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“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find him.”
We say good-bye and as I hang up the phone, I notice a text from Quinn.
Quinn:
Just wanted to say thank you
for all your help yesterday.
Me:
No problem. How are you feeling?
My knee shakes as I wait for her reply and I picture her as I carried her up to her bed last night as I fight back a smile. She’s just what I need to turn this fucked up day around.
Chapter Five
Quinn
“I don’t know,” Alice muses as her gaze rakes over me, lying on the couch. I sigh and roll my eyes.
“Well, I do. Go out with your friends.”
Her eyes flick to Brooklyn, who is sitting in the middle of the living room, smashing blocks together and laughing. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Al. We’ll be fine.”
When she meets my eyes again, her teeth sink into her bottom lip and she looks even more unsure than she did just a second ago. “I really don’t have to go. If you are feeling sore or you need to rest, I can stay and take care of Brooke.”
“Alice, I love you so very much but you’re turning into a stick in the mud. Go out and have fun with your friends, for Christ’s sake. It’s the Fourth of July, you shouldn’t be cooped up with your injured sister and baby niece.”
She walks over to the couch and checks the blanket over my legs. “Are you still in pain?”
“Will you stop?” I tsk, batting her hands away. “I am sore but in case you forgot, I was hit by a truck so that’s normal.”
“You know what, I’m just going to stay home with you guys. We can rent movies or something.” She sits down next to me on the couch and tosses her purse to the other side. I swing my legs off the middle cushion and push myself off the couch as my body protests.
“Alice Ann Dawson,” I mutter, limping over to the other end of the couch before grabbing her purse and putting it in her hands. “You are going to go have fun and I forbid you from coming home until, at least, midnight.”
She sighs, staring up at me for a moment before she stands up and slings the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Okay, but you call me if you need anything, you hear? I’ll have my phone on the whole time and I’ll text you to check in.”
“Oh, my little worry wort,” I sigh as I wrap her up in a hug. “Seriously, go have fun and don’t worry about us. We’ll be here when you get back.”
“As you pointed out, you were just hit by a truck so excuse me for being concerned about you.”
I release her with a smile. “I know but the doctor gave me the all clear and between school and helping me with Brooklyn, I can’t remember the last time you went out with your friends. You deserve a break and I don’t want to hear anymore arguments.”
She opens her mouth to protest and I cover her mouth with my hand.
“No. No arguments. Go have fun.”
We move toward the door and she sighs. “All right but I am going to text you and if you don’t answer me, I’m coming home.”
“If I get even one text from you when you’re supposed to be having fun like every other twenty-one-year-old on the planet, I’ll change the alarm code on you and pretend to not know you when the police show up.”
“Bitch,” she teases through the grin on her face.
“Nag,” I fire back and we both laugh.
