Quinta hardly noticed any of what was instructed of her to do. The only thing she heard was the voice that haunted her many nights. She almost forgot how it sounded, she almost forgot what the pain felt like but thanks to Mike, she would never forget again. Being washed off alike to how they were on arrival, Quinta hardly realized that they were dressed again and in the same room being checked on.
Before Quinta knew it, her bag was returned to her and she found it in her to see just what they'd earned. A hundred dollars from the money they found, five rolls of toilet paper, 3 cans of food, and three hundred dollars for going out. That was all she noticed.
The group gathered their bags and they were processed out with the same plastic smiles on each worker's face. They were sent on their way with the well wishes to have a good rest of their day. Back inside the walls of sanctuary, all Dane wanted to do was go home to Addie after this whole ordeal. What his sister feared the most almost happened and he felt that rumors would spread soon enough.
Sighing out, Quinta followed Dane and the others towards the exit and was once again blinded by the sun. Humming out, she blinked a few times and focused in long enough to see Thomas and Tabitha approach her. Tabitha gave Quinta a saddened smile. Those blue eyes that had sparkled so brightly earlier that morning were dull in comparison. Thomas grabbed a hold of Dane and Quinta's hands and gave them a firm shake.
His thumb was hooked into the bag over his shoulder while he sighed out in a defeated manner, “I just want to take the time out to thank you guys for helping us out there. I knew Mike was always eccentric but I'd never seen him act in that manner before. You both could have left my wife and I for dead but you didn't.” Thomas said.
Tabitha broke into a full grin before that expression fell and she shook her head overwhelmed with emotion once again. The thought alone already broke her heart. Dane appreciated and respected Thomas for the thank you even though he personally felt that it was human nature to do.
Nodding his head, “Not a problem.” He muttered back to him.
Thomas pulled away from the two of them and wrapped his arm around Tabitha's shoulders, “Right, I don't know about you two but I'm tired. We hope to see you guys around more, thanks again. Goodbye now.”
Ending at that, Thomas led Tabitha away from them and held his wife a little closer than he usually would on the walk home. The reality of them being a married couple struck Dane with shock. Because of their age difference he hadn't picked up on the clues at first glance. The more he recounted the day he realized that they were beyond obvious all along.
They were in love.
Dane felt even happier at the fact now that they were safe and sound. Waving to them, he stared after them. Quinta's head followed them as she exhaled. Thomas kissed Tabitha on her head and Quinta's shoulders sagged only for her own down-trodden gaze to meet with Dane's. Dane caught Quinta's eyes and noticed that she seemed even worse for wear then before.
She opened her lips to speak, her voice was hardly above a whisper, “me...'ave to go. Me sorry, Dane.
Her faint voice caused him to feel heavy, “Don't worry about it.” He answered her.
“I'm off tomorrow...so maybe me can stop by. I'll...check directory to see where yuh live.” She said.
Wetting his lips, Dane placed his hands into his pockets, “We'll see you tomorrow.” He replied.
Falling silent again, Quinta gave him one final nod before she turned her back to him, held herself close, and walked away. Dane felt uneasy towards Quinta's demeanor and solemn way she spoke. The very least she tried to reach out, and even though he was still wary, that was good enough for him. For now. Still with how she walked away closed off to anything and everything around her, he couldn't help but feel anxious to see her as soon as possible.
Getting home in record time, he dropped his belongings and resources at the front door by Addie's shoes. He just wanted to lay down because he was exhausted from both the sun and the rush of all that happened in the end.
Knocking on Addie's door, he opened it, “Hey boss, I'm back.”
Addie who had holed herself in her room to sleep, was listening to a CD player only to see her door swing open and Dane standing there.
Her entire face lit up as she yanked her headphones from her ear, “Dane!” She exclaimed.
Knowing that she was about to start making conversation and asking questions, Dane cleared his throat, “I'm going to lay down for a bit. So, lunch is on you.” He said.
He attempted her a half smile before he disappeared and left Addie there in mild confusion, “Oh, alright. You've got it!” She called after him.
Dane sat back on the couch and swung his long legs over the side before he finally relaxed. One hand rested behind his head and the other stroked across his chest. Staring up, Dane sighed out to himself because he couldn't shake the weight he felt. All he saw was Quinta's form walking from him lost. She needed someone. He wanted to be there for her and he knew Addie would be on board too. But what could they do? How much was too much? Would she push them away? Groaning out, Dane inhaled and exhaled one last deep breath before he closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.
Quinta unlocked the door to her room. The door creaked as she pushed it open and closed it behind her. The strap of her bag fell from her shoulders and fell onto the ground and clattered from the metal of her machetes. Her lips were slightly parted and her gaze slowly glanced from on corner of the ceiling to the other.
