quinny, it's alright. Everything you said about me was true.." I sighed.
"No," he shook his head, "You're not a monster, Daddy. You're my hero. You turned your life around for the better, you should be proud of yourself. I look up to you." Quinn said, smiling slightly.
"I'm really your hero?" I questioned.
"Of course you are. You and mom." Quinn nodded. I smiled before kissing his head.
"I love you Quinny. I just want you to know that you can always talk to me, no matter what." I told him.
"Okay and I love you too." Quinn said, giving me another smile.