Chapter 35
Dwight
“Quinn!” I shout through the closed door, hoping she’ll come back, but she doesn’t. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” I grip the edge of the desk and bring my fist down hard.
Why the fuck did I say that to her? None of this is her fault.
She didn’t deserve that.
Yes, I have been avoiding her, because I can’t seem to bring myself to tell her the truth, but that’s all on me, not her.
I need to go after her and apologise.
I grab my coat, my keys and my phone and leave the room, rushing through campus towards my car. Fuck the rest of my classes today, Professors are replaceable, Quinn is not, and right now, Quinn is the most important thing in my life. Without her, my life is meaningless.
She’s only about five minutes ahead of me, so she can’t have gonethatfar on foot. I jump in my car and start the engine just as the heavens open and a torrent of rain cascades from the sky. It’s as if someone suddenly turned on the shower and left it running.
I leave the campus parking lot and take off down the road, searching the sidewalks for Quinn. I know I shouldn’t while I’m driving, but I call her number and it goes straight to voicemail. I toss it onto the passenger seat, but it bounces and ends up somewhere in the foot well. I leave it there and keep on driving.
It’s raining so hard that the windscreen wipers are rendered practically useless. I can hardly see where I’m going. I drive for another few minutes when a flash of black catches my eye about a hundred yards up ahead. I look closer and press my foot harder on the gas.
It's Quinn, her arms are crossed over her chest, her shoulders hunched as she walks, her pace fast as she hurries home. Her shirt is soaked through, clinging to her body, so much that it’s almost transparent. She’s not wearing a coat. God, she must be freezing.
I roll down my window and slow the car alongside her. “Quinn, get in the car!”
She glances to the side briefly but picks up her pace and continues walking without a second glance.
“Quinn!” I shout again but she ignores me. “Fuck,” I mutter under my breath and press on the gas to get ahead of her before slamming the car in park and jumping out into the rain. I'm drenched in a matter of seconds, the freezing rain soaking through my clothes.
I cut her off, forcing her to stop. Her hair is plastered to her face and she's shivering from the cold, her breaths fast and shallow.
“W-what are you doing?” she asks through chattering teeth.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I came for you.”
“Well you wasted your time because I’m not interested.” She moves past me, but I grip her arm, spinning her back around to face me.
“Quinn, please.”
“Why should I? You’ve made it pretty clear how you really feel.”
“I’m sorry alright? I didn’t mean it.” I run my hands through my soaked hair, tugging at it so hard my scalp stings, but I don’t care. “Let’s just get in the car out of the rain so we can talk, okay?”
“No, I wanna do it here.” She pulls out of my hold and straightens her body defiantly.
I open my mouth, ready to tell her, the words are on the tip of my tongue, but they just won't come.
“Fine,” she says before whirling around and walking away.
“I can't have children,” I confess, and she freezes on the spot, slowly turning back to face me, her eyes wide.
“What?”
“I’m not able to have children, Quinn. I heard you talking to Lissy the other day about marriage and kids… and it made me realise that I’m not the man for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you deserve someone better than me, a man who can give you a future… a family.”
