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"Enough" Adam reached across his tiny kitchen table and took the phone He put it behind hi out a pot

"I’ht I care about her, too"

"I’ed "I’ll make do"

But it bothered him Nick could tell Adam had less than teeks until his audition, and Quinn’s teht only "I shouldn’t have set her off in the truck"

Ada rush of breath and ran a hand through his hair He glanced at his phone on the counter "I just wish she’d answer"

"She did answer"

Nick gave hiht Quinn had answered

She’d told him she was fine Then she’d told hi out with Tyler, just to pissit was done, and Adam stood "And would that piss you off?"

His tone was easy, but there was the tiniest bit of an edge hiding there Nick blinked and realized he was being an idiot

"Yeah," he said "But not like that I want Quinn to be happy But Tyler is not a good guy"

"You think he’ll hurt her?"

He’d hurt her once already--but Nick couldn’t explain that without explaining everything "I hope not I don’t know"

Adaerator and poured so the other coffee black Nick watched this, bemused that Adam had rehts "How do you know hi every secret he had For the first time, he was teht with tension--froht with Quinn, fro up to everyone’s expectations

"He used to go to school with "

Adas in hand "Why?"

Because Tyler thinks we should be put to death for so we can’t control

Nick rubbed at his eyes "It’s a long story"

He heard the s slide onto the table, but jumped when Adam’s hands landed on his shoulders

"Relax," Adam said softly "Relax" Then he pressed his thumbs into the muscle there

The trapezius muscle, Nick’s brain supplied helpfully

God, he was such a nerd

Adah pressure behind his fingers But instead of being relaxing, his touch had Nick ready to leap out of his chair Was this a prelude to soht? But what if it--

"Relax" Adaently "Are you really this wound up over Quinn?"

"No Yes I don’t know I feel like I should go get her"

"Yeah, and hoould that go?"

Tyler would want to fight He’d win--Nick could hold his own if he had to, but he didn’t fight dirty He had Gabriel for that Tyler would get the upper hand and beat the shit out of him, if Nick didn’t suffocate hi

"It would suck," he said grudgingly

"So your faues or the Capulets?"

Nick snorted "Romeo and Juliet? I don’t think so"

But his brain flashed on that day when he elve, when Tyler’s sister had died When Michael had co wet and terrified When their parents had told them all to lock the It was the first tihtened

It wasn’t the last

Adaht him back to the present "Do you ever think that uy thinks you are bad for Quinn?

That ht Nick up short

"I re once," Adam continued,

"about divorce It said that just because someone is a bad husband doesn’t mean they’re a bad father I think about that a lot, how people have different capacities for failure And even if you fail in one area doesn’t h his head a few times What had Quinn said?

He still thinks your brother killed his sister He seemed kinda upset about it

Tyler had talked about his dead sister with Quinn? That didn’t seeet under Nick’s skin

Ada his shoulder blades, his thuside Nick’s spine

"You have great hands," Nick said without thinking, then blushed

Especially when Ada his neck

"You have no idea"

Nick shivered

Adaainst his neck His hands eased lower, finding Nick’s rib cage "Still obsessing about Quinn?"

Obsessing Was that what Ada? Nick had to clear his throat "Quinn who?"

"That’s better" Another slow breath against his skin "What else has you so uptight?"

Your hands My iination

"School," he murmured "I’m fourth in my class, and rae classes next semester"