Beautifully Hurt (Beautifully Broken)

A burst of awkward laughter explodes from me. “I treat Quinn with respect, Josh. It’s safe to visit with us.”

“I’ll crash at my own place. It’s been standing empty for too long. I’ll spend the days with Quinn.”

“Okay, whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“I spoke with Harry,” Josh mutters. “He says there’s still nothing new on the case.”

I feel Josh’s frustration as I say, “Yeah, it’s killing me as well.”

“Protect, Quinn. Please.”

“With my life,” I promise.

We end the call, and tucking the phone back in my pocket, I walk into the store.

Minutes later, Ethan comes in. “Hey.”

I lean against the counter as I smile at my brother. “You’ve been quiet.”

“No.” He shakes his head as he comes to stand next to me, also leaning back against the counter. “You’ve just been busy.” Ethan’s eyes lock on mine, then he asks, “How are you holding up?”

“I’m good.”

“Really?” he asks, his eyes sharpening on me. “You took on one hell of a responsibility by agreeing to take care of Quinn.”

I shove Ethan with my elbow. “You make it sound like I took in someone’s dog. Quinn’s my girlfriend.”

“You were only dating two weeks when shit went down, Eli.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I scowl at my brother. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”

Ethan shrugs. “I’m just saying, this relationship went from zero to two hundred real fast.”

“Actually, it didn’t. If anything, it hit pause.” Ethan’s eyebrow shoots up, and it has me explaining, “Quinn’s in no state to deal with a relationship. I haven’t even kissed her since the attack.”

“Fuck,” Ethan exhales. “That’s got to be rough.”

“Yeah, but what I want doesn’t matter right now. Once Quinn’s better, I’ll pick up where we left off.”

“Mom says it can take months if not years. You gonna wait that long?” he asks.

“I’ll wait as long as it takes. I’m not bailing on Quinn just because things are hard.”

“Fuck,” he breathes, shaking his head. “I hope I’ll be able to do the same if I ever find myself in the same position.”

“I’m sure you will,” I murmur. “When you meet the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with, you’ll move heaven and earth for her.”

“The Jackson men’s curse,” Ethan chuckles.

“It’s not a curse, little brother,” I say as I push away from the counter. “If anything, it’s given my life purpose.”

Ethan’s eyes lock with mine again. “Sounds a lot like you love Quinn.”

I stare at him as I sift through my feelings. I might not have a normal relationship with Quinn, but the woman she used to be is always in the back of my mind. Also, seeing her battle her way through the trauma has made me admire her.

She’s just hurting right now. I’m sure with time, I’ll get some of the old Quinn back.

Still… love?

It’s only then I realize, whether I get the old Quinn back or a new version of her once she’s healed, I still want her.

I’ll always want Quinn, no matter if she’s hurting or happy.

“Yeah, I love her.”

QUINN

Nina gets up from the chair, where we’re sitting in her kitchen. “Let’s take a walk. I want to show you something.”

“Okay.” Rising to my feet, I follow her out of the house. We walk in silence through the trees behind the property and keep going until we reach the beach.

“Take off your shoes,” she says as she kicks her sandals off.

When I’m barefoot, Nina takes my hand and pulls me into the water. It’s freezing, and I wiggle my toes as goosebumps rush over my skin.

“Oh shit, it was much warmer the last time I did this,” she chuckles.

I smile at her reaction to the cold water.

“Besides the freezing cold, what do you feel?” she asks.

I frown as I glance at her. “Water? It’s wet?”

She nods. “It still feels the same, right? The feel of the water hasn’t changed.”

“Yeah?” I answer, not sure where she’s going with this.

“Look around you. Did the view change?”

I look out over the ocean and shake my head. “No, it’s still the same.”

She pulls me out of the water, and we sit down on the spot where we left our shoes.

“Southport has seen many hurricanes come and go, but the town still stays the same. Sure it takes a while for nature to recover and for the people to patch everything up, but it doesn’t change the bigger picture.” Nina’s eyes lock with mine. “The same counts for you, Quinn.”

I glance around us, hearing what she’s saying. “Is that what you did? Patched up what you could?”

“Yes.” Nina lets out a deep breath. “Alex made it easier for me, though. He showed me it was okay to lean on someone for support.” Nina glances out over the ocean. “Honestly, the real healing only began once I opened up to Alex about my trauma. It’s like he took some of the pain, making it bearable for me to cope.”