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Too calmly.
The one and only time I’d seen him this deadly quiet was the day he’d walked in on two boys cornering me in a bathroom in high school. He’d already graduated at that point, and he’d been outside waiting to pick me up since my car hadn’t started that morning.
When I’d taken too long to come out, he’d come in, and found me there, two boys blocking me, and one of them trying to stick their hands down my pants.
He’d calmly knocked both of them out, then we’d left the school grounds just far enough that he could call the cops.
“Quinn,” I said quietly, worried now that he was overly angry.
I’m sure some of that was my fault.
Had I not left, I would’ve been at the hospital safe, and he wouldn’t have to find me to save me.
Jesus, I was a trainwreck.
Quinn looked over at me, cataloged me for injuries, and reached for his phone.
He called and had just hung up when the first police officer arrived.
I looked over, unsurprised to see his mom pull up.
“Mamasauce,” I said quietly.
Mamasauce, aka Garnett Carter, looked over at me and did the same cataloging of injuries that her son had just done. Once she decided I was okay, she walked to the woman on the ground and hiked her thumb to the right, indicating that Quinn needed to let her go.
Quinn got up, and Elliette rolled over, spitting mad, and kicking.
“Don’t,” Garnett ordered harshly. “Quinn was a whole lot nicer than I would’ve been had I walked up on that scene. Now, you can calmly walk to the police cruiser, and I’ll take you in, or you can do it the hard way. Which, might I add, will end up with you in the cruiser anyway, just hurting after.”
Elliette gritted her teeth and wisely stood up.
Quinn and Garnett both tensed, likely waiting for Elliette to run. Yet, she didn’t. She calmly walked to the back of the police cruiser and waited for Garnett to open the door for her.
Once the door closed, Garnett walked to me and calmly helped me to my feet.
She tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear, and I felt my eyes well with tears.
“You okay, my baby?” she asked.
Garnett was the mother I never had.
Even though her son and I had broken up all those years ago, she didn’t allow that to affect our relationship at all. She and Ande continued to treat me like part of the family, even if I tried everything in my power not to be around any of the Carter boys.
Meeting Garnett and Ande for lunch? That was more than acceptable. Doing anything at all at their place? Absolutely not. Because if I saw one brother, I saw them all.
Every last one of them resembled each other, and sometimes the rugged good looks of the Carter men hurt my heart.
“I’m okay,” I lied.
I probably wasn’t okay.
As it was, my heart was still pounding, and I was having trouble breathing.
“Good,” she pulled me in for a hug, and I felt something shift in my chest.
The breathing got harder, but I stayed where I was, feeling lightheadedness start to creep in.
“All right,” she pulled away. “I’ll get this one to the station. I’m assuming that you’re taking her back?”
