Sugar & Spice

Chapter 30

Crissy lingered in that hazy in between, not quite awake, but not quite sleeping either. The ache of exhaustion in her body was never eased and when she did finally touch consciousness, the memories flooded back to her mind in all their ugly glory and she closed her eyes, drifting off again.

Distantly, somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt Quinn still with her, occasionally whispering to her softly, but most of the time he said nothing at all as his hands smoothed over her skin, over her hair.

Then he wasn't there and her heart beat spiked with panic. She pulled herself to consciousness, fighting off the bitter memories and the burn of tears that demanded to be felt all at once. She rubbed at her eyes and propped herself up on one elbow, listening for any signs of Quinn.

Just as she pushed herself up to swing her legs off the bed, Quinn slipped into the room, closing the door as quietly as possible before he turned.

"Hey," he said softly. "Did I wake you? Go back to sleep."

She shook her head. Quinn eased onto the bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She let out a small breath of relief she didn't realize she'd been holding as he kissed the top of her head and his hand came to rest against her cheek. She didn't say anything for a minute or two, closing her eyes against the faint, sweet scent of his skin.

It felt as if she'd been stripped raw, every nerve shredded to ribbons. She thought she was okay after the fire, piecing herself back together, only to wind up here again, exhausted and drained. The fire had taken her home, her dreams, almost everything she had worked so hard for in her life. But this...this hit deeper, struck a chord that had been frayed and close to breaking for a very, very long time. And now it had snapped.

"How long have I been asleep?" she finally whispered.

"Three days," Quinn replied.

She pulled back, startled and confused. "You're joking."

He shook his head and brushed his thumb over her chin.

"Wish I was," he said. "You needed the rest anyway."

She rubbed at her forehead with the back of her hand. It didn't feel like she'd been asleep for three days. Her body was tender to the touch and her head ached from crying. How could she have slept for three days and still feel like she wanted to sleep for three days more?

"You've been here this whole time?" she said.

He nodded.

"But...what about your job?"

"A couple of the guys owed me a few favors so I got some time off. I didn't want to leave you after...all this. So you have me for as long as you need me. Or if you would prefer to be alone...I can make myself scarce too."

She leaned into him and his arms came around her, his fingers tangled in her hair.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he said. "You tried to warn me and I didn't listen. I didn't think it would be that bad. I should have convinced you to not go at all."

"I knew you'd never do that. Family is important to you. And I...really wanted to be there for my sister. Amy told me not to go but...I insisted."

After a pause, she asked very quietly, "How much did you hear?"

Quinn let out a long, slow breath. "Right around the time your mother said I would dump you at the first chance that came along."

She groaned and buried her face in his chest.

"I wish you hadn't heard any of it," she said. "The things she said about you..."

"You were the one who took the most damage in all this. Don't worry about me, Crissy. I can handle it. "