[Scars]

:: 17 ::

Quinn's POV

"You have to talk to him Chris." I insisted.

She sat there with her arms over her chest, stone faced.

"I already told you no, Quinn." She said in a hard voice.

"What the hell are you running from?" I asked her.

"I'm not running from anything. I've put Zacky through enough already. He doesn't need to be dealing with anything else. I'm going to leave him alone from now on." I said to him.

"That is complete bullshit." I said.

She looked up at me in surprise.

"What do you mean it's bullshit? If you knew what I did, all the late night calls, all of the money he spent bailing me out time and time again, jeopardizing his relationship to take care of me." I said, looking down in shame at all that I'd done.

Quinn was quiet for a moment as he stared at me.

"How much more does he need to do to prove that he cares about you?" I asked her.

A look of surprise came over her face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She said.

"Because you really are delusional. This guy loves you. He's probably in love with you. He's done so many things to prove that to you, and you still don't see it." I told her.

She sat quietly, looking down at her hands.

"He doesn't love me Quinn. You don't know what you're talking about." Chris said.

I laughed, not able to believe that she is denying everything when it's right in her face.

"What the hell am I gonna do with you Chris? You can over come drug addiction, open up in therapy. But when you hear a guy might love you, pssssh. You go running." I said.

"I am not running. I'm waiting for my burger." She growled.

I laughed again and we waited in silence.

We got through our meal, not talking about this Zacky guy again.

I dropped Chris off at the Ramada she's been living at for the past few months.

I sat in the parking lot, contemplating if I wanted to go down this road.

I started the engine and made my way back to the diner.

I sat at the same table and waited for the waitress to notice me.

She smiled and came over quickly.

"Did you forget something honey?" She asked me.

"No. I was just wondering if you had a minute to talk." I said.

She looked a little bit confused.

"It's about Chris." I told her.

Her eyes widened.

"I'll be right back." She said quickly.

I saw her hand her tray over to another waitress and point to some tables she was waiting.

She quickly made her way back over to me, sitting across from me.

"Is she okay? What happened?" She asked me.

"No she's fine. I just had some questions. You know Chris pretty well right?" I asked.

"Yeah. I've known for most of her life. Her family used to come here all the time. It's a real tragedy about what happened to Drew." Grace said.

I saw her eyes start to get a little moist.

I handed my napkin to her and she smiled in appreciation.

"Chris and Drew were thick as thieves. Always watching out for each other even though she was the baby of the family. Hit her real hard when he passed away. Family moved away. Too many memories. And Chris took a dark turn. Pushed everyone she used to know, away. Didn't want to do with anyone who knew Drew or what happened. Didn't want anyone apologizing or giving their condolences. It was too much for her. She just shut down. But Zacky never gave up. He knew she needed someone. And he always promised Drew that he would look after her when he wasn't around. I'm not sure he meant quite in this sense. But Zacky's stuck to his word. Watches over Chris. Makes sure she's okay. And somewhere along the line, that care turned into love. And he fell hard. I doubt even he knew that." Grace said.

"So this Zacky guy, he's a good guy?" I asked.

Grace tilted her head and looked at me.

"You care about her, don't you?" She said knowingly.

"I'm her parole officer. I have to make sure she's not hanging out with any unsavory people. I don't want her falling into any old habits." I said.

She smiled widely and leaned forward, patting my hand.

"It's alright to admit. Chris has a way of getting under tough skin. She just sneaks her way into people's hearts. It's always been that way." Grace said.

I chuckled and nodded.

"I think it's her biting humor. Doesn't take shit from anyone even though she needs more protecting then she cares to admit." I said.

"That sounds like Chris. So why are you asking about Zacky?" She asked.

"From everything I've heard, he sounds like a good guy. And it seems like he loves her. Chris needs someone to lean on. This guy sounds as good as any. I think maybe a get together with her family. She's finally opening up in her therapy sessions. I think seeing family would really help her and push her in the right direction. It's the next step in her healing process." I told Grace.

"And I agree. She's been without family for far too long. I'll give Zacky a call." She told me.

"Why don't you give me the number. I'd like to talk to him." I suggested.

Grace nodded and wrote the number on a napkin.

"Thank you." She told me.

"For what?" I asked in confusion.

"For everything you're doing for Christine. She needs good men like you in her life. Thank you." She said again, squeezing my hand before standing up and walking away.

I looked at the number on the napkin, typing it into my phone and listening to the dial tone.

"Hello?" A voice asked.

"Is this Zacky?" I said.

"Yeah. Who's asking?" He said in a hard voice.

"This is Quinn. I'm a friend of Chris'. We need to talk." I said.

:: But you didn't understand

Go fix yourself ::