For All The Right Reasons

by Brownell, Rachael

  "I'm sorry," I immediately say as I slide behind the wheel. "Let’s try and have fun tonight, and if we can't get one of them on the phone tomorrow, we’ll figure out what’s going on and make a plan. Deal?”

  Jade reluctantly agrees, but I can see her mind is reeling. Mine is, too, but not about the situation Gabby and Quinn put themselves in. Mine is wondering if their missteps are going to cause me to lose Jade when this is all over.

  Neither of them is answering their phone.

  Jade is dead set on going up there and finding out what the hell is going on. And to be honest, I'm a little worried. If I knew how to get in touch with Kara or Tess, I would. I know where Quinn lives, but the last thing I want to do is show up unannounced.

  So I try texting him again. Nothing.

  His phone goes straight to voicemail.

  "Tomorrow," Jade states firmly.

  "What about tomorrow?"

  "I'm going up there tomorrow. I have a key to Gabby's place. I won't be ignored any longer. And I'm going to make her talk to me. I don't give a shit if she doesn't want to."

  "We don't even know what happened yet."

  "They went through with the breakup. I don't see why they would both be avoiding us if that weren't the case."

  "There's no way Quinn broke up with her."

  "Do you have a better idea?"

  No, but I don't like hers. I don't want her to bombard Gabby. If she's in a bad place, Jade forcing her to talk isn't going to be the answer. Some of us process things alone, in our own way. If Gabs wanted help, she'd reach out and ask for it.

  "Before you rush up there, let me do a little more recon. I might be able to find out what happened so at least you’ll know what you're walking into."

  There’s a look of doubt on Jade's face, but she nods in agreement. I now have twenty-four hours to figure out what the fuck happened before the tornado that is my girlfriend touches down in Gabby's apartment.

  After Jade falls asleep, I pull out my laptop and start cyber stalking anyone I think might be able to provide me with the answers I need. Quinn hasn't been on social media. Neither has Gabby. Kara's page is a slew of memes and not much else.

  It's Tess who provides me with the information I'm desperately seeking.

  Quinn had mentioned once or twice that Tess somehow knew everything about everyone. Gossip circulated through her. So her page reads like an open book. Well, if you read that book from the end to the beginning anyway. It tells a story no one will understand unless they were privy to underlying information.

  Yesterday, 5:32 p.m.

  When depressed... drink alcohol. That'll solve all your problems, right?

  Thursday, 9:17 p.m.

  It still amazes me that men mask their pain with anger. Why not just cry and get it over with?

  Wednesday, Halloween, 11:27 p.m.

  Never bet against a woman. She is stronger than you think, especially if she's walking away from you.

  Gabby broke up with Quinn. That's the only interpretation I can come up with. Their original plan was for Quinn to break up with her. Kara was going to be at the bar but not Gavin. Gabby said it was so she could console Quinn after.

  But if Gabby was walking away... she broke up with him. Correction, she broke him. Because that's not what he wanted. He wanted to rewrite their ending. That would explain why he's not answering either.

  I want to wake Jade and tell her what I found, but she looks so beautiful and peaceful as she sleeps in only my T-shirt. It's been a stressful few days for her worrying about Gabby. Being unable to reach her.

  Instead, I fire off a text to Quinn. He'll read it eventually.

  ME: Jade is going to see Gabby tomorrow. Sunday for those of us who don't shut our phones off and hide from the world. Call me when you're ready to talk. I know this is hard, but I'm here for you man. Even if you just want to grab a beer and sit in silence.

  To my surprise, he replies immediately.

  QUINN: Nothing to talk about. She doesn't want to be with me. Won't take my calls. Refuses to see me. Tell Jade I said good luck getting her to open the door.

  ME: She's stubborn, but we have a plan.

  QUINN: You and Jade teaming up now?

  Fuck me.

  ME: Of course we are. When it comes to this group, we're not just friends, we're family.

  Yes. Nice save.

  QUINN: We used to be.

  ME: Everything is going to work out fine. Just give her some time.

  ME: You still there?

  ME: Quinn?

  He doesn't reply again. I'm not sure if I should be more worried about him or Gabby right now. If Jade can't talk sense into her, we'll need to tackle things from a different perspective. I know how Quinn is about his personal space, but we may have to invade it to help them fix the mess they created.

  Chapter Thirteen

  JADE

  Game plan in place.

  I'll be invading Gabby's apartment in T-minus ten minutes. Nathan said he finally got in touch with Quinn last night. He was able to figure out the basics of what went down. I tried to convince him that we needed to bust down Quinn's door today as well, but he claims he wants to give him space.

  For now.

  I agreed only because I didn't want to waste time fighting with him. My focus was solely on Gabby as I ran back to my place to get the emergency key she gave me last year.

  She needed me.

  She may not agree with that statement, but I know it's true. If she's as devastated as I think she is, it's going to be a long day.

  I learned a lot from my mother growing up. Mainly how to break a person down and force them to talk. To help them move through their anger and pain. Being the daughter of a psychologist will do that. I was the victim of her talks many times. It always bothered me that she knew what I was thinking and feeling. That I wasn't able to hide it from her better.

