Chapter 37 37
Harmony's POV
Utter shock at Quinn's words made my jaw drop.
I had suspected Quinn knew Aaron. The photos on her laptop had made that clear enough. But this new piece of information, Quinn being with Aaron in that car, walking away from the crash while he didn't and carrying that for a whole year without saying anything to anyone, this was something I had not prepared myself for.
I had met Aaron Foster twice during my time at Loyola University, back when I was still working under Dr Bennett. The first time, he had been charming, exactly how people said he was, so easy to talk to, and genuinely interested in the recovery plan Dr Bennett was putting together for a shoulder injury he had picked up on the ice. I remembered thinking that I could see why people loved him, because Aaron had that natural gravity that pulled people to him.
The second time he came in, he had been different. Snappy and erratic, his shoulders taut and his answers short. Something had changed between the first visit and the second, and I had known it the moment he walked through the door, but it hadn't been in my place to ask. I had been a mere assistant, after all.
But everything had gone downhill for me shortly after that second visit. My entire world had collapsed within weeks, and I had been too busy trying to survive the fallout to think about Aaron Foster and whatever had been bothering him.
Now, I was thinking about it.
"When did the accident happen again?" I asked Quinn.
She wiped her red, blotchy face with the back of her hand. "October fourteenth, last year."
I did the math in my head. Aaron's second visit to Dr Bennett had been October ninth. Five days before the crash.
"He came to see Dr Bennett the week before," I muttered out loud. "Did you know that?"
Quinn looked up at me. "I knew he was seeing someon for his shoulder, but he wouldn't tell me who."
I nodded slowly. "He came in twice. The first time he was fine and normal. But the second time, he was angry. Something had changed."
Quinn's face crumpled again, and I reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. I didn't know what else to do. Shr clearly barely holding herself together.
"I'm sorry," she managed to gasp out. "I'm so sorry, Harmony. I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't even know if I should tell you, because you're on my list of—"
She stopped herself, and I looked at her. "List of what?"
She shook her head. "Suspects, you know, people who might have been involved in my boyfriend's death. You worked for Bennett, you were there during the time Aaron was seeing him, and I didn't know if you knew what Bennett was doing or if you were just another person he had used."
She stared at me with red, swollen eyes. "I'm sorry. I know now that you didn't know, but I had to be careful."
I absorbed that quietly. I couldn't even be angry about her suspecting me of being involved in her boyfriend's death, because if I had been in her position, I probably would have done the same thing.
"There's more to this than you're telling me," I pointed out.
"Yes," Quinn admitted.
"And you're not going to tell me everything yet?"
"Not yet," she agreed. "But I will, eventually. When I can figure out how all the pieces fit together."
I nodded. That was fair. I had my own pieces I was still trying to fit together, my own questions I didn't have answers to, and I knew better than anyone how hard it was to trust people with incomplete information.
Just then, the pocket of my lab coat pocket vibrated. I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: Hey sis. I know you're probably busy and our last conversation didn't go down well, but I still need help. Just a small amount, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't urgent. $200 would get me out of a really bad spot RN. I'll pay you back I promise.
I stared at the message. Benji... of course it was Benji. It was always Benji, showing up when he needed something and disappearing the moment he got it, leaving me to deal with the wreckage of whatever situation he had gotten himself into this time.
The bitter taste in my mouth was so familiar that I barely registered it anymore. I locked the phone and put it back in my pocket. One problem at a time.
"How have you been managing since you left the apartment?" I asked Quinn.
She laughed. "I've been moving around. I stayed with a friend for a few days, Maddie, the girl who dragged me in here. She's in my journalism program, she offered me her spare room when I told her I needed somewhere fast. But then, those men came for me, and they killed the guy who was supposed to give me more info on Bennett. I couldn't stay with Maddie. I couldn't put her in danger like that. So I left again."
"Where are you staying now?"
"A motel on the south side," Quinn replied. "It's not great, but it's cheap and nobody asks questions." She looked down at her hands. "I'm burning through my savings faster than I thought I would."
I looked at her for a moment, this girl who had been carrying the heaviness of Aaron Foster's death by herself for a year, moving from place to place, watching people get hurt, refusing to let anyone close enough to help because she was terrified they would end up dead.
"You could move back in with me," I offered. "I still haven't gotten a replacement."
Quinn's head snapped up. "What?"
"The landlord has been on my case about finding a roommate to split the rent with, and he gave me an extension but I'm running out of time." I shrugged. "You need somewhere to stay, and I need someone to help with rent. It makes sense for you to come back."
"Harmony, no." Quinn shook her head. "I can't. If Bennett's men trace me back to that apartment, you'll be in the line of fire, and I can't do that to you. I won't."
"You won't be doing it to me," I replied. "I'm choosing to offer, okay?"
"But..."
"You said it yourself, Quinn. People are dead because he tried to help you. You've been alone with this for a year, moving from place to place and watching your back every second of every day. That's not sustainable and you know it. But you are not alone anymore. I know exactly what Dr Bennett is capable of, I know the lengths he will go to to cover his tracks, and I am telling you right now that you are not going to keep doing this by yourself."
Quinn looked at me for a long moment, her eyes still red and swollen, and her face a mess of bruises and exhaustion. "Will you tell me about your history with Dr Bennett?"
I gave her a small smile. "Only if you move back in."
Quinn snorted out a laugh. "Alright, I'll think about it."
"Good enough for now." I patted her knee. "I'm going to arrange for the pharmacy to send you some pain medication and something to help you sleep. You look like you haven't had a proper night's rest in weeks."
"I haven't," she admitted.
"Then that's the first thing we should fix." I stood up and unlocked the door. "Go and find Maddie and tell her you're okay. And think about what I said."
Quinn nodded, wiping her face one more time with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Harmony."
"Don't thank me yet," I replied. "We still have a lot of work ahead of us."
I stepped out of the examination room and pulled my phone from my pocket as I walked down the corridor. The message from Benji was still there, and I knew from experience that if I didn't reply soon he would send three more, each one progressively more desperate than the last.
Time to deal with my brother.