Carter
Sheer, ice cold, raw fear overcomes me. My hands are shaking so violently making it hard to get the key to turn in the lock. Throwing the door open, it slams against the back wall before I burst in and close it with all my might, hitting the lock the moment the door is closed. I press my back to the door and slide to the ground as I listen. The sound of my harsh breathing and the pounding of my heart is all I can hear.
After a few minutes, I still haven't heard anything coming from outside. No rustling of leaves or gravel, no footsteps coming up onto the porch. I close my eyes and take a few deep and controlled breaths as I try to calm my adrenaline fuelled body.
I let myself sit on the floor for longer than I should have to try to regain my composure but I know someone has already come by after grandpa's death to lock the house and windows up, so there's no other way to get in. It gives me a moment to just be that I so desperately need.
What the actual hell just happened. I can't count the amount of times that Xavier, Quinn and I have walked those roads as kids and never had any issues. Those woods used to be my playground, my safe haven. I've never feared being alone before. I stand up slowly and turn to look out the little window beside the door but the sunlight had completely faded, leaving it too dark to make anything out now.
I turn and take in the dark cabin that I now stand in. It still smells like my grandpa; like cloves and Old Spice. I turn to my right and walk into the small living room. My grandpa's rocking chair still sits in the corner in front of the big bay window that overlooks the front of the cabin. A dark wooden coffee table sits in front of a small gray leather couch.
I walk over to the side table that holds a small lamp and flick it on. Soothing yellow light fills the living room. Someone must have tidied the cabin a bit when they came to lock it all up, as everything is sparkling clean. While grandpa was not a messy man, he was too old to get much done and currently, there's not a speck of dust on any surface.
After taking a look around the cabin to make sure it is indeed locked up tight and it didn't look like anyone was sneaking around, I double back to the living room and take a seat on grandpa's rocking chair. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrap my arms around myself tightly and just breathe in his scent.
The weight of everything that has happened over the past few days falls heavily onto my chest, and a strangled sob escapes me. My nose burns as I clench my eyes together tightly, trying to keep the tears at bay.
I will never see my grandpa again. I will never hear him laugh or listen to him whistle and sing around the cabin. I will never again feel the warmth of his embrace or the sound of his voice as he called me his honey child. My chest heaves and my shoulders shake with the heavy tears that tumble freely from my eyes. I grab the thin maroon throw blanket that hangs from behind the rocking chair and swing it around my shoulders, allowing myself to just exist in the comfort of his things. Even if it's for just a few moments.
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The sudden sound of someone knocking on the door jerks me awake. Quickly looking down at my watch, I panic realising it was after eight pm. I must have fallen asleep at some point and managed to bail on Quinn.
I groan, leaning my head back against the rocking chair. I've been asleep for over two hours. I roll my eyes at my stupidity. Of course. I would be the one stupid enough to stand up one of the hottest men I've ever seen in my entire life.
I know that with us being childhood friends, he'll probably forgive me but I'm pissed that I've missed the opportunity to internally drool over his gorgeous face. Not to mention that I'm sure he probably sat there waiting for me.
The sound of a knock at the door echoes through the cabin again, reminding me of my unexpected guest. I quickly hop off of the rocking chair and quietly creep over to the window to see if I can see who's there. With the porch light off, all I can see is a dark shadow pacing back and forth in front of the door.
My mind starts racing with thoughts of serial killers and the sound of running coming up from behind me, when a familiar voice pulls me out of my panic.
"Carter? Are you there? Can you open up? It's Quinn."
I slap myself in the forehead and run to open the door. I'm such an idiot.The moment the door opens I'm engulfed in his scent; like the forest floor after it rains. He rushes inside and wraps his arms around me tightly. I hold on to him, guilt eating at me.
"Quinn, I am so sorry! I never meant to stand you up. I didn't realize how tired I was and fell asleep; I just woke to you knocking on the door." I pull back to look at him, and I'm surprised to see worry written all over his handsome face.
"It's okay. I'm sorry to just show up here, but I sat at the diner waiting and when you didn't show up I got nervous. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." His normally light blue eyes are dark and unreadable.
I pull away and shut the door behind him. "Please don't apologize, I feel horrible. So much has happened over the past few days and it just all came out when I got to the cabin." I wrap my arms around myself and look away.
