True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,44

same bed as Quinn’s fiancé. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put it together.

And what about Kevin? For God’s sake, he was Ethan’s best friend. Not even thinking of herself, Quinn’s heart squeezed for him. This was going to kill him. Kevin was a good guy. And totally in love with Gina. Everyone knew it. Ethan knew it! And what about Ethan? Did he not love her either?

Quinn felt sick to her stomach. Her head swam, stars gathering just out of reach. She wanted to scream at Gina. To insist she wake up Ethan.

“Say something, Quinn,” Gina said.

Quinn resisted throwing her phone at the wall. What the hell did Gina expect her to say? Should she ask her what she thought of Ethan’s physical prowess now? Or beg for details of how and why this had happened? Convince her to leave and never darken their door again?

There was a lot Quinn could say. Could demand.

Instead, she clicked the “End” button, cutting the connection that traveled between her and Gina instantly. But it didn’t cut the pain. She dropped the phone and fell over to the side, bringing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, her body going into a fetal position as she fought to protect herself from the onslaught of thoughts and the sudden nausea.

But she couldn’t.

She thought of Gina, the image of her backside in spin class always coming first, since that’s what Quinn saw the most of as her so-called friend competed to be the fastest and most enduring in the room. Quinn was usually sweating like mad by the end of the session, while Gina stepped off the bike still looking like she’d just arrived.

It was disgusting.

Yes, Gina was fit. Sculpted. Probably every man’s dream.

And Ethan. Always the competitor. The risk-taker. He loved nothing more than a dangerous challenge. Always thinking rules didn’t apply to him.

But she’d thought that commitments did.

She uncurled herself and lay back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. One silent tear fought its way out of her eye and rolled off the side of her face, dropping into her ear and creating a tickling sensation. She brushed it out with her fist, surprised that she could still feel anything through the numbness that was traveling through every nerve cell in her body.

This time he’d gone too far.

Quinn wouldn’t be waiting on the sidelines to cheer him on. From now on, he could hold his own damn towel.

Chapter Twelve

The next morning, Quinn found herself pressing her feet against the invisible brake on her side of Liam’s truck when he got too close to the car ahead of them. They’d been driving only about half an hour, and already Quinn was feeling a bit carsick from all the weaving and bumping down the narrow roads.

She also felt sad. Defeated. Confused.

But she tried to push thoughts of Ethan and Gina out of her mind. She needed to process it slowly. He’d tried to call her all through the night. Texted her a couple dozen times. Quinn hadn’t even read the texts. Not yet.

She wanted him to suffer. Make him beg her to respond.

While she resisted, she also wished a case of the most vicious food poisoning on him—wait, no, it needed to be smallpox. Or maybe something that would disfigure the face he was so fond of looking at in the mirror. Really hit him where it hurts.

But then she also wanted to know why.

Why? Why? Why?

Was she not enough? Did he do it to punish her for leaving him behind? Had this been going on before she left, even? She thought about how different Gina was from her. Sexier. Loud. Vivacious.

Basically everything she wasn’t.

It made her feel worse.

Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe.

Inhaling deeply, she let the air fill her lungs, expanding in her chest and surrounding her broken heart.

To top it off, she was still reeling from the news that her birth certificate was fake. What did that mean? It was all so confusing.

But she needed to hide what she was feeling today. She didn’t want Liam to be suspicious and start asking questions. It wouldn’t take much for her to break down completely.

They’d left Paia Town—and some of the best coffee she’d ever had at Paia Bay Coffee—at least half an hour before, and Liam said the next stop on their list was going to be Twin Falls.

“So Paia is where all the surfers hang out?” Quinn said, still thinking about the town behind them