  Today, the tricks she used on me will now be tested on Gabby.

  Step one: Force her to recognize her situation.

  Step two: Work her through the five stages of grief.

  Step three: Leave her in a better place than I found her.

  If I'm successful, Gabby won't be miraculously happy, but she won't be drowning in misery anymore. Or whatever brand of red wine she bought before locking herself away to mope.

  Her apartment is quiet when I enter. Looking around, my first inclination that she's given up on life completely is the state her kitchen is in. There are dirty bowls in the sink. An empty wine bottle stands on the counter.

  What concerns me most is the pan of brownies on the stove that appears to be half eaten. They're her weakness. Every time I called her after Gavin broke up with her, she was eating them. It didn't matter what time of day it was. The girl always had a chunk of brownie in her mouth.

  And chocolate goes good with red wine, so I'm assuming she ate half a pan last night while she drank an entire bottle of wine. If that's the case, she's going to need coffee.

  While I wait for the pot to brew, I load her dishwasher and wipe the crumbs off the countertops. By the time I'm done, the coffee is ready, and I pour us each a cup even though it's close to noon.

  You can never drink too much coffee. Coffee is life. At least that's the motto I live by.

  That and Pop-Tarts are acceptable for every meal.

  If I needed to survive with only three things for the rest of my life, I'd choose coffee, Pop-Tarts and toilet paper. Because, you know, coffee runs right through you and keeps you regular.

  Gabby's in bed, hair a hot mess. I watch her for a few minutes. She's tossing and turning, mumbling to herself. Her words strike me as odd until I remember what Nathan told me about his conversation with Quinn.

  I'm done, Quinn.

  She can have you.

  Done.

  Done.

  And then she's snoring lightly, her body curled into the fetal position as she grips her pillow tightly.

  God, what have they done to each other? Not only di
d they destroy their friendship but themselves in the process. I tried to warn them they were playing with fire. Neither of them wanted to listen. They thought they had it all figured out. That their plan was rock solid when, in reality, it was filled with more holes than anyone could have predicted.

  Waking Gabby was a challenge. Finally, I took a seat on the edge of her bed and shook her entire body until she opened her eyes. She must not have recognized me at first because she screamed bloody murder and ended up tangled in her sheets, falling out of bed and onto the floor with a thud.

  Call me a bad friend for laughing, I don't care. That shit was hilarious.

  Once I pull myself together, I offer Gabby the cup of coffee I made for her. She gets bitchy with me, so I refuse to give it to her until she calms down, apologizes, and admits she needs help.

  Step one is to get her to recognize her situation. To realize she needs to at least talk to someone. And I was fully prepared to take drastic measures to ensure she opened her eyes to the disaster she'd help create.

  “Why are we friends again?” She asks, reaching for the mug of coffee, but I pull it back right before she can wrap her hands around it.

  “Because you love me. Because you know I’m only here to help.” Direct and to the point. It’s time to show her some tough love.

  “I don’t need help. I didn’t ask for help. Nothing’s wrong. And if you were a true friend, you’d be sharing coffee with me, not withholding it.” Her voice is laced with anger. I expected as much. I also hear pain and sorrow, though, and it hits me in the feels.

  The last thing I wanted was for the two of them to destroy each other. I knew it was a possibility, but if I thought it would be the outcome, I would have fought harder to keep them from making this mistake.

  “I’ll give you a cup of coffee when you admit you need my help.”

  “Help with what?”

  “Getting over your broken heart.”

  “My heart’s not broken. You knew it was the plan all along to break up. It’s not like I didn’t know it was coming. Hell, I’m the one that broke up with him. I’m fine.”

  “Denial. That’s good. Stage one. Let’s move this along, shall we?”

  “I’m not in denial!”

  “No coffee for you.” I say it in my best Seinfeld ’no soup for you’ voice, but I fall short. Gabby doesn’t even crack a smile.

  “Fine, I’m not okay, but I’m also not ready to talk about it.”

  “Stage two is anger, not depression. You can’t skip ahead, Gabs. That’s not how this works.”

  “Shouldn’t I still be working on stage one?”

  “If I let you live in denial, what kind of friend would I be? So get angry. Let’s move on. You lost him. You fucked up. You two made a huge mistake, and now you’re both miserable.”

  As much as I love Gabby, I found out quickly how easy she was to manipulate. All you had to do was use a few key phrases and she was moving right through the stages of grief. Aside from attempting to focus on the depression stage, she was a model patient. Which meant that by the time it was getting dark outside, I knew I could leave her and not feel like I was abandoning my best friend.

  Because I was prepared to stay for days if necessary.

  Weeks even.

  Not that I'm not going to keep a close eye on her, and Quinn for that matter. I already made her promise me to get together soon. Our next lunch date isn't for weeks, and I'm not comfortable leaving her for that long. I'll figure out a way for us to spend time together.

  She may be over the worst of this, but she's not through it completely. It's going to take weeks, potentially months, for her to get back to the person she once was. Her heart’s been stepped on and crushed twice in the last four months. It wasn't even healed from the first time around.

  "How is she?" Nathan asks as soon as he opens his front door.

