A Broken Soul(70)

"Lilly."

Just when I thought my life couldn't possibly get any worse. The sound of his deep, raspy voice caused every nerve ending in my body to fire. "Quinn." My voice came out just as flat and emotionless as I was feeling. The sight of him was too much. Everything inside of me went numb. It was as though my body shut down as a countermeasure to prevent me from completely losing it, shutting out all emotion. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm so sorry." His face was full of sympathy as he took a step closer. I backed up, but kept my fingers wrapped around the edge of the solid wood door, needing something to hold on to, something that I could place between us with a flick of the wrist. "I didn't see your calls until this morning. There was a fire last night and I-"

I held up my hand to stop him. I didn't doubt he was telling the truth. If I were honest, I hadn't even considered that he was at work when I'd called. But that didn't change anything. 

"It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have called you."

His brow furrowed and the frustration flickered in his gaze. "Of course you should have. Your father passed and you were all alone. If I could have, I would have been there for you."

Some of the pain dwindled as anger began to take its place. "Yeah, well it's not really your place to be there for me, now is it?" I snapped. "I appreciate you coming out here, but now's really not a good time."

I moved to shut the door, but his big, booted foot shot out and stopped it. His voice went soft, so full of pity when he said, "Lilly," that the numbness I had shielded myself with cracked and began to spider like a windshield after being hit by a rock until it finally just gave way. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. I was not going to cry in front of him. I wasn't! But as I stood there, blinking rapidly and sniffling at the burning in my nose, I knew I was about to lose my battle. And when he reached out and pulled me into his strong arms, the dam burst. "Shhh," he soothed. "It's okay."

As one arm wrapped around my waist, holding me firmly to him, his other hand trailed through my hair. "I've got you," he whispered against the crown of my head. "I'm here, I've got you."

I sobbed into the cotton of his sweater, so overwrought I couldn't find it in me to enjoy his clean, masculine scent. A person could only handle so much heartache until they were swept under the weight of it. And as he offered me his strength and comfort, I let it out and allowed the current to temporarily drag me down.





Quinn



SHE LET ME hold her.

Only for a few minutes as her grief overcame her, but it was still a start.

Placing her hands on my chest, she pushed away and wiped the tears from her red-rimmed eyes before inhaling deeply through her nose. "I'm okay now," she spoke, her voice hoarse from crying. "Thanks."

Unable to help myself, I reached out to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, only to have her jerk her head back out of my reach. "I'm not going anywhere," I told her, tucking my hands into my pockets so I wouldn't feel tempted to reach out again. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love." At the mention of Addy something indecipherable flitted across her face, but it disappeared before I could place it. "You need people around you who care right now. I'm going to be one of those people, Lilly. Because despite what's happened between us, I do care about you."

She muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like yeah, just not enough, but before I could press her further, another voice from the hallway interrupted.

"Lilly? Is someone at the door?"

We both turned in time to see her mother heading our way. I'd only met her parents once, after the Winter Showcase, and it hadn't been a very good first impression on my part. I'd been struggling with my growing feelings for Lilly, and meeting her parents was too much for me to handle at the time. I'd reverted back to what was familiar to me and acted like a dick.

"Mom." Lilly took a big step back from me as she offered a stilted introduction. "You remember Quinn from the Showcase. He just stopped by to offer his condolences."

I gave her a quick look, understanding exactly what she was up to, it spoke volumes, stating that she wasn't getting rid of me that easily. Extending my hand for her to shake, I squeezed gently and offered, "Mrs. Mathewson. I'm so sorry for your loss."



       
         
       
        

"Thank you." She smiled politely while her tired eyes shown with the tears she was battling. "And please call me Elizabeth. It was nice of you to come. Would you like to come in? We have plenty of food if you're hungry. The neighbors have been quite generous."