“I hate it for you. But you did this to yourself.”
“That’s the part I hate the most,” Quinn admitted.
Her car was quiet and Quinn turned on her music. She couldn’t sit with her own thoughts, they would eat her alive. That was if her crippling guilt didn’t swallow her whole first. She pulled into Autumn’s home, it was so quiet that every time she took a breath the sound was somehow amplified.
Quinn took a moment to compose herself before knocking on Autumn’s door. She heard movement behind the door then the squeak of the lock. Quinn wasn’t sure how she would feel when Autumn was finally standing in front of her. The door opened and Quinn was surprised to see Autumn in a fuzzy bathrobe and slippers. They had become comfortable with one another over the last few weeks, but Quinn didn’t think she’d ever seen Autumn look quite this adorable before bedtime. She almost smiled at the scene in spite of herself.
“What are you doing here?” Autumn asked. Her voice was sharp. Quinn supposed that was fair.
“I wanted to talk,” Quinn said. She didn’t make a move to step inside Quinn’s home, but she was hoping for an invitation.
“I don’t have anything to say to you tonight.”
Quinn took a moment to assess Autumn, she looked tired. Weary in a way that made Quinn want to come inside and take care of her.
“Please. What you saw tonight wasn’t what it seemed,” Quinn tried.
“Really? So, you weren’t dancing with your ex-girlfriend? The woman you assured me that you wanted nothing to do with and were going to get rid of super-fast.”
The words stung, but only because they were true.
“It isn’t what it looked like. Please let me come in and explain. We can talk things out.”
Autumn held up a hand, cutting her off before she could keep going.
“I want to talk to you. But not tonight. Tonight, I want to sit in my fuzzy robe and watch reality TV shows until I fall asleep. I’ll text you tomorrow and we can set something up.”
Autumn’s words didn’t leave any room for arguments. Quinn nodded her head in subtle defeat.
“Okay. I’ll get out of here,” Quinn whispered.
Autumn didn’t respond, just simply closed the door. Quinn heard the lock slide back into place. She stood there for a long moment. Uncertainty filled her. Quinn had never considered an outcome where she didn’t get the chance to apologize. She had never thought about what would happen if Autumn sent her away. In her head she’d imagined Autumn being angry, but not sending her away. Tears stung her eyes as she walked back to her car. She wanted to scream, or cry, or bang on Autumn’s door to beg her to listen. But Madison was right, she’d made this mistake all on her own. And if Autumn needed space the least she could do was give it to her. Quinn pulled out and drove into the night back to her bar.
Madison was waiting beside her apartment door. She watched as her friend scanned her face before offering a smile.
“I thought you could use a friend tonight,” Madison offered.
“I thought you were mad at me,” Quinn grumbled.
“I was never mad at you. It just upsets me to see you acting against your own best interests.”
Quinn nodded her head slowly. She barely had the energy to lift her head, but she did manage to meet Madison’s eyes.
“You want to come in for a night cap?”
“Let’s do it.”
Quinn might have alienated the woman she was in love with, but at least she had a friend to rely on.
Quinn made a couple of cocktails and sat on the couch beside Madison. She handed one drink to Madison and took a sip of her own. Quinn had made the drink strong enough to burn on the way down. She watched as Madison gave the drink a careful sniff then set hers off to the side with a grimace. Quinn chuckled.
“How did things go with Autumn? Was she home?”
“She was home, but she refuses to talk to me. She doesn’t want to talk until she’s calmed down,” Quinn frowned down at her drink.
“Honestly, good for her,” Madison quipped.
“Whose team are you on?”
