Chapter 3

“Well isn’t this cozy”

Em burst out of her sleep. She sat up so fast, she fell right off the couch into the floor. She looked up to see non other than Quinn, her bully turned protector.. her enemy turned lover… her boyfriend turned …stepbrother?

He was standing in front of her with his arms crossed and looking like he was about to rip into someone. Em was confused as to what was happening. Then she turned and saw Asher on the sofa. They must’ve fallen asleep last night watching ‘Friends’.

Asher, who was now stretching and coming to.. had apparently taken his shirt off during the night and only had on shorts.

‘Hmm’ she thought. ‘This probably looked worse than it was.’ But then again why did Quinn even care? He told her they couldn’t be together. So if that’s the case he’s not gonna get mad and jealous every time she’s around another guy.

Especially if that guy happens to be Asher of all people.

She turned and looked back at Quinn, who now had a look of hurt etched on his face.

“Did we have a meeting someone forgot to tell me about?” Asher mumbled still half asleep.

Em looked up at Quinn. “This is not what it looks like… so you can stop making the face.” She was irritable when she first woke up. Actually. Irritable wasn’t even the word. She didn’t even want to speak to anyone before she had her coffee. And how dare he act mad anyway??

“Aww don’t deny it sweet cheeks”. Asher grumbled.

Em once again worried about her eyes getting stuck as she rolled them.

She looked back at Quinn then, wondering why he was in her basement anyway.

“What are you doing here?” She asked. A small sprinkle of hope went through her. Maybe he had thought about his stupid decision and changed his mind.

“We brought the building over on the semi.”

Em deflated. This was really happening. Quinn and his dad had just recently built an out building for him to start teaching MMA classes. Apparently Em’s mom and Quinn’s dad weren’t wasting any time and going ahead with the plan to move in together. Especially if they’d brought a whole damn building of theirs to her house.

She felt sick. This was all too much for her and she suddenly wished she was back on the couch asleep with Asher.

About that time Aspen came running down the stairs.

“Where the hell is everybody? Oh.” She stopped when she saw the scene in front of her.

“Erm. What’s going on round here?” She asked.

“Round? Here?” Quinn replied.

Clearly he wasn’t privy to the way they liked talking in song lyrics.

“Well. This has been lovely.” Em said.

She stood up to go upstairs with Aspen when Quinn grabbed her arm. Her breath caught. The same way it always did when he touched her. She hated it now. The way his skin felt against hers…. the burning sensation, the goosebumps, the way her heart flip flopped… now those feelings made her sad.

She stopped and looked at him, right in his eyes just like she always did. They stared at each other a moment.. and then… he let her go.

She and Aspen went up to her room and shut the door. How the hell was she meant to do this?? She couldn’t live with Quinn. There’s no way…. he would be everywhere. And with her feelings the way they were, she was a little worried about sinking back down in her depression.

Em didn’t want to start taking her pills again but…. It was a possibility that she would have to. She had been seeing a new therapist the last few weeks, a woman from the hospital where her mother worked. She was fine but, Em really missed Evan her old therapist from the town where she used to live.

She had been very seriously considering calling him again for several days now. But she had also been considering going out in the yard and screaming as loud as she possibly could so there’s that.

“Ughhhh” Em said when they got to her room.

“This shit is wild.” Her best friend, Aspen said.

“Wild. Ridiculous. Annoying. Stupid as a fucking mouse in shoes.” Em agreed.

Aspen looked at her funny.

“You’ve had some interesting made up cuss words as of late you know that?”

Em snorted.

“So what did I walk in on?” Aspen asked her. Em gave her the run down of last night and she guessed that she and Asher had fallen asleep…. and Quinn walked in on it this morning.

“Okay just because he’s my brother— ew.” Aspen said. “But… what gives Quinn the right to say a word about anything you do now?? He made his choice.. AND.. it was a stupid one. Who even cares if your parents get married it’s not like y’all are related!! This is so un-Quinn like. He never gives two fucks about anything.” Aspen breathed out her grievances.

Em couldn’t agree more. Something wasn’t adding up and she needed to get to the bottom of it. Quinn was acting really shady about all this. They needed to sit down and have a long talk .. again.

“You are spot on.” Em told Aspen. “Spot the fuck on a Dalmatian dog on.”