The Monster's Little Angel

Chapter 35

It had been a week since the attacker incident and Archer was cooped up in his office, enraged at being unsuccessful with locating Edward. Ever since he had gotten the letter, he had been trying to find the scumbag but hadn't found a single trace of him. It was like Edward had disappeared off the face of the Earth after the letter showed up.

As Archer was alone with his raging thoughts, Quinn had just brought out some snacks for her, her Nanna and her Pop-pop. They had come over worrying about Quinn when they had heard of the attack and they had stayed with the two for the last 2 days.

Quinn stared worriedly at her father's office door, sad to know she hadn't seen him leave that room for the whole week. She began to feel depressed not having her father around, the man that had always been her comfort since birth. She worried about him becoming his old self, ignoring her like he had done all those years ago.

"Hey, baby girl, don't worry about your dad. I'm sure he's just got a lot of work to catch up on," her grandmother softly spoke, holding Quinn's hand in a gentle way, trying to reassure her.

"You're probably right Nanna but I'm worried. He's been this way ever since the attack," Quinn explained, staring sorrowfully into her grandmother's dazzling blue eyes.

Her grandmother was about to say something when footsteps sounded. Ashton walked into the living room, a concerned look in his dark eyes once they connected with Quinn's sorrowful grey ones.

Quinn rushed over to him and he instantly engulfed her into a comforting embrace. She cried on his shoulder as he led her back to the couch. He sat down and looked over at her grandparents, who stared over at their granddaughter with sympathy.

"Nice to see you again, ma'am, sir," Ashton greeted as he soothingly ran his fingers through Quinn's hair.

"Nice to see you too, Ashton." Quinn's grandmother smiled, though it was small and less than joyful.

"Quinn, sweetpea," her grandfather began, "Would you be a dear and please make your poor, old Pop-pop and Nanna some tea?"

Quinn wiped away the stray tears that managed to leak out and gave him a warm grin, "Sure, Pop-pop. It's still earl grey for you and chamomile for Nanna, right?"

"Yes, dear."

Quinn happily got off the couch and began skipping to the kitchen. Ashton liked the fact that she was smiling again but something wasn't right about it.

"She puts up a good façade, doesn't she?" her grandfather blurted, making Ashton's gaze fall onto him.

"Excuse me, sir?" Ashton questioned.

"Quinn may have a beautiful smile but it's obvious to see when she puts on a fake one."

"Ashton, do you know the real reason Quinn and her father moved to Miami?" her grandmother questioned, no longer having her grandma-like smile.

"For mafia business, right?" Ashton replied.

Quinn's grandmother shook her head as her grandfather replied, "That's not true at all. Archer came here to get away from California. The reason is a lot deeper than you could possibly imagine. Quinn doesn't even know the real reason."

"What is the real reason?"

"Did Quinn ever tell you about the incident that occurred when she was four years old, at her father's 30th birthday party?"

Ashton was silent for a second. He was scared to know what happened and worried if what happened then was affecting her now.

"No, what happened?" he finally asked.

"She was kidnapped by our son's worst enemy, the same man who murdered Monica. They actually used to be best friends before the incident," her grandfather explained.

"What did they do to her?" Ashton asked, starting to worry about Quinn even more.

He noticed her grandfather's fists clench, hard enough to make his knuckles turn page white while a sour expression loomed on his face. "They mentally abused her. They kept whipping the ground around her, scarring her mind. She was so different after that and it took five years for her to smile again and to actually leave her father's side. But the scars are still there and Major is proof enough of that." He suddenly looked up at Asthon, a smal smile gracing his lips, "That is why we're so happy she has you, Ashton. You give her so many reasons to smile and we're so happy to see her smile again."

"Why did they move away from California?" Ashton asked, getting back to the main question.

"The man who kidnapped Quinn and killed Moinca is called Edward. After an incident between him and Archer, he swore revenge. It was just after Quinn's 16th birthday that Archer received a note from Edward. He was coming after Quinn again. To protect her, he made them move here."

Ashton sat there on the couch, stiff and in deep thought. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Yet, he still had more questions, only one he was sure he wanted an answer to.

"What did Archer do to make Edward hate him so much?" he softly asked.

Her grandfather leaned closer to Ashton and whispered the answer in his ear so that no one else could hear. Afterall, what they were discussing was something Archer had forbidden anyone from talking about. Ashton's eyes widened and he stared at the old man in disbelief.

After a while of shock, he got up to go check on Quinn, since she had been absent for quite some time. But what he really wanted was time to consume the information he was given. He didn't think that Archer was capable of such a monsterous thing and he was definitely sure that Quinn didn't know about it.

As he entered the kitchen, he saw Quinn sobbing into her one hand, trying to muffle her sobs, while the other was holding her up, resting on the counter. Her grandparents' tea was already done, steaming with heat. Ashton's heart broke at the sight of her crying. He really didn't like seeing her upset.

"Quinn," he called to her, making her look over at him.

"I'm worried about my dad, Ashton. He's becoming like his old self - distant, cold, tempermental. Just like he was before I was kidnapped. He may have smiled back then but I knew it was fake." There was a long pause as a few more tears slid down her flushed cheeks. "Ashton. . .what if he pushes me away again? I don't think I could live with the fact that the only parent I have doesn't even want me to be near him. That he hates me."

She felt strong arms wrap themselves protectively around her, kissing her forehead softly. She looked up into his gentle, dark eyes and kissed Ashton's smooth lips, his presence easily comforting her.

"He could never hate you, babe. He can hate a lot of people but he can most definitely never hate you," Ashton softly spoke once they broke their kiss, holding her soothingly in his arms.

He needed Quinn to calm his mind. He needed her to forget the ugly and horrible truth that was being hidden from her. All he needed was her safe in his arms, that was enough to put him at ease.