Quinn wasn't even aware of the date until 8 pm came and visiting hours at the hospital for family was over.
He was exhausted. True, bone deep exhaustion filled him.
It had not been good when he had arrived.
First, the hospital that his grandma had been taken to wasn't one that they were familiar with. She'd needed specialized care and for some damn reason, there was a strange bias towards betas. They didn't think that they were her family. An omega would never intentionally give birth to betas.
Thank goodness his grandpa had arrived shortly after with their family lawyer. Things were sorted out shortly after that, but the all too familiar scowl on his grandpa's face never faded.
That was when Quinn got some family lore that he'd been protected from since he was a child. His grandpa had been dealing with this kind of bias his whole life, and especially as long as he had been with his wife.
Things had gotten better as time went on, but his grandpa had to be the brawler that he was to protect his beloved wife. It was why he had made sure his daughter had married someone big and broad, and why he had also made sure to enroll Quinn in fighting classes too.
It was good for their own protection, and also good if they decided to get involved with omegas. Or hell, even alphas. His grandpa just didn't want Quinn and his children to deal with the bias that he'd had to.
He quieted down when Quinn's aunt, also an omega like his wife, showed up with her alpha wife and Quinn's cousins. Quinn had two cousins on his mom's side, while none on his dad's. His dad was an only child, so family gatherings usually centered around Quinn's maternal line with his paternal line coming to visit. They got along well with Quinn's other grandparents, and Quinn was grateful for that.
Quinn's cousins were a little younger than him, with the youngest still in university while the oldest had just graduated. They were just entering the work force, and if you didn't know that they were related, you might not notice it. Both of his cousins had inherited their parents' secondary traits. The oldest was a female alpha like their mom, and the youngest was a male omega like his mom. They were good kids, and had never treated Quinn as less then.
In fact, they had always loved Quinn with open arms, and even in this terrible situation, it was the same. They ran to their grandparents first, and then ran to Quinn and his parents. Hugs were freely given, tears were flowing, and everyone was upset.
They hadn't lost a family member yet. To old age, cancer, nothing. It was devastating that this was even on the table for grandma of all people, but it was something that everyone was having to face. Falling was practically a death sentence to the elderly, and her husband knew it best. Quinn's poor grandpa was the colour of a sheet the whole time that he'd been by his wife's side.
His grandma hadn't been put under or anything like that, but she'd been unconscious since the fall. Nothing dangerous, the doctors had told them. A little strange, but she was fine. All of her vitals were normal, she should wake up on her own naturally.
~
It had taken two days for her to wake up. Quinn didn't even realise that it was the day of the end of the year party. Why the hell would he? He'd been so busy making sure that his family was okay, that everyone was tended to, that no one was crying quietly to themselves in some corner of the family home.
He was making sure that he wasn't thinking about anything to do with the damn company at the moment. The only people who he kept in contact with from the city were his boss, who was asking and making sure that Quinn was okay, and Noah.
Noah had even face-timed in to talk to everyone, sitting in Quinn's apartment like he owned the place and holding up one of Quinn's plants he kept trying to keep alive. Quinn didn't have a green thumb, he had whatever the opposite of it was. His plants always seemed to get a boost whenever he wasn't there and Noah was.
It was a small moment of humour in a rather serious time and Quinn was eternally grateful that he had people like Noah around. He honestly was pretty sure he'd be lost without him.
When his grandma had opened her eyes that first time, a shout had gone up around the room before anyone could stop it. His grandpa had nearly collapsed, his weaker body reaching for his wife desperately. That kind of love had been the core of their family so it was no hardship to be the one supporting him as he clung to her.
He cried, everyone cried, and his grandma had no idea why everyone was making such a fuss over her. It was so like her that it had the others laughing, even as their hearts ached.
That was when the doctors had to come in and truly make sure she was okay. That she wasn't having any adverse reactions to the medications, those kinds of things. Things that were above Quinn's paygrade.
Quinn held his grandpa through it, acting as his spine when he needed it. His grandpa wasn't a weak man, but it was only last year that he finally relented that he needed a walker. Quinn would not let him feel weak when in front of his wife, and from the adoration that his grandma gave his grandpa, even now, Quinn knew he was making the right call.
When they were cleared, his dad helped him lift him up onto the bed so that he could lie beside her, not hurt her, but give them the closeness that they both needed. They stepped out, giving them some privacy and Quinn, not for the first time, wondered what that kind of love and adoration would feel like? He saw it with his own parents, saw it with his aunts too. He could see the same hunger in his cousin's eyes too. They wanted the same thing, like Quinn, and yet here Quinn stood. He'd missed his mom's call because he'd been sleeping with his sex friend.
