The Resurrection of Aubrey Miller(44)

Turning away from Quinn, my movements slow when I see Kaeleb still sitting at the table with a concrete scowl as he stares across the room. I follow his gaze until my eyes land on the source of his anger and my body freezes where I stand. The whole room disappears as I hone in on the sight in front of me.
Josh’s head rises from Sabrina’s neck as her leg unwraps from around his waist. She remains pressed against the wall behind her, but his arms soon cage her in as he lowers his face and kisses her deeply.
Once their lips meet, I jump into action. Snagging my shoes from the floor, I march past Kaeleb, who’s already rising from his seat and falls into step with me.
Quinn’s voice comes from behind us, but the only sound I can hear is the roaring in my ears. Still shamefully melded together, they don’t notice as we approach. With Quinn on my heels, she runs right into my back when I hastily stop only a foot from where they stand.
“What the—”
Quinn’s voice is replaced with a gasp, followed by a soft whimper. The pain in her tone slices right through the blaring music and the heartbeat in my ears, muting all the other sounds around me.
All I can hear now is her cries. Each one released further fuels my anger as I siphon them, pumping her agony into my heart and churning it into a fiery rage as it boils over inside of me.
Kaeleb reaches forward and grabs Josh by the collar, heaving him backward and easily tossing him to the floor. Sabrina stumbles, but soon rights herself as she takes in the three of us standing in front of her.
There is no surprise in her features.
No apology.
No remorse.
Just pure maliciousness streaming from her * expression as her eyes land on Quinn.
And then she smiles.
“Poor Quinn,” she sighs, “I guess Josh is all mine now.”
“Josh?” Quinn’s broken voice comes from behind me. “Is this true?”
I watch as he rises from the floor, avoiding her eyes while straightening his shirt from Kaeleb’s attack. He moves to stand by Sabrina, giving Quinn no answer other than placing his arm around Sabrina’s shoulders.
Fucking *.
She throws her head back in laughter before she drops her eyes to Quinn, her whimsical expression settling into contempt.
“It was a long time coming, sweetie. And I can’t say that I blame him.” She tsks as she shrugs her shoulders. “I warned you about that muffin top.”
Another heartbreaking sob comes from behind me as Josh barks out a laugh, setting everything into motion. Kaeleb rears back and hauls his fist across Josh’s face, snapping his head backward. He crashes into the wall behind him before crumpling to the ground. I leap forward, throwing my shoes to the side, and snatch Sabrina by the shoulder. Pulling her face into mine, I shout, “You f*cking jealous bitch!” and clench the top of her dress tightly. I hold her in place as my open hand flies across her face.
Sabrina gasps and lifts her fingers to cover the red welts rising on her face. Once she feels them with her fingertips, her face contorts with anger. “Fuck you and your loser friends, freak!”
Her hands fly toward my face, but I swipe them away with little effort. Rage takes over as I dig my nails into the skin of her shoulder and move to strike her again, but I’m stopped short when I feel an arm snake around my waist, and as I’m pulled away from her, a guttural scream releases from my mouth. I claw at the arm and kick my legs, but it’s useless. I’m lifted off the ground, still thrashing and screaming at Sabrina, and brought into Kaeleb’s side. As he turns us away, I come face-to-face with Quinn who’s tucked securely underneath his other arm. Her hands cup over her glasses as she bawls from within the safety of his hold.
My feet drag the ground as he half-carries, half-drags me away from the scene in haste, most likely trying to get us out of here before security arrives. As we arrive at our table, my eyes remain glued to Quinn and I choke on a sob as the reality of what just happened drives more tears down my face.
Kaeleb releases Quinn but maintains his hold on me as he collects our belongings from the chairs. Once he’s done, he wraps his arm tightly around Quinn’s shoulders, whispering in her ear and kissing her on the temple as he leads us toward the door.
She leans into him and clutches his jacket, burying her face deeply. Her shoulders shake with sobs, and my heart shatters as her anguish pierces my chest. I reach across Kaeleb’s body and wrap my hand around the back of her head, trying to comfort her as we make our way outside.
But it’s no use.
The cold air hits my bare feet, but I don’t care. I finally find my footing and pull her tightly into me. Our heads hover together against Kaeleb’s chest as he directs us and I refuse to let go of her until we arrive at the car.
Kaeleb finally releases me, opening the passenger door and shuffling me inside. After chucking our belongings on the floorboard, he shuts me in and I watch through the window as he releases Quinn. Placing his hands on her head, he forces her to face him as he speaks. His gestures are emphatic, even going so far as to shake her gently when she looks away. Quinn stares back at him blankly, clearly giving up on her fight to avoid him, but her tears continue to fall freely. Kaeleb swipes them away and eventually stops speaking to pull her into an embrace. After holding her for a long while, he tenderly kisses her forehead and opens the back door of his car to guide her inside.
As it shuts behind her, I adjust the rear view mirror. She turns away from me, avoiding my stare as she looks out the window, and maintains her gaze until eventually her face crumbles and falls into her hands.
No words are spoken on the way back to the apartment.