Dog Tags

Chapter 27

Quinn's POV

I yank my hand away from Jared looking at him like he lost his mind by putting his hands on me like that, "I don't need a lecture from you Jared."Jared puts his arm on the wall blocking my path, "You think I am bad, just wait until dad comes home." I never thought that I would see the day that Jared and I didn't have each other's back. "After everything you and I have been through,after all the times that we covered for each other, you are just going to throw me under the bus." Jared face flashes with anger, "Don't play the sibling card right now Quinn, this is a completely different situation." I duck under his arm and head for the stairs but before I can make it over there Jared moves around me blocking my path from the stairs,

"Was a completely different situation when I had to come and stay with you in your college fraternity house because you ended up in the hospital and couldn't take care of yourself?" Jared pushes his hair back as frustration builds in his eyes, "I never told dad what happened because you asked me not to, and now I am asking you not to tell dad what happened tonight because it was nothing." He shakes his head at me, "You are really going to stand there and lie to me, I know what I saw on that porch tonight Quinn." I sigh because if Jared knew how awful and guilty I already feel then he wouldn't be integrating me right now. "I caught you in a full make out session with Nick Romero of all people." Jared looks at me with his disappointed eyes that remind me so much of our dad,

"It was a careless mistake Jared, it shouldn't have happened but it did, and I can't change that." I can feel tears start to fill my eyes and I know that Jared can see them too. "What about Brenton? Were you even thinking about how this would affect him?" I wipe my eyes of the tears letting my tempter get the best of me. "OF COURSE I THOUGHT ABOUT BRENTON! I THINK ABOUT HIM ALMOST EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY, BUT EVERYONE AROUND ME HAS BEEN TELLING ME NOT TO THINK ABOUT HIM SO MUCH AND FOCUS ON ME!" I yell at Jared getting in his face a little bit,

"Today at the movies with Nick was the first time in a while that I was able to take my mind off everything that has been going on around me, and I feel like after everything that I have been through just in the last couple of months I deserve just a few hours of shutting the outside world out." Jared wraps his arms around me giving me a huge hug, "I can understand that little sister, and I am sorry for not being there for you more." I hug him back wanting nothing more right now then for someone to understand that I am not a bad person or a bad girlfriend, I just let myself get caught up in the moment. Jared and I pull out of our hug,

"You and everyone else have been there for me as much as you can, but I do know that you all have your life to live and shouldn't be worried about me all the time." Jared lets out a laugh as he kisses my forehead, "If you think that we are going to let up on you then you don't know your family and friends that well." I let out laugh when suddenly something comes to my mind that I can't believe that I didn't notice sooner. "How do you know Nick? I thought that today was the first time you met him?" Jared puts his hands in the pockets of his shorts and leans against the stair post, 

"I played it off like today was the first time I have met him, but the truth is that I know Nick from college because we were in the same fraternity, and we did some of the same extracurricular activities." I know that Jared isn't telling me the whole truth and from what Nick told me about his time in college it is starting to scare me. "What kind of extracurricular activities?" Jared lets out a huge sigh as he takes my hand and leads me over to the couch where the two of us sit down. "When you came to take care of me at the fraternity house, do you remember how bad of shape I was in?" I nod my head because I will always remember that, no matter how much I try to forget it.

"Of course I do, I have never seen you in that kind of shape before." Nick lets out a deep breath as he turns his whole body towards me. ""I told you the reason that I go that way was because I got into a fight with a guy on campus, but that was completely true." I look at Jared kind of taken back that he would feel the need to lie to me, ""The truth is that I got that way because of a fight, but the part that I never told you was that the fight was on purpose and the reason it was on purpose was because I was part of a private fight club at a club called Pride and Honor." I slap him as hard as I can upside his head and start swatting at him, 

"Are you kidding me Jared, anything could have happened to you, for heaven sake you could have died." I say as Jared grabs my hands to stop me from hitting him. ""I know that is why after you left back to go back home I got out and I have been out ever since." I am still mad with him for lying to me but I am still wondering why he is telling me this. "But what does any of that have to do with Nick?" I ask and from the look on Jared's face I was about to get my answer, "Nick Romero was part of the private fight club,in fact he was the reigning champion there until he graduated and made a lot of money doing it." This spends my body into total shock because I was not expecting that at all.

As I try to wrap my brain around the information my brother just told me I just stare at my brother, "That explains a few things but it doesn't explain why everyone including you now are telling me to stay far away from him." Jared sighs running his hand through his hair again and I know that he is holding something back but I just have to trust that if I needed to know then he would tell me. "He just has a certain reputation around here that makes the people that love you concerned." I stand up from the couch and give him a kiss on his cheek,

"I am going to bed, it has been a long day and an even longer night." I start walking up the stairs before turning around, "Jared, did you make money off your fights?" Jared nods his head with a small sly smile on his face, "How do you think I paid for my college education?" I shake my head and I know I am disappointed in Jared for doing something so life threatening but on the other hand I know it could have been a lot worse. "Goodnight Jared." I say and as I reach the top step I hear Jared's voice, "Night little sister." I smile entering my room feeling lucky that I have a brother like him in my life.