Bayside Queens (BoyxMan)

12.

12.

Quinn

I fell asleep on the couch after Carter left, watching reruns of Friends until my eyes started drooping. When I woke up, it was almost 4 PM and I was starving. I made my way over to his adorably blue kitchen, still rubbing my eyes. I barely even noticed the perfectly cut PBJ and tall glass of chocolate milk sitting on the kitchen table. There were fresh yellow roses in the clear vase that once held withering sunflowers. A post it with my name on it was stuck down on the table next to the sandwich. I pulled out the chair and sat down, picking up the post-it with my stomach in knots. CJ had done all this.

Q-

Didn't want to wake you. Eat, then do some of your homework please.

I'll be home around five.

Carter

I almost squealed, but luckily I caught myself. He called himself Carter, a name only I called him. It made my chest swell with a sense of secrecy and pride. I devoured the PBJ and chugged the milk, then grabbed a bag of Doritos from the cabinet and sat back down on the couch, which really was not a comfortable piece of furniture. It was one of those regal looking things with a curved back and elegantly curved wooden legs. The soft covering was a light blue though, and that made me smile.

I had barely gotten through six chips before the door to CJ's apartment was opening. I glanced at the TV clock, my eyebrows furrowing. There was still another hour until he said he would be home.

But it wasn't CJ. It was the perky positive blonde who haunted my nightmares.

"Spinner! What are you doing here, hun?" she asked, with a genuine smile of course, placing down a designer bag and a purse next to the door. She didn't wait for my answer, but instead went over and placed two bags of groceries on the counter. My eyes followed her well-fitting black dress and nude pumps as she walked across the room. She looked professional but absolutely gorgeous. It made me sigh.

I didn't really know how to answer her. Sorry, your boyfriend and I are sleeping in the same bed for a while because I got the shit kicked out of me. Yeah that wouldn't really work. But I would have to go into my whole foster care shit if I were to explain everything and I really didn't have the energy.

"I'm staying here," I told her, sparing the details but deciding to be truthful. She made her way back to my seated figure.

"Well I'm glad you are," she said simply. "I bought a bunch of stuff to make dinner and could use an extra set of hands if you're interested?" she asked me, a kind and gentle tone to her hopeful question. I rolled up the bag of chips and nodded, getting up. It would give me something to do at least.

"Awesome. I have some chicken to grill and potatoes to fry and a salad to make. I also bought some cookie dough," she explained as we walked back towards his quaint kitchen. As I watched her hips sway I wondered why CJ hadn't mentioned her arrival to me. Lucy dug through one of the plastic bags and pulled out the long chunky roll of slice-and-bake dough. "Chocolate chip is our favorite."

I resisted the urge to sneer at the mention of her and Carter paired together as an "our." He told me they were fucking each other not having children together. Carter and I were supposed to be the "our." It just worked better that way.

Lucy began pulling out pans and organizing ingredients while I stood there awkwardly rubbing my arm. She kept sneaking glances at the stitches under my eye and I knew she was too polite to ask what the hell happened to me.

"I got in a fight," I blurted out randomly, just as Luce was chopping up tomatoes for the salad. She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and I knew she could tell I was lying. I didn't fight anyone, I got beat up. There was a difference and she knew that.