His childhood best friend sex friend who had…he'd never treated Quinn with even a fingernail of consideration that his grandpa had for his grandma. Quinn sighed, heavy, his shoulders rounded as he reflected on his own actions.
His family could tell that something wasn't quite right. Quinn wasn't exactly great at hiding it, but they didn't pry. His Mom had hinted at questioning him, but Quinn had just shaken his head. He'd lied, said a huge project at work had just wrapped up and he was just thinking about what he could have done better, but no one bought it.
Especially not when his cousin, Phoebe, caught sight of the hickie on the back of Quinn's neck. She didn't make a big deal out of it in front of everyone, but she had pulled him aside and asked about it.
She asked if Noah made it, and Quinn had to give her a bitter, angry smile and tell her no, Noah had not made it, and Noah and Quinn didn't have that kind of relationship. They were just best friends. The bestest. Phoebe had seemed confused at that answer, but she didn't push it.
She even said that she would keep it a secret so that the others didn't pester him. Quinn appreciated it. He had a good family around him.
Quinn didn't tell Noah about Phoebe's question. He honestly wanted to, but he wanted to see Noah's face in person when he told him about it. After all, they had been thinking about adding Phoebe to the company once they got it started and off the ground. She had gone into a field that would benefit them, but…telling him over text felt too impersonal. Especially after he had helped him on that shitty, shitty night.
~
8pm came that night, and Quinn realised that only when his phone vibrated as he was leaving the hospital. He was too distracted by what his cousin Patrick was saying to notice it at first, especially when he excitedly exclaimed that it was snowing.
Quinn looked up, turning away from the pretty, smaller man and noticed that there were, indeed, tiny snowflakes falling from the sky.
"Pretty." Quinn muttered, pulling his phone out of his pocket. It was still vibrating, and Quinn had no idea why. Noah wouldn't call him right now. He was busy with his own end of the year party, and 8 pm was the announcement time. He had to be up on the stage with his shitty family.
When Quinn looked down at the caller i.d., his stomach dropped. Why the hell was Michel calling him right now?
Ignoring it, Quinn put it back into his pocket as his cousin watched on, curious.
"Who was that?" He asked and Quinn gritted his teeth.
"No one important, Pat. Trust me on that." Quinn told him and Patrick furrowed his brows. He couldn't help it that he looked so cute. It was his genetics. Both Patrick and Phoebe were cute as damn buttons, but it was Patrick that Quinn would never cross. That conversation with his grandpa about learning protection? Well, he did that with all of his grandkids, and one in particular took to it like a fish took to water.
Patrick was a grand champion in his weight class, and was a black belt like five times over? Quinn wasn't sure how it worked. Patrick had also explained it to him several times and while Quinn had a good memory, it just didn't stick for him. All that mattered was that Quinn would show up and support his sweet, cute, and dangerous cousin when he could. If he couldn't, he always made sure to send him flowers.
Patrick deserved that much at the very least.
He was on a full ride scholarship because of his athletic abilities. It was always funny when people got them mixed up too because they thought that an omega couldn't be as strong as Patrick was. Fools.
Honestly, there was a small part of him that wanted to ask Patrick to help him out with something, like maybe making Michel feel angry, but Quinn shook it off. The man would only be angry because Quinn had flaked on something he promised, but he wouldn't really care about the why. He just liked knowing that Quinn would do what he said.
As Quinn had always done.
Quinn's jaw tightened and he forced himself to look up at the pretty night sky.
"Come on, Pat. Let's get back to the house." Quinn muttered, wrapping his arm around his cousin's shoulders. He pulled him closer, ignoring the vibrating phone in his pocket. He wasn't even worth his time right now.
He shouldn't have been worth his time in the first place after he'd brushed him off like that when they were kids, but Quinn liked to learn things the hard way.
Patrick's arms wrapped around Quinn, squeezing him tightly. A little too tightly.
"Can we stop by the grocery store and pick up some ice cream? It's always nice to eat it when it's snowing." Patrick asked, his pretty green hazel eyes staring up at Quinn under long lashes. Quinn chuckled. He reached down and pinched his cousin's nose.
"Brat. Of course." Patrick beamed.
"Yay!" He was a good distraction from Quinn's dark thoughts. It was a good thing he was out of his apartment, even if it was for a terrible reason.