" 𝕸y mom's in a book club".

Quinn startles from the other side of the couch, glancing up in surprise from the page of the book in his hands as Cassie sits staring at him with her legs curled under her and her phone tucked in her grasp.

"Oh?".

"Maureen's book club, to be precise".

His eyebrows rise, eyes blinking with the effort to process her words.

"Maureen Holloway? June's mom?", he asks cautiously, setting his book aside.

"Correct".

"Unlikely duo but okay. I can . . . . I can understand".

"There's wine at every meeting. She gets drunk".

He looks at her, blankly.

"Maureen?".

"My mother, Quinn. My mom gets drunk at every one of her book club meetings. And the book club's founder is Maureen".

She can see her initial shock now depicted on Quinn's face, she can only imagine how truly flabbergasted she looked when she found out and Quinn's expression is a perfect example of just how weird this entire business is.

He leans back, arm spreading over the back of the couch and turning to face her properly.

"Cassie", he states narrowing his gaze, "Are you sure? That doesn't sound like your mom".

"Lucas saw her last night. She came home drunk and yelled at dad".

His throat bobs, head slowly tipping up and down in a careful nod.

"You know what the weirdest part is though?".

A chuckle escapes his lips and he shakes his head, "Weirder than this?".

"All the women in the book club are either divorced or suffering from a failing marriage".

His stills, the slight smirk on his face instantly dropping.

"Oh my god, Cass. I'm so sorry", Quinn's brows knit together, a hand coming up to rest comfortingly on Cassie's arm.

She feels a tingle of menacing emotions swirl through her body at the gentle brush of his skin against hers and almost leans in to let him touch more than her arm.

Almost.

Her throat feels tight and she doesn't know if it's from the implication of the changes in her mother's behaviour or from the effort of keeping her composure as Quinn softly rubs his thumb over her arm, keeping his oceanic stare locked on hers.

She clears her throat.

"It's fine. I . . . I mean, they were never the happy couple they were supposed to be. And yeah, I've been wanting them to get divorced since years but at one point it just felt like she was choosing to put herself through that, y'know? Like it was so in her comfort zone, so familiar that she'd rather stay and be unhappy than walk away and attempt to find something better".

"She used to say it was for you and Lucas", he speaks in a quiet tone making her sigh.

"I haven't been in the house for six years. And Lucas moved out last year. She could've done something. But she chooses to put up with his tantrums and make everyone else miserable".

"It's her marriage, Cass. She's been with him for what? Twenty-five years? That's a lot of time to simply . . . . throw away".

Cassie huffs, drawing her arm back to hold it closer to herself and not focus on his touch rather than the words he's speaking.

"Are you really on her side right now? They're the reason I hated my house growing up".

He frowns, "No, of course I'm not on her side. I'm just saying that maybe the reason she hasn't divorced him yet is because it's been too long and obviously it's more difficult now—".

"I didn't go to UMich because of them, Quinn".

Her voice breaks, a painful reminder of everything that could have been hovering over their tensed shoulders.

She swallows, gaze unwavering from his even as her eyes begin to glaze over for everything that she had to lose just to have a chance at a good life.

The words are unsaid but they still rest heavy in the silence.

They're the reason I lost you.

She knows she never really 'lost' him and that she is the one who kept him at a distance all those years but life would have been infinitely different for them had she accepted her offer from the University of Michigan.

It could've been a dream come true for the two of them. After all, who is lucky enough to be accepted into the same university as their best friend?

Quinn had assured her even back then that living away from home even if it was a short distance away would be okay.

They'd make it work. Her parents wouldn't be there 24/7 to inconvenience her peace of mind and Quinn would be with her.

But she just couldn't risk it. Not when she got accepted by UCLA, the one school that she had wanted to get into as much as Harvard.

Perhaps even more because Harvard was, in the end, not her dream at all.

It was her parents'.

And she knew that studying that close to 'home' would be a death sentence. Her mother would never let go of her hold on her and her parents' constant drama would keep disrupting her life.

So, she'd lied. She'd lied big time.

And to this day, Quinn is the only one who knows the extent of her lie.

Which means he spent his time at UMich wondering what it would be like if things were a little different and his stubborn best friend — also the one person who always makes his day better no matter what — was not states away.

"I know", his throat burns and he feels uncharacteristically tired of the emotion welling up inside because how many days and nights has he mourned their alternate life, their alternate future while wondering if those very thoughts kept her up at night too?

Cassie releases a shaky breath, bringing up her hand to cover his.

His lips curl and she almost smiles too.

"I'm moving to Vancouver".

He blinks, once again tentative yet surprised.

"Really? You're one hundred percent sure?".

She nods, "I don't care if they see it as an invitation to try and invade my life again but I'm not giving up on this solely because of them. I went to the job interview for a reason and I really don't think I can live in LA permanently. It's just not who I am anymore. So, I'll be a bitch to them if I have to but I am not letting their behaviour dictate my life again".

He grins, slow and wide and oh she could stare at his smiling face forever.

He is so everything. Genuinely.

"Just so you know, I am never leaving you alone once you move. We've got years to make up for, Flores".

She finally allows a hopeful smile to sneak its way past her defenses.

"I can't wait".

***
not even a month yet and i already miss hockey 💔