17
QUINN
Ipull into my driveway feeling the tug of exhaustion pulling me towards my bed. It’s been a great day of painting and socializing, but I am beyond ready to crash. Getting out of my car, I grab my stuff and walk into the kitchen, closing the garage door with a push of the button.
Now that Hailey isn’t here, the house feels a little emptier and a lot quieter, but it’s starting to feel like home. I haven’t gotten all of my decorations put up, but that will come soon. Maybe I can convince Cooper to help me hang up some of my paintings. I walk over to my studio to check on how my recent painting is drying. Sometimes colors can change as they dry, so I want to double-check it’s still looking okay.
As I walk into the room, something feels off. Like the tranquility of my favorite place has been disrupted, but I don’t understand why. I look around and realize my paintbrushes have been switched around, and my storage bins aren’t as tidy as they were when I left.
I usually clean up and organize after I have a paint session so it’s ready to go anytime I get an itch to paint. I know it’s a little anal-retentive, but everything has its place so that while I’m painting I can quickly grab whatever I need without spending time searching for it.
My brain starts moving on overdrive trying to rationalize what I’m seeing. Maybe I didn’t clean up quite as well as I thought. I did lose track of time earlier and had to hurry to make it over to Megan’s. I walk over to look at my bins and realize my paints have been mixed up as well, and that chaos confirms my fears.
Someone else did this.
I feel the panic rise in my chest as I try to figure out what to do now. I back out of my studio and walk into my kitchen to get my phone, taking deep breaths the whole way to stop my panic from overwhelming me. My hands shake as I call Cooper because he’s the first person who came to mind, and I know he’d both help me and make me feel better.
“Hey there. I was just thinking about you,” Cooper says softly. In any other circumstance, I would be melting at his words, but this is not a normal situation. I take a deep breath so I don’t lose it over the phone.
“Cooper, I think someone was in my house.”
Cooper’s tone immediately turns serious, “What do you mean?”
“I just got home from Megan’s and wanted to check on my painting, but when I walked in, I noticed my studio had been rearranged. My paintbrushes and bins of paint had all been moved.”
“And you’re sure you didn’t leave it like that before you left?” Cooper asks.
“No, I have a system I stick to, and I have never ended a session with my studio looking like this. Cooper, what do I do?” I feel myself starting to get hysterical.
Someone I don’t know was in my house. Someone I don’t know touched my things.
I feel a tingle in my spine like I’m being watched, and I look around the half-lit rooms of my house, making sure no one is there.
“Take a deep breath, Quinn, it’s going to be fine. Go get in your car with the garage door open, and don’t go anywhere until I get there. Okay?”
“Okay, I’m going now,” I respond as I walk back through my kitchen and out to my garage.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Cooper says in a soft voice.
“Thank you,” I say quietly once I’m sitting in the driver’s seat of my car.
“Stay on the phone with me, honey. Tell me about your night. How were Megan and the girls?” I take a deep breath feeling incredibly grateful for Cooper and his ability to know I need to think about something else right now.
“The girls were great. Natalie couldn’t be there, but we still had a good time.”
“I’m glad you were able to hang out with them. We’ve all been close since we were in school together.”
“I heard all about it. They have some pretty funny stories from your school days,” I say, giggling at all the hilarious stories the girls shared with me.
“Whatever they told you was exaggerated,” Cooper says emphatically, which only makes me laugh harder.
“So, you and Todd didn’t throw up on each other after riding a rollercoaster at the fair?” I tease him since he so easily teases me.
“That was food poisoning, not the rollercoaster,” Cooper says sullenly.
“I’m sure it was.”
I see his truck pull into the driveway, so I hang up the phone. Once he’s parked, I get out of my car and walk towards him as he opens his door and gracefully slides out.