Quinn sighs and shakes his head. "No, don't feel bad. I didn't even think about how hard it must be for you being back here, on top of everything else that you've been dealing with. We can do this another time, little one." He moves to go back to the door.
"No! Quinn, it's okay. Will you please stay? Did you eat? No, of course not because I stood you up like an idiot. Come on, I'll make you dinner." I grab his hand and pull him to the kitchen.
I turn the light on as we step into the room. Dark wood cabinets line the wall to my left, a small island with a sink sits in the middle, and to the right is a small kitchen table big enough to sit four people.
I move to go to the fridge, only for him to pull me back towards him. He gestures to a white paper bag in his hand with Johnny's logo on it that I hadn't even noticed he was carrying.
He smirks, "I figured you might be here at the cabin when you didn't show up. I also figured that you probably didn't have time to pick up any groceries before coming up here." He shrugs, looking away almost shyly.
I reach up and put my hand on his arm. "Thank you, Quinn. I appreciate that more than you know. In all honestly, I hadn't even thought about groceries until now. I guess I'm not very prepared here."
He arches his eyebrow and smirks down at me. "What were you planning on making me for dinner to make up for standing me up?"
Blushing brightly, I shrugged and grimaced. "I... well..."
He laughs loudly, the sound wrapping around me like an embrace. Oh my. I try not to swoon but I have a feeling I'm failing miserably. Now that's a sound I could get used to. I make a mental note to try and get him to laugh as much as possible.
"It's okay, little one. I'll only hold this over your head until the day you die, it's no big deal." He smiles down at me. "Come on, let's sit down. I brought you your favourite."
"Cheeseburger with extra pickles?"
"Extra, extra pickles." He winks and I can't help but laugh. I go grab a few plates out of the cupboard and set them onto the table.
We sit and eat in comfortable silence, when all of a sudden Quinn stops eating and gains a far-off look in his eyes. I have a feeling that he's trying to figure out where to start this awkward, much needed conversation.
I want to pull my hair out and stomp my feet like a two year old. It would have been much easier to talk to the two of them together so I only had to relive it all once, but of course, fate is not on my side. I guess it's time to tell him my story and maybe this time, I can get through it without all the damn crying.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
When I finish telling Quinn everything that had happened, I'm an absolute blubbering mess. So much for not crying, I scold myself while internally rolling my eyes. Goddess, I am such an emotional basket case lately.
Quinn comes around the table and picks me up from the chair I'm sitting in and carries me to the couch in the living room. As if it's something he has done every day of his life, he casually sits me onto his lap, pulls me tight against his body and wraps his arms around me.
"I'm sorry that I'm so emotional about this. I thought that after telling Xander about everything earlier this afternoon, I would have been able to get through telling you without crying all over again. Apparently not." I wipe the tears under my eyes.
Quinn noticeably tenses at the mention of Xander's name, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head. "Little one, please don't apologize, I understand. I wish I had known. I wish I could have been there for you. I don't really know what to say here. You've been through so much." He sighs and leans his cheek against the top of my head.
"I've missed you, Quinn." I sigh and relax against his chest, letting his clean, masculine scent surround me.
"I've missed you too, little one. More than you know." His chest rumbles with his words as his fingers begin to trail slowly along the length of my bare arms. Little lightning bolts shoot through me at his touch, leaving goosebumps in their place.
I feel him chuckle as a deep shiver comes over me, and I turn to look him in the eyes. "Excuse me, good sir. You wouldn't happen to be laughing at me, would you?" I scoff, pretending to be offended.
"Oh, little one, I'm not as good as you may think." He smirks down at me. His aqua eyes darken as he looks down at my lips and I lick them instinctively.
Quinn lets out a low rumbling growl at the sight, the sound sending heat straight down to my core. Holy fuck, that was hot.
His hand comes up and cups my cheek, his thumb running along my bottom lip. My breath hitches in my throat as my heart is going a mile a minute. I need this, I need him. I need to know what his lips feel like against my own.
I turn so I can straddle his legs, Quinn's hands grip my waist and pull me closer. His fingers are gripping me so tight I'd be surprised if there aren't small bruises in the morning. I lean down to press my lips to his, my breathing now erratic.
My fingers dig into his shoulder with anticipation. I can feel the warmth of his breath on my skin as our lips softly meet, when a knock sounds at the door.