Love Unspoken

Quinn eyed the dish Alexander had whipped up. It looked alright, but she had no clue how it tasted. Alexander brought it over to her. "Give it a try."

Quinn took a bite, her face shifting. "Should I be honest or sugarcoat it?"

Alexander's lips twitched. He took the plate back. "Never mind. Olivia, can you make another one?"

"Sure," Olivia said with an awkward smile.

Alexander nudged Sprout out of the way, and Quinn kept staring at his face. Noticing a smudge on his cheek, she burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Alexander asked, clearly annoyed.

Quinn pointed at his cheek. "Go wash your face."

Realizing something was off, Alexander handed Sprout to Quinn. "I'll be right back."

He dashed upstairs, washed his face, and decided to take a quick shower too.

By the time he came back down, Olivia had just finished making a new dinner.

Quinn and Alexander sat at the dining table. Alexander had changed into gray loungewear, his hair a mess.

Thinking about Abigail, Quinn lost her appetite. She picked at her food and finally told Alexander what was on her mind.

Alexander paused and looked up. "Is Abigail really planning to go through with it?"

Quinn nodded, looking worried. "Yeah, do you think it'll work? I feel like I've caused trouble, and I can't talk her out of it." Alexander thought for a moment. "She's an adult. Let her make her own decisions."

"Are you serious?" Quinn asked.

"What else can you do? Go find Alvin and have him stop her? Got any better ideas?" Alexander replied.

Finding Alvin was definitely not a good idea. If Alvin found out, Abigail would hate Quinn.

Quinn put down her fork. "I'm done eating. I'll go feed Sprout."

She got up, took Sprout upstairs, made some formula, fed him, and then took him to the bathroom for a bath.

Sprout sat in the tub, squeezing a toy duck that quacked, grinning up at Quinn.

Seeing Sprout so happy, Quinn couldn't help but smile.

It was weird. She hadn't seen Brandy in ages, and seeing her again made it feel like time had flown by. But with Sprout looking the same every day, it felt like time was dragging, like he'd never grow up. She patted Sprout's head. "Hurry up and grow so you can bathe yourself."

Sprout grinned, and Quinn was surprised to see he seemed to be teething, with two tiny teeth just barely visible.

Quinn checked Sprout's mouth again and again, confirming he was indeed teething, a delighted smile spreading across her face.

After quickly bathing Sprout, she wrapped him in a towel, placed him on the bed, and ran out.

"Alexander, come up here quick!" she called.

Her tone was urgent, and Alexander, thinking something was wrong, rushed upstairs with Brandy. "What's up?"

Quinn pulled Alexander to the bedside and pointed at Sprout. "Look, he's teething."

Alexander looked at her blankly.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Aren't you happy?" Quinn asked.

Alexander sighed. "You just noticed?"

Quinn's jaw dropped in surprise, then she looked a bit embarrassed. "I just saw it while bathing him. When did you notice?"

Alexander teased, "A few days ago. You're the mom, and you didn't even know when he started teething. No wonder Sprout only calls for Dada." Quinn shot him a glare. "I don't stare at him all day, you know."

Alexander smirked. "Yeah, you're too busy playing matchmaker for Abigail."

Quinn was momentarily stunned. She blinked a few times, then looked at Alexander. "Are you jealous?"

Alexander raised an eyebrow, not giving anything away. He walked past her to the bed, picked up Sprout, and checked his mouth.

Quinn sat down next to him. "I won't go tomorrow. I'll stay home with you guys."

Alexander replied flatly, "Do what you want."

Quinn was quiet for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Isn't it boring staying home every day?"

Alexander used to be busy from dawn till dusk, but now he had nothing to do. She wondered how long he could keep this up.

Alexander said calmly, "How could it be boring?"

Quinn insisted, "You don't have anything to do now."

Alexander shot back, "That's not true. I'm taking care of the kids."

"That's true," Quinn murmured, smiling. He had been pretty good at taking care of the kids lately, though sometimes he forgot he was supposed to be doing it. Last time, he was chatting with someone and left Sprout and Brandy unattended. He probably wouldn't have noticed if someone had taken them. "Alright, it's late. Let's sleep," Alexander said, putting Sprout on the bed.

Quinn nodded and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Now the four of them slept in one bed, with Sprout and Brandy in the middle. Quinn and Alexander were so far apart that they couldn't do anything but sleep. After her shower, Quinn leaned against the bed, patting Sprout's back to lull him to sleep.

Alexander was next to her, looking at his phone, with Brandy in his arms, also watching. The space between them felt awkwardly empty.

Brandy couldn't understand what was on Alexander's phone and soon fell asleep.

Quinn, trying to soothe Sprout, started to feel sleepy herself, while Sprout was still wide awake, babbling to himself.

Quinn turned and whispered to Alexander, "Did Sprout nap during the day? Why is he still so energetic?"

Alexander glanced at Sprout, who was playing with his feet, and thought for a moment. "He did, maybe. I forgot." "How can you forget that?" Quinn scolded.

Alexander replied, "Maybe I'm getting old."

Quinn was at a loss for words. Alexander wasn't even thirty-five yet.

She sighed, placed Sprout next to him, and said, "You seem energetic too. Take over; I can't keep up."

She had spent the whole day with Abigail and was exhausted.

Handing Sprout to Alexander, Quinn lay down, turned off her side of the light, and soon fell asleep.

In the dim light, the room was quiet.

Alexander looked at the three people sleeping beside him, his expression complicated.

He put down his phone, gently patted Sprout, and stared into space, his thoughts drifting.

Suddenly, his face changed. He quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, he clutched his chest, coughed twice, and spat a mouthful of bright red blood into the sink. The red was stark against the white sink. Taking a deep breath, he turned on the faucet to wash the blood away.

He opened the drawer under the sink and took out an unmarked box.

His eyes flickered as he stared at the box. After a moment of hesitation, he opened it and took out the medication inside.