Dark Paradise

Quinn let out an angry sigh and looked over at her husband as she threw down her dish towel. TJ, along with his wife and daughter, had just left after a delicious but very uncomfortable meal. Emma was upstairs giving Luca a bath while Jonathan and Quinn took care of the dishes. The blonde pulled out of her husband’s hug as he tried to apologize.

“I can’t believe that stupid friend of yours brought those two here. I mean, what the hell is he thinking would happen, huh?” Quinn ranted as she rinsed off a few knives.

Jon took a slow and cautious step back when he saw the extremely sharp and dangerous knives in his wife’s hands, “I honestly have no idea. He doesn’t exactly think about consequences when he does shit.”

Quinn tossed the knives into the dishwasher causing Jonathan to let out a sign of relief. She ran a hand through her hair angrily, “I mean, I thought him getting that fucking perm was the most idiotic thing he could’ve done but this? This just takes it to a whole new level.”

“I’m supposed to meet him tomorrow morning, should I say something?” Jon asked only to receive a rather nasty look from his wife, “I’ll take that as a yes.” The hockey player shoved his hands in his pockets and left the room in the hopes that leaving Quinn alone would give her a chance to cool down for a minute.

Upstairs, Emma could faintly hear Quinn from upstairs but did her best to ignore it. Everything had become a blur since she sat down in the living room with Quinn and Kayla. There was mention of her new job, hockey, family, and weddings. Luca was splashing around in the bubbles and swimming to China while his mother brought her knees to her chest as she leaned against the wall, one hand lazily floating in the water. She couldn’t help but feel thankful for the fact that tomorrow was Wednesday which meant she had to go to work. Being gone the majority of the day cut down on the amount of possibilities where Emma could have run into TJ and his new family.

There was a soft knock on the door finally pulling the brunette out of her own mind. She pulled her hand out of the warm water and readjusted her bracelet before getting up and unlocking the door. Jon stood on the other side with a plastic sail boat. “Where the hell did that come from?” She asked as he stepped into the room.

Jon laughed, a barely noticeable blush dashed across his cheeks, “What, just because i’m a grown man doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a sail boat or two in the bath.”

“Jon, you’re almost thirty. Those aren’t exactly the type of ‘toy’ I would have expected you to be using.” Emma smirked leaning against the counter.

He scrunched his eyebrows together as he sat beside the edge of the bathtub, “What the heck is that supposed to mean?”

Emma shook her head, “Enjoy your ‘bro time’. I’m going to go talk to Q.”

She shut the door gently behind her and let a sad smile creep across her face. Jonathan had been such a dominant male figure in her son’s life, more than his own fathers. He would make such an amazing father one day to his own children. Emma jogged down the stairs and found Quinn sitting at the island staring angrily at her cell phone. The brunette rested a gentle hand on her friend’s back as she occupied the seat beside her, “If you stare at it any harder, it might burst into flames or something.”

Quinn let out a dry laugh, “If only that worked on humans.”

“I take you’re thinking about our lovely dinner guests then.” Emma mused pulling her hand back. She stared at the gold infinity bracelet around her wrist and sighed heavily, “It was definitely an interesting evening. I’m glad he’s happy though you know?”

“Just stop trying to fool me, Em. You still love him, okay, we all know it.” Quinn looked at her friend with sad eyes, “I mean, you still wear the bracelet he gave you on your wedding day.”

Emma frowned, “It’s a nice piece of jewelry is all it is!”

Quinn raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure?”

“I mean, yeah. It’s just something nice to wear on my wrist.” Emma stated, almost trying to convince herself more than anything else, “I can take it off anytime I want to.”

“Right now, take it off.” Quinn challenged, she watched as her friend struggle for an answer, “You wear it because you still love him. I bet you don’t realize it, but almost every time you talk to your son, your running your fingers over that piece of metal with the same sad smile”

The brunette stood from the stool and walked to the other end of the kitchen, “What do you want me to do, Quinn? He was my husband. He is the father of my child! I’m not going to stand here and try and apologize for still loving him. I’m trying to be happy for him, okay?” Her voice cracked slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, “He finally got what he wanted.”

Quinn ran a hand through her hair and walked over to her friend, pulling her into a hug, “We’ll get through this.”

The next morning, after everyone was off to work or school, Jon met up with TJ at a little diner tucked away on a small side street. Both men arrived donning baseball caps pulled down low and sunglasses. As much as they loved their fans, the conversation they would be having today was not one they wanted someone to walk in on. They were seated in a back corner, isolated from the rest of the restaurant per request.

After ordering and being served their food, Jon took a deep breath, “You got me in shit last night with the wife, man.”

“Me, How? I told you guys we were coming. Did you forget to tell her or something?” TJ popped a piece of bacon in his mouth.

Jon shook his head and took a bite of his pancakes, “She’s super pissed you brought Kayla and the baby, especially since you know Emma and Luca live there too.”

TJ still didn’t understand, “It’s been four years, Jonny. She seemed fine last night when we were over.”

“That’s because you weren’t paying attention. After you left though man, Quinn tore me a new one. She went off ranting about how stupid you were!” He paused to take a sip of his water before continuing, “I mean what the hell man. If it were any other woman, sure. This is Kayla though... as in, the woman you left your wife and unborn child for.”

“Hey,” TJ warned, “I didn’t leave my unborn child. My child was taken from me.”

“You sure as hell did a pretty good job fighting for her to stay then, eh? You seemed real concerned when you decided to marry Kayla.” At that point, Jon found himself feeling irritated with blonde before him, “So what are you saying? You would’ve tossed the papers out the window if you knew she was pregnant?”

TJ shrugged, “I guess so, I don’t see why not.”

“You’re my best friend, and I love you,” Jon started before dishing out his final thoughts on the subject matter, “but having a baby doesn’t strengthen a weak couple. You had already checked out of that relationship... don’t even think you checked in.” His phone started vibrating in his pocket as he cleaned off his side of bacon. Seeing Quinn’s name pop up, Jon excused himself from the table allowing TJ to process all his friend had just told him.