  "A hot mess. Devastated. But she's going to be okay with time. They both will."

  Stepping into his open arms, he wraps them around me and kisses the top of my head. "Quinn's going to need our help, too." I state firmly.

  "He will, but guys process this shit differently than girls. Gabby needed you now. He'll need me later."

  "He'll need us."

  "I think it'd be better if I went to see him alone."

  Pushing out of his arms, I look up to find him nervously awaiting my reply. What he gets is a dirty look and the door slamming in his face. If he thinks he's going to go see Quinn without me, he's lost his damn mind.

  I understand guys process a breakup differently. Whatever. This wasn't a breakup. This was a fuckup. The two of them royally screwed each other, destroyed their friendship in the process, and it's screwing with our dynamic.

  Nothing is going to stop me from having a say in the matter. From giving Quinn a piece of my mind the same way I gave Gabby one. With her, I used kid gloves. Mainly because I saw the state she was in. Even if she was the one who broke it off, it doesn't mean that she would be able to handle it better.

  Hell, she's probably in worse shape than he is.

  My phone chimes in my purse as I drive the thirty minutes back to my place. I haven't been home but for five minutes all weekend, and I'm looking forward to some time alone. I love spending time with Nathan, but right now I have more important things to focus on. There are other people who need my attention.

  NATHAN: I really think it would be better if I went alone.

  NATHAN: Just the first time. To check on him.

  NATHAN: I promise to let you know what happens.

  NATHAN: Please answer me when you get home. I don't want this to turn into our first fight. I don't want to fight over other people’s relationships. That's stupid.

  What do I say to that? I don't want to fight over their relationship either, but this is exactly what I was talking about. They fucked up our dynamic. And the worst part is they have no idea that they're also screwing with our relationship. They don't even know we're dating yet.

  There hasn't been a good time to tell them.

  We're still living a lie. Keeping it a secret from everyone.

  I'm so tired of this. Of everything. I'm sick of fighting for them, for us. I'm just plain exhausted.

  ME: Fine. You want to go see him, go. I don't care anymore. You worry about him, and I'll worry about Gabby. Deal.

  There's a long pause before he replies. I can see he’s read my message. My phone tells me he’s typing, the notification popping up at the bottom of the screen before disappearing once, then twice, before my phone finally chimes.

  NATHAN: No. We're doing this together. We're a team.

  ME: Are we? Because I kind of feel like we're fighting to save something that no one even knows about. Maybe it's time to let go.

  NATHAN: At the end of the day, this has nothing to do with us. WE ARE FINE. WE ARE GOOD.

  Maybe we don't see eye to eye on this, but the last thing I want to do is make a rash decision when I'm pissed off and emotional. Instead, I say goodnight and power off my phone.

  Chapter Fourteen

  NATHAN

  I'm trying everything I can to keep Jade happy, but it's killing me. We've gone to Quinn's house twice. He wasn't there one time, and I'm pretty sure Tess was lying to me the other time. His truck wasn't in the driveway, but that didn't mean she wasn't covering for him.

  So here we are again. Sitting in front of his house. Watching the windows for any signs of life. There's a light on upstairs but no movement. We watched Kara speed off on her motorcycle a little over fifteen minutes ago. Quinn's truck is parked in the drive, but that doesn't mean he's here.

  Another light suddenly flips on downstairs, and Jade punches me in the shoulder.

  "Let's go. He has to be here."

  Fuck my life.

  It's been a full week since she bombarded Gabby. She's seen her once since then and spent an hour on the phone with her earlier. It sounds like she's doing slightly better, which means Jade’s focus has now shifted to Quinn. J
ade wants things to go back to the way they were.

  She keeps talking about the dynamic.

  Jade's beating on the front door as I make my way up the walk, saying a silent prayer to myself the entire time.

  Please don't kill me, Quinn.

  If he can't tell this was all her idea, he's not as smart as I thought he was. I mean, we all make stupid decisions from time to time. I can forgive him for the mistake he made of thinking their plan was in the best interest of everyone involved. I'm sure they both believed that in the beginning.

  When he opens the door, his shock is the first thing that registers. Until he sees me. His glare turns murderous as Jade pushes her way past him and into the house.

  She's already yelling. Berating him for his choices. Blaming him for everything. All while making herself at home in his kitchen and brewing a pot of coffee.

  Taking a seat at the table, I slouch down and let her do her thing. If I speak up now, it's going to be a long-ass ride home. Hell, with the warpath she's on, it might be the last ride we take together.

  Jade made it perfectly clear that this was not negotiable. I was either going to take her to see Quinn or she was going to find where he lived without my help. If she had to find his house by herself, she'd be doing everything else alone.

  A.k.a. we were going to break up. This would be over. The thought alone causes my heart to ache in my chest.

  Normally I don't like it when my hand is forced. In fact, it pisses me off. I'm more of a take charge kind of guy.

  I was the one who pursued her. Sweet talked her into our little fling that summer. Made the first move in the lake when we were camping.

  Jade is normally not this persistent about anything. I think that's why I'm being more lenient with her right now. She's obviously passionate about their relationship. I just hope some of that passion heads my direction later.