The Resurrection of Aubrey Miller (21 page)

There is no surprise in her features.

No apology.

No remorse.

Just pure maliciousness streaming from her asshole expression as her eyes land on Quinn.

And then she smiles.

“Poor Quinn,” she sighs, “I guess Josh is all mine now.”

“Josh?” Quinn’s broken voice comes from behind me. “Is this true?”

I watch as he rises from the floor, avoiding her eyes while straightening his shirt from Kaeleb’s attack. He moves to stand by Sabrina, giving Quinn no answer other than placing his arm around Sabrina’s shoulders.

Fucking asshole.

She throws her head back in laughter before she drops her eyes to Quinn, her whimsical expression settling into contempt.

“It was a long time coming,
sweetie
. And I can’t say that I blame him.” She tsks as she shrugs her shoulders. “I warned you about that muffin top.”

Another heartbreaking sob comes from behind me as Josh barks out a laugh, setting everything into motion. Kaeleb rears back and hauls his fist across Josh’s face, snapping his head backward. He crashes into the wall behind him before crumpling to the ground. I leap forward, throwing my shoes to the side, and snatch Sabrina by the shoulder. Pulling her face into mine, I shout, “You fucking jealous bitch!” and clench the top of her dress tightly. I hold her in place as my open hand flies across her face.

Sabrina gasps and lifts her fingers to cover the red welts rising on her face. Once she feels them with her fingertips, her face contorts with anger. “Fuck you and your loser friends, freak!”

Her hands fly toward my face, but I swipe them away with little effort. Rage takes over as I dig my nails into the skin of her shoulder and move to strike her again, but I’m stopped short when I feel an arm snake around my waist, and as I’m pulled away from her, a guttural scream releases from my mouth. I claw at the arm and kick my legs, but it’s useless. I’m lifted off the ground, still thrashing and screaming at Sabrina, and brought into Kaeleb’s side. As he turns us away, I come face-to-face with Quinn who’s tucked securely underneath his other arm. Her hands cup over her glasses as she bawls from within the safety of his hold.

My feet drag the ground as he half-carries, half-drags me away from the scene in haste, most likely trying to get us out of here before security arrives. As we arrive at our table, my eyes remain glued to Quinn and I choke on a sob as the reality of what just happened drives more tears down my face.

Kaeleb releases Quinn but maintains his hold on me as he collects our belongings from the chairs. Once he’s done, he wraps his arm tightly around Quinn’s shoulders, whispering in her ear and kissing her on the temple as he leads us toward the door.

She leans into him and clutches his jacket, burying her face deeply. Her shoulders shake with sobs, and my heart shatters as her anguish pierces my chest. I reach across Kaeleb’s body and wrap my hand around the back of her head, trying to comfort her as we make our way outside.

But it’s no use.

The cold air hits my bare feet, but I don’t care. I finally find my footing and pull her tightly into me. Our heads hover together against Kaeleb’s chest as he directs us and I refuse to let go of her until we arrive at the car.

Kaeleb finally releases me, opening the passenger door and shuffling me inside. After chucking our belongings on the floorboard, he shuts me in and I watch through the window as he releases Quinn. Placing his hands on her head, he forces her to face him as he speaks. His gestures are emphatic, even going so far as to shake her gently when she looks away. Quinn stares back at him blankly, clearly giving up on her fight to avoid him, but her tears continue to fall freely. Kaeleb swipes them away and eventually stops speaking to pull her into an embrace. After holding her for a long while, he tenderly kisses her forehead and opens the back door of his car to guide her inside.

As it shuts behind her, I adjust the rear view mirror. She turns away from me, avoiding my stare as she looks out the window, and maintains her gaze until eventually her face crumbles and falls into her hands.

No words are spoken on the way back to the apartment.

There are only Quinn’s raspy wails from the backseat and the intermittent blows of Kaeleb’s palm against the steering wheel as he drives.

Yet, to me, the most damaging sound as we make our way home isn’t either of those.

It’s my complete and utter silence.

I have no idea how to comfort my friend.

Over the next few months, I watch as Quinn dwindles away both emotionally and physically. She’s almost completely disappeared right in front of my eyes.

That fateful night at the club, something in Quinn broke. I mean, she was already cracked and splintered, but that night completely shattered her.

Her eyes no longer sparkle with whatever fabricated happiness she used to mask her internal struggles. I know now that the more she smiled and laughed, the more she was concealing her pain. What happened with Josh and Sabrina was enough to knock anyone down, I can’t deny that, but most people would have recovered by now. Quinn just continues fading away into oblivion, each day a fresh nick to the rope of her rapidly fraying mind.

And I can’t do shit about it.

I tried, in the beginning. I would ask if she were okay as I entered her darkened room and plopped down on her bed. This only resulted in her turning away and pulling up the sheets. After a while, I found myself just relieved that she was capable of moving at all.

Then, I asked her about class. Class that she never bothered to attend anymore. She managed to drag herself to finals, but that was about it. When she was done, she crawled back into bed and covered her head with her comforter. Nothing was said.

After a while, I just quit asking.

I was forced to leave her during Winter Break, heading to see Linda for a week over Christmas. The trip was kind of a bust anyway because Linda had bronchitis and I hardly saw her. It was probably for the best though because I wouldn’t have been good company. My thoughts were constantly pulled to Quinn and the state I would find her in when I got back to the apartment.

I was right to worry. As soon as I arrived back at the apartment, I found her lying in bed in the same pajamas she had on when I left. It wasn’t pretty. I forced her into the shower and then escorted her back to bed, turning off the light before shutting the door.

