somewhat resolute that she’d done the right thing, even if it
was the hard thing. Right things usually were hard. She
measured how right it was by how wrong it felt. Maybe that
was a bullshit meter. She spent a few hours thinking about that
too.
When the doorbell rang before dinner, Quinn didn’t get off
the couch. She’d had a bath after Danica dropped her off and
was still in her robe and slippers hours later. She figured it had
to be a member of her family standing out there. Probably
Danica. She didn’t want to answer it. She was done with the
conversations for one day. The one with Dallas had almost
killed her. It took all her willpower not to tell Dallas that she
was getting another ticket and getting on the first plane out of
Topeka. She knew that she needed time to do what Dallas
advised her to do. Think.
The bell rang again and Quinn groaned. “Go away!” she
yelled, even though she was fairly certain that her condo was
sealed up tight enough that Danica or Billy or her parents
couldn’t hear her.
When it rang a third time, she leaped off the couch. She
nearly stepped on the hem of her long, fuzzy purple robe and
went flying. The robe was a gift from her parents the year
before. She had been sure, when she opened it, that it was
meant for a kid, since it was a bright purple unicorn complete
with a hood that sported eyes and a horn and everything, but
when she put it on for the first time, it was a perfect fit. Not
kid sized at all.
Her slippers were ancient, a ratty pink plush pair that she
loved so much she couldn’t get rid of them even though to say
they’d seen better days was an extreme understatement.