The Sullivan Sisters

The Elephant in the Room

On the first day of kindergarten, Quinn peed on herself. Being the excruciatingly shy five-year-old that she was, she deemed asking one of the two adults in the classroom—the teacher and the teacher's assistant—for permission to go to the bathroom as being far scarier than releasing herself on the reading carpet...right smack dab in the middle of class.

Even with her being no older than half a decade, that day, she became well acquainted with mortifying embarrassment and insufferable discomfort. Well, that night, with Mickey's—or, correction—Michael's hands loosely wrapped around her sister's waist as they shared a gentle laugh that Quinn wasn't a part of, she felt the exact same way she did ten years prior.

"Is that a hint of Lysol that I'm smelling? In this apartment?" Michael teased.

Paloma weaseled her way out of his tender hold and giggled. "We may or may not have taken it upon ourselves to prepare for your arrival. It was Quinn's idea. Took a page out of your book, I suppose, neat freak."

One visit to Michael's apartment was all it took for Paloma to realize she was dating someone who prided himself greatly for deeming a house insufficiently clean if even one article of clothing was out of place, one speck of dust coated the furniture, or one dirty dish sat idly in the kitchen sink.

Even Quinn knew that. As a matter of fact, she was sure that she knew that, along with everything else about him, better than anyone in the world. His favorite food—humus. Favorite animal—seal. Favorite genre of film—documentary.

She could go on and on for years without stopping and even then, she wouldn't have been able to do the man justice. Quinn doubted with everything in her that Paloma knew even a quarter of the things she knew about him, and, most importantly, she doubted that her sister ever could.

Michael followed Paloma's gaze to Quinn and let out a biting chuckle. "I think I like her already."

"Impeccably clean or not, we like it. Don't we, Quinn?"

The teenager in question flashed the biggest smile she could conjure up, then nodded. She wasn't surprised to see that Michael's expression was just as strained as her own.

"But," Paloma drawled, "we may not be cleaning this apartment for too long. The lease is nearly up on this place and I've been doing a bit of...house hunting, lately."

The man's eyebrows climbed. "Is that so?" Michael never considered himself much of an actor, but his ability to mask his distress even surprised himself. Surely, it had the same effect on Quinn.

Paloma rubbed her hands together somewhat nervously. "I had been wrestling with the thought for a while—whether or not to renew my lease. But once Quinn and I started living together, I figured now was as good a time as any to get serious."

Quinn readily met the brunette's gaze once she smiled at her warmly. "I found a really beautiful two-story house. Three bedrooms, two baths—the whole nine yards. It's in a great neighborhood; all within a ten-minute walk of a ton of stores, a coffee shop, and even an adorable little diner. Plus, it's still in this district, so you wouldn't have to change schools again. It's within my price range and I'm seriously considering sealing the deal, but only after you come and see it. I think you'd fall in love with it."

"Yeah," the girl mustered out. "I'm sure I would. It sounds great."

Paloma gleamed. "I was gonna wait to say something, but, shit, I'm too excited!" She giggled yet again, mindlessly running her right hand along Michael's back; inviting him to lovingly throw an arm around her shoulder. Quinn turned away, hoping to conceal her contempt as much as possible.