The worst was a couple of weeks ago when Kaeleb and I sat her down and attempted to force a very unrehearsed, spur-of-the-moment intervention. She sat slumped on the couch, picking the last bit of paint off her usually perfectly painted toenails while Kaeleb shouted at her from the floor. His frustration with her health had become completely unmanageable.

And rightfully so.

The areas underneath her collarbones jetted out from her shoulders as she hugged her knees, completely unfazed as Kaeleb continued his ranting. The dark purple shadows under her eyes were a stark contrast against the paleness of her normally radiant skin. I was surprised she had enough energy to make it into the living room. I said nothing, but Kaeleb begged her to eat something—
anything.

My throat swelled shut with the sound of his pleading voice, and tears rolled down my cheeks as he spoke. Eventually, he reached his boiling point at her obvious disinterest, swiping everything off the kitchen island before bursting out the front door. But there was no reaction from her as she remained stagnant on the couch. After Kaeleb’s heated departure, her only words were, “We done here?” before heading back to her room.

So imagine my surprise when she up and decided to attend a family dinner during Parents Weekend. We had planned the outing for just Kaeleb, his grandparents, Linda and me, but when Quinn announced that she would be attending and asking her parents to come as well, my jaw hit the floor.

I couldn’t call Kaeleb fast enough to ask him to change the reservation.

He let out a long exhale. “Something’s not right.”

“Kaeleb,
please,
” I pleaded. He changed the reservation and then tersely informed me that he would pick us both up at seven.

And now, as she exits her room dressed in the navy dress I wore on my birthday, I bury the fear that accompanied Kaeleb’s initial reluctance as hope blossoms in my chest. I disregard the fact that the dress barely manages to stay on her shrunken frame. I ignore the sadness that still weighs on her expression. All my worry and frustration is replaced by budding optimism with the sight of her taking that first step back toward being human again.

When she smiles at me, I smile back, looping my arm into hers as we make our way to the front door.

“You ready?” I ask, grabbing my purse.

Walter whines from the kitchen, voicing his uncertainty with being locked inside a new crate.

Sorry buddy. No more shoes for you.

Quinn glances at him over her shoulder and then returns my stare. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

I eye her closely but push away the gnawing notion that her smile is off, that it’s one I don’t recognize because it’s a smile none-the-less, and that’s enough for me. We’re going to dinner as a family.

All of us.

Together.

The absolute high of that knowledge dulls any nagging feeling I may have about her state of mind.

After a quiet car ride, we finally enter the restaurant. I also choose to disregard the fact that Kaeleb has been unusually somber this evening. His only movements on the way here were to periodically check on Quinn in the rearview mirror.

The last to arrive, we make the introductions around the table. When Linda shakes Kaeleb’s hand across my body, she beams her approval at me and I can’t help but grin. She’s been bugging me to be formally reintroduced to him for months now and by the look on her face, I can tell she’s pleasantly surprised. Her smile widens after he pulls out my chair and with that one simple gesture, I know he has completely won her over.

“You look beautiful,” he whispers lightly against my ear as he seats himself next to me. “I’m sorry. I should have said that before. I’m just…I don’t know.” He glances to the other end of the table. “Something’s off with Quinn. I can feel it.”

“You think?” I ask, following his stare. “I mean, at least she’s making an effort. That has to count for something right?”

He shrugs, unfolding his napkin. “I guess we’ll see.”

His eyes meet mine and after another measured intake of my appearance, he adds, “Really, Bree. You look gorgeous.”

Glancing down, I appraise the off-white layered tunic and black leggings. My nose scrunches and I glance back at him.

“Really? I feel kind of underdressed.” He’s clad in a black, fitted, button-up dress shirt which is tucked neatly inside his charcoal dress pants. “You look like you’re actually attending a fancy dinner and I just look like I’m going to the movies.”

He chuckles lightly before facing me again. Tucking a strand of blonde hair behind my ear, he whispers, “Breathtaking.”

Backing away, he gives me a wink before picking up his menu and I just grin like a dope. My eyes find Linda’s filled with giddy excitement while her face is practically splitting in two. I shake my head at her and she giggles from behind her menu. Lifting it to shield us from the others at the table, she says, “I just can’t get over it, Aubrey. You look so happy.”

She exhales and reaches forward to take my hand into hers. “I know Christmas was a bit rough with me being sick and all, but I should have said it more. You are so lovely, Aubrey. Just beautiful.”

Her eyes glisten, and the moisture dances in the candlelight as she squeezes my hand. Releasing it, she lowers her menu with her eyes still on me. My throat constricts and I swallow, giving her a shy smile in return before collective laughter from across the table nabs my attention.

Kaeleb’s grandparents.

Having met them earlier in the day, I find it no surprise that he and his grandfather are already discussing the latest wave of politics. His grandmother catches my eye as she shakes her head and I’m forced to cover my mouth to hide my laughter. I fell in love with her the minute we met and I can’t wait to get to know her better over dinner.

Knowing that Kaeleb’s relationship with his parents is non-existent, I was happy to see them show up this year for the Parents Weekend festivities. Last year we all thought the idea to invite family was lame, so we didn’t, but this year it seems as though the need for family overruled our way-too-cool-for-that-shit mentality.

I think it’s nice that they’re here. It’s something we all seem to find comfort in.

Or at least I
thought
that was the case, but as my eyes dart down to raised voices, I find Quinn looking anything but comforted. A couple of servers have arrived, placing two heaping plates of fresh calamari at either end of our table, and I watch as Quinn’s mother loads a plate. She slides it in front of Quinn only to have it stubbornly shoved back in her direction.

Kaeleb’s head twists slowly in my direction and we exchange worried glances before looking back at Quinn and her parents. In a black pencil skirt, matching blazer, and chignon-styled hair, Quinn’s mother looks impeccable. But the frantic look on her face contradicts her collected appearance.