The Night Before:
The downtown diner was open late and packed with people. The voices of the bustling customers became a steady vibration of background noise. In the corner of the diner sat Cole and Quinn; despite the loud noise, the silence was suffocating. Quinn tried to catch Cole's eye, but Cole just stared at the table, stiff and disheveled, hands wrapped around a mug of cream soda he hadn't touched.
Quinn was the first to break the silence. He gently reassured Cole that he’s in a safe space, placing his hand against Cole’s hand. Cole looked at Quinn’s hand, his touch, his voice, the way he looks at him, always soothed Cole’s mind and body.
He looked up to meet his gaze and uncontrollably broke down crying. It broke Quinn’s heart whenever he saw Cole in this state. He felt powerless, he didn’t want to be just the shoulder to cry on. He wanted to do more. Cole, wiping his tears away from his face, voice raspy, explained that he got into an argument with his father. Of course, the man was drunk, and it started with the usual disagreements: insults about his aesthetic, threats of kicking him out, and finally, accusing Cole of using his dead mother as an excuse to be a lazy failure.
Cole completely lost control after that. He cussed out his father, screaming words he would have never dared to say to him any other time. Deeply enraged, his father marched into Cole’s bedroom and began destroying everything in sight. Cole screamed at him to stop, but his father couldn't care less about his own son’s pleas. Finally, the man's eyes landed on the bass guitar. He slammed it violently to the ground, leaving it shattered beyond repair.
Quinn was seething as Cole broke down again. That was the guitar his late mother had given him right before she passed. Unlike his father, she had truly believed in Cole, knowing their band would make it far.
Quinn refused to let Cole go back to that house, telling him right then and there that he could move into the apartment he shared with his sister. He promised to tag along with Cole to gather his important documents and any belongings that hadn't been destroyed. Before Cole could even try to deny the offer, Quinn reiterated firmly that going back alone simply wasn't an option.
Cole turned his attention to another issue. He knew if he told the others in the group, they’d all be ready to beat his father to a pulp and end up in jail. But he also knew he had to tell Hazel next. He didn’t want to disappoint her as much as he had disappointed himself; this would completely destroy their plans. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number.
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