Hate or Love?

Chapter Twenty Two

They were back in the car, Quinn in the backseat, Andreas in the passenger and Jayce in the drivers seat.

"Where to, Mr. Leuth?" Quinn questioned, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the back of the chairs.

"Brazil. There's one last thing we need to do before going home." Jayce told them, and started the car, pulling out of the driveway and driving away.

After a few hours on the road, they had to pull off to rest for the night. Despite Jayce arguing with them, Quinn and Andreas refused to clean up, simply flopping on a bed together and passing out. Jayce slept on the couch that night, still alert and ready to defend the two.

The next morning, Quinn decided she was alright to drive when Jayce wanted a break, and her and Jayce had to wrestle Andreas into the backseat, despite him insisting he could drive too. She slept while Jayce drove the first few hours, and then they swapped out, Jayce deciding to sleep while she drove. They drove like that all the way to Brazil, Jayce taking the last shift while she and Andreas slept the rest of the way.

When they finally got to Brazil, Jayce drove down a street bustling with children and people talking outside, enjoying the beautiful weather, stopping outside a small house with gorgeous green grass, and a flower bed out front. A bird feeder was hung on the front porch.

"Where the hell are we?" Andreas sat up in the backseat, wincing at the pain in his ribs. His movement woke up Quinn, who groaned softly, looking outside. Jayce turned the car off, unbuckling.

"Come on." he motioned for them to get out, and they followed him up the walkway to the front door. He knocked on the door, and stepped back, waiting for it to open. The door swung open, and Ella stood there, a glass of some kind of juice in her hand.

"Jayce." she smiled, hugging him. He chuckled, hugging her and rubbing her back.

"This must be Andreas and Quinn." she looked behind him, to the two bruised and battered friends. Quinn raised a tentative hand, waving nervously, and Andreas only smiled.

"Why don't you all come in, you look like shit." Ella chuckled, and led them inside to her kitchen.

"Lucas!" she called, motioning for them to sit down and grabbing a first aid kit from under her sink. Andreas and Quinn sat down, but Jayce stayed standing, seeing as he didn't have any injuries. She set to work stitching them up as footsteps came from above, and then came down the stairs.

"Did you call me? Are you okay?" Lucas asked as he rounded the corner into the kitchen, and saw Jayce standing there.

"Jayce." Lucas' eyes lit up, and he ran over, hugging the taller man tightly. Jayce smiled widely, hugging Lucas back. Lucas let him go, and Quinn stood up, pushing Ella away and throwing her arms around the man, having to stand on her toes to get her arms around his neck.

"Good to see you, Quinn." Lucas almost laughed, and she put her face on his shoulder. Lucas let her go after another minute, and Andreas rose from his chair, despite Ella making a noise of protest. He winced a little, holding his side, and looked at Lucas. Lucas locked eyes with him, and Jayce shifted a little, nudging his way in front of Lucas, the protective instinct kicking in.

"Nice to finally meet you. Lucas right?" Andreas held out a hand, and Jayce let out a breath of relief, moving away. Lucas shook Andreas' hand shakily, nodding a little.

"Yeah, Lucas Ryder." Lucas responded, and Andreas smiled a little.

"I'm Andreas." Andreas introduced himself, letting go of his hand. Lucas nodded again, and Ella forced Andreas to sit down again, resuming stitching his hand.

"It's good to see you guys again, I got worried." Lucas chuckled, and Jayce smiled a little.

"No need to worry about us. You knew we were coming back." Quinn waved a hand, and Lucas shrugged.

"I didn't know for sure." Lucas admitted, and there was a deafening silence that fell over the group. Ella finished stitching, and Andreas stood up, stretching a little.

"Thank you." he nodded his head a little in her direction, and she cleaned up the blood, throwing the everything back in the first aid kit.

"So... did you...?" Lucas looked between Jayce and Andreas, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Yes. I did." Jayce confirmed, blushing a little as he glanced at Andreas. Quinn pulled out her phone excitedly, waving it around.

"I got a picture of their first kiss!" Quinn exclaimed, and Jayce got even redder, glancing at Andreas as Lucas hurried over to see.

"Quinn. That's creepy." Andreas scolded as Lucas peered over her shoulder at the picture. Ella snuck a look too, smiling and chuckling softly as she went to put the first aid kit back under the sink.

"Well, what now?" Quinn looked at Jayce and Andreas, raising a brow.

"I am out of a job." Andreas sighed, running a hand over his jaw, and Jayce looked over, frowning a little.

"Well, you guys are welcome to stay here for as long as you need. I'm going to go home to Berlin, but this place will be empty for as long as you guys need it." Ella told them, leaning on the counter.

"I'm going to go back to the US." Jayce declared, and Andreas nodded.

"Me too." Andreas added, and Quinn looked around the house.

"As fun as it would be to stay here, I think I'm going to join you. My girlfriend is going to kill me when she finds out I went to Brazil without her." Quinn looked at the two, and then they all looked at Lucas.

"I think... I'm going to stay here. Just for a bit." Lucas decided, and Ella nodded, going upstairs for something.

"You'll be alright alone?" Jayce questioned, looking at his former client.

"Yeah. Of course." Lucas responded, and Jayce smiled a little, nodding.

"Alright. Take care. You always have my number if you need it." Jayce went over to him, patting his shoulder gently.

"Are you guys going to get out of here now?" Lucas inquired, and Quinn looked at the other two.

"Yeah. I need to talk to my boss." Jayce looked at Andreas and Quinn, who nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Then this is goodbye." Lucas let out a breath, hugging Quinn again, and then Jayce.

"Take care Lucas. You can always call me." Jayce patted his back gently, pulling away. They all went to the front door, and Andreas and Quinn went down to the car. Jayce stopped, turning back to look at Ella.

"Thank you for lending a hand. I owe you big time." Jayce hugged her once again, and she offered a small smile.

"You don't owe me anything. Take care Jayce." she pulled away, and he waved, walking down the walkway to the car, where he got in the driver's seat. Letting out a soft breath, he started the car, pulling away from the house and driving away.