Denial

Chapter Nineteen: Family Reunited

Reed

I pulled back from Quincy when the doorbell rang, confused. Who else was coming? It's not like we had anymore family members that came to this dinner.

Watching the door as my dad pulled it open, I saw a man and a woman standing outside.

"Renaldo! It's great to see you again," the woman said cheerfully, stepping inside.

As soon as she had spoken, Quincy stiffened in my arms before slowly turning around. The woman gasped slightly when her eyes landed on my boyfriend.

"Hi Aunt Karen," Quincy said. This was his aunt? Why was she here?

"Quincy?" she asked, like she couldn't wrap her head around why he was here. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah," he said simply, still not moving out of my arms. I didn't want to let go of him either. Obviously there was something going on between them that I wasn't sure I liked.

She smiled widely before turning to the man she had walked in with. "Dave, look! Oh my God. Quincy, it's really you!"

"What are you doing here?" Quincy asked, backing up slightly into me. I tightened my arms around him. "Is this what you used to do when you would leave me at home for weeks at a time? Just travel around the country, stopping by family dinners when you're not even their family?"

Something was definitely up between them. Quincy doesn't get like this. And to his actual family? I may have been an ass to my family for a while, but Quincy wasn't me. He was a whole lot nicer than me. And the way that came out of his mouth was downright nasty.

His aunt looked hurt. "Is that why you left, Quin? You thought we weren't there for you?"

He shook his head but didn't reply as he unwrapped himself from my arms, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me back down the hallway towards my room. As soon as we were there, he closed the door and leaned his back against it.

"Why are they here?" he asked softly. "Them, out of all people?"

I shook my head, starting to feel bad for bringing him. "I've never seen them before in my life. Honestly, I didn't know anyone else was coming. Sorry."

"It's alright. It's just a shock, that's all. I never expected to see them again, ever."

I didn't know what to do. This isn't what I'm good at doing - comforting people. He wasn't crying, thank god, but he still looked upset. I didn't do well with emotions.

I still hadn't figured out what to say when there was a knock on my door. "Renny? Quincy? Are you guys okay?" I rolled my eyes at my younger sister just as Quincy pulled open the door. "Thank god you guys are clothed."

"What do you want?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

She closed the door again before copying my movement. "I came to apologize to your boyfriend."

"What?" Quincy asked, stepping closer to us. "Why?"

Reya turned to him, dropping her arms. "'Cause I invited them. David is helping me with my service project this semester. Them and my parents have gotten pretty close, so we figured, why not have them over too?"

Quincy made a face before going over and sitting on my bed, tucking his knees into his chest.

"Just 'cause you're working together doesn't give you an excuse to just invited them over for dinner like this."

She rolled her eyes. "Well I didn't even know you were going to be here, let alone their missing nephew!"

I glanced over at Quincy when she said that, but he showed no reaction to even hearing it. It wasn't until Reya started talking again that I realized she was speaking in Spanish.