The voice that had been drowned out from the noise of the others was amplified in the quiet, “QUINTA! RUN! I LOVE YUH, DUN LOOK BACK.”
Quinta's nostrils flared and her bottom lip tucked in. Turning her head to the side, her eyes fell shut which caused the tears to fall and slide down her cheeks. Licking the salt from her lips, Quinta gasped out and trudged over to her bed. She fell against the mattress, grabbed a pillow, and pulled it into her chest before she curled into the fetal position. A face, clear as day, smiled back at her with the same warmth she wished again. She'd even settle for one last time.
Wiping her eyes, she inhaled a clouded breath, “I love yuh too...” She whispered. The face, one that matched hers, faded from view as she opened her eyes and stared out onto the balcony, “...Queenie.” She sighed out one last time.
Fresh tears slipped across the bridge of her nose and onto the sheet beneath her. She gripped that pillow and hugged it tightly as though to mimic her twin’s embrace and hummed out in pain. The pain sat like a weight in her chest. Though she had Dane and Addie, the fact that she could have shared this life with her sister, hurt the most.
Chapter 8
Light filtered over Dane's face and eyelids through the window. Stirring on the sofa from his sleep, he finally opened those eyes. The soft, orange glow outside showed that he'd been asleep for quite some time and he'd bypassed lunch into dinner time.
Sitting upright, Addie eyed her brother from the chair across the room and lowered the book she'd read through three times in her wait. The look on Addie's face once Dane woke told him just what he was in for. Adelaide West was a force to be reckoned with when she wanted information and she did not back down without a fight. Dane knew exactly what to do if he wanted to make this short and easy.
“Something's not right. I could see it in your eyes when you came home. I learned in class that these trips you were assigned go from morning to night. You were back within hours. What happened?” She spoke first.
She'd made a good point and Dane figured that she'd hear the details sooner or later.
He hunched over, placed his forearms on his knees, and licked his dried lips, “We were given a horrible partner and we had to fight him the whole time. Long story short, he almost got us and two others killed. We barely escaped and he didn't at all. Quinta saw what happened him. I believe Quinta took him out of his misery. The way she looked after was pretty much the same the day we met her.” He muttered as he shook his head.
Addie listened to the bulk of what her brother said a
nd tilted her head.
Snapping the book shut, Addie inhaled a deep breath and rolled her shoulders back, “So she ended him.” She muttered to herself.
Releasing a heavy sigh, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his large palms, “Yeah, she did. I want to do something for her, anything to bring her back to normal and make her smile. You know?” He stated theoretically.
All in all, Dane knew that sanctuary lacked activities worthwhile to do for Quinta. Money was tight enough already and honestly, they didn't know what Quinta needed. The one attribute Addie had over him was creativity. He knew that she would be able to come up with a fun and crazy plan. Addie blew out and played with the ends of her hair. The look on her face showed just how concerned she was but when her brother opened his mouth, all her worries washed away.
Those pretty, blue eyes of hers lit up and sparkled, “Make her smile you say?” She asked. Inhaling a long, deep breath, Addie then jumped up and clapped her hands once, “I got it! Hurry up, hurry up! We must catch him before he gets home. Once he's in his house he's so lazy! Come on, come on!” She exclaimed.
Pulling on her brother's arm, Addie put all her weight in to try and lift him. Dane was elated momentarily while he helped his sister haul him off the sofa. Addie's energy and bright aura was ridiculously infectious. Although he didn't like to admit to her but whenever she started with her antics he too felt the excitement. This time, within a moment, his good feelings were sapped away.
“HE?!” Dane blurted out.
As she dragged him out of the door, Dane didn't know what she planned or who they were to catch which bothered him profusely. Obviously, she had been to his house before and he didn't have a clue. He gave the back of Addie's head a heated glare while he made a note to add the guy on his hit list. He'd have to keep up with his sister better than he was that was for certain. Either way she had a great idea in mind, they were going to lift Quinta up with this plan, and that at least, for now, eased him from Addie's behavior with boys.
Leaving their lot, Addie proceeded to lead Dane through the alleyways of their neighborhood. Since the man she spoke of lived along the Eastern wall and time was not on their side, they needed to cut corners wherever they could.
Addie released Danes hand, “Yes he, silly. If I meant a woman, I would say “She”. Do you see how that works?” She asked sarcastically.
Dane cut his eyes down at his sister harshly in response to her sly comment. He wasn't playing games when it came to boys messing around with his sister and she knew this. Yet, here she was laughing the whole way as though her life was not in jeopardy.
Arriving to the shopping district, she cut diagonally across and passed by the shops that were shutting down for the night, “Shit, it's later than I thought.” Glancing over to her shoulder, she looked him up and down, “Can you run?”
Without waiting for an answer, she took off once they exited onto the street lined with the greenhouses; heading North. Speeding up, they both dashed down the sidewalks all by Addie's lead. About five minutes later, Addie stopped at a converted hotel that sat in the corner of the East and Northern wall. Half of the hotel was split away and left to rot by the North wall. Still, this was the biggest building with the nicest units in the whole complex. These were reserved for many of the law officials. The name “Hilton” soared high above their heads with the large, faded shadow of where an H once rested. The exterior was an off white with blue windows that stretched over fourteen stories. There was a small driveway that led into a personal garage beneath the hotel which was once used for cars and now for government issued vehicles and carts.
Standing on the corner with her brother, Addie rubbed her knees together while she smiled up at her brother. She knew that she was in deep, deep trouble with this man. He always warned her about “boys” but he was misconstrued, this was a man. Like that made a difference but the state of their relationship was not what he expected.
Dane stared up at the building with a skeptical glare that only grew to anger with each second that passed. Now, he knew this guy was “important” and obviously someone not the same age as her. His lips were in a tight, thin line when he gave her the famous silent, Dane glare. The sort of expression she'd receive when she told him about being bullied, weed, rock-bottom grades, stacked credit cards, and now.
Looking up at Dane for a moment, Addie caught sight of that grave expression which caused her smile to drop, “Oh don't give me that look.” She said with a sigh.
Dane clenched his jaw as he placed his hands on his hips, “What is this great idea you have anyway?” Dane asked through gritted teeth.
Addie crossed her arms, “I can't tell you just yet because I need to know if he can even do this. Just...I'll let you know when I see him. Don't worry, think about Quinta! This is going to be awesome.” Addie exclaimed happily.
Within moments Leon rolled down the road to finally wind down at home. His shift rested along the line of hell because of the morning incident. Especially since he was the one who put that group together, put Dane in charge, and then had to answer to the failure and havoc that was created. The lecture he received was not pleasant whatsoever, the lessons, the monitoring, group feedback, and reprimanding were just a few of the fun activities he had to endure. All he wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep his stress away.
The cart rattled around which did little for his mental and physical health, “Give me a break.” He muttered to himself.
Stepping into the road, Addie checked for Leon once again before he finally came up, “Oh! There he is!” She shouted.
Pointing to Leon who putted along, Addie waved her arms in the air to catch his attention. Advancing closer, Leon both saw and heard Addie which in turn caused him to groan out. He was used to her showing up randomly but tonight wasn't the time for a visit.
“What do you want from me?” He complained loudly.
Even though he sounded agitated his tone was still friendly. He found rather early on he couldn't be mean to Addie nor could he get rid of her when he wanted. The act cut the moment he saw Dane with a less than pleasant look on his face. Hearing Leon call out to her, Addie quickly turned her attention over to Leon and quickly rushed in his direction. The only color Dane could see was red as he stared into Leon's soul.
The brakes squeaked as Leon came to a stop along the curb beside them. Stepping out, Leon tugged his lips to the side and leaned into Addie all while he kept his wary eyes on Dane.
Leon cleared his throat and pointed to himself, “Uh Adderall, your brother's here and he doesn't look happy. Am I, am I in trouble?” He questioned.
Standing in front of his cart with half of her body, Addie made sure that he wasn't going to be able to get away and deny her, “Who Dane?” She asked. Ducking her head under to see her brother staring at them, Addie waved before she turned her blue hues back to Leon, “No, no you're fine.” She answered.
Doing a double check to make sure Dane hadn't moved to attack, Leon slightly relaxed, “If you say so.” He replied with a smirk.
Tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, Addie licked her lips and gave him a smile, “But I do have a question. Why is it that you always assume that I want something from you?” She asked.
Leon ran a hand along his tired face before he rose a brow and laid his forearm across the top of the cart, “Probably because every time you come to visit, it's for a favor. Plus, you act sweet and bubbly and...”
Leon's words trailed off and his smirk dropped the moment Dane hovered over his sister's shoulder. Addie could only feel her grin grow wider with each word. He was right, she wanted something badly. That was all overshadowed by her brother who lingered over her and threatened the holy ghost in Leon's face with just his eyes. Sighing, Addie simply stepped out of the way and allowed Dane to do what he felt was necessary.
Leon's complexion paled a bit as he gestured with his hands to clear the air, “Alright Dane, look, you don't have to be angry or do anything rash. Like, you know, punch
me in the face. I like my face and if I ever plan to bring a woman back here, I need my face.” Leon rushed out in a breath. Leon watched Dane's buff arms cross to which Leon cleared his throat in a grim manner, “She's cute alright? She's really pretty, you know, beautiful even...BUT...but I am not, at all interested.” He said.
Leon shut his eyes because at that moment he knew he truly did not help his case and in fact signed his death certificate.
Looking down at Addie, Leon snapped his head up to