them, but she didn’t realize she was planning on doing it until
the very second she’d opened her mouth and told Quinn they
had things to discuss.
Quinn followed. Reluctantly, but she did. She eventually
fell into step beside Dallas. Not close, but close enough. She
didn’t match Dallas step for step. It was clear that Quinn
wasn’t going to make this comfortable for either of them.
There was no easy rhythm established. No comradery. It was
worse than walking awkwardly in silence beside a stranger.
Chapter 8
Dallas
Dallas didn’t know where to start. She couldn’t just
erase the years and pick up where they’d left off. She didn’t
want to pick up at that place. That place wasn’t a good place.
It was like a puzzle where the last pieces fit all wrong and
ruined the whole thing, so it was better not to put it together at
all.
Having Quinn beside her messed with her thoughts. It
messed with her body. It gave her shivers on top of shivers on
top of shivers. The day was too hot for goosebumps, the sun as
bright and the sky as cloudless as the day before, so it had to
be Quinn causing it.
“If you’re going to say that you’re sorry about what
happened, how it happened, when, what, where, who, and
why, then don’t,” Quinn said. She didn’t try to force
cheerfulness into her voice. Quinn never tried to force
anything.
“I- I wasn’t- I mean, I was,” Dallas confessed. “I was
going to say that I was sorry. About how and why we’re here
now.”