“Hey.” He kissed my lips to silence me. “No need to explain.”
After he left, I sat on the bed and called Gia. I filled her in on everything Kingston had told me.
“Do you want me to come get you?”
I chewed my lip. “No, I don’t think so. I just…”
“It’s okay to be hurt by this but not want to leave, Quinn.”
“You don’t think I’d be stupid to forgive him for this?”
Gia thought about it, knowing better than to placate me. “I think…you chose to stay accepting that there were secrets, things he was doing or had done that he couldn’t share. But it sounds like, if you want more answers, he’ll give them to you. And you said it didn’t feel like he was minimizing what happened, right?”
“Oh, no. He definitely knows how bad this is. He’s not the jerk who always turned it around and made the fact that I was upset or hurt a me-problem. My trust issues, my being closed off, etcetera, etcetera.” Gia growled, as usual, and it made me smile despite myself. “Kingston didn’t do any of that, and while it doesn’t absolve everything…”
“It matters.”
“Yeah, and I know how awful his father is now. I’ve seen it. Heard it for myself.”
“You’re looking at the whole picture.” Gia gave me a sympathetic smile before looking at me expectantly. “And since it’s just us, you can admit it...”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I want the answers, too.”
“That’s fair.” She nodded, readjusting her position to get more comfortable on the couch. “So, take a minute. Focus on The Quest and what you have to do next, and then you decide when to get the answers.”
“We have a day off tomorrow to give the Knights time to set up for the second escape room, and to spend some time together. I’m weirdly looking forward to it after getting to know some of the other girls.”
Gia smiled. “Hey, that’s great! I mean, obviously, you need to tell them that the best friend spot in your lineup is taken, but we’re open to new members.”
“Of course,” I said seriously.
Pointing her finger, she pinned me with her stare. “If any bitches get overly friendly, you let me know. I’ll come pee on your leg or whatever. Mark my territory.”
“That’s so gross and yet, oddly heartwarming.”
She winked. “You love me.”
“I really, really do.”
We sat on the phone together a little longer, her sticking by my side while I got lost in my thoughts. When I yawned, she suggested I rest and call her the next day, if I needed her.
My sleep shirt was nowhere in sight, and I wanted to hunt down my Knights, but before I mustered the strength to get up, I closed my eyes and dozed off.
Waking once in the middle of the night, I went back to sleep with both my Knights at my side.
The next day, Max and Landon woke to find me already dressed and overly peppy after the night I’d had.
They watched me quietly as I bustled around the room, sorting through my clothes and distracting myself until it was time to meet the other Ladies for our day off.
Though, they said we’d all meet downstairs, neither of them explained more or pushed for information from me. We safeguarded our secrets in silence as they led me there.
When we got close to the others, Max eased away to put distance between the three of us, but Landon stayed by my side.
As we entered the living area, he pointed toward the first room on our left. He opened the door to give me a peek inside. “You’ll share this one with Izzy, if you have to move down here.”
I nodded and turned back around to explore.
The curved row of windows I’d seen when I first arrived at Pendragon, with the red fern growing under it, turned out to be the Knights’ wing. Or, row, more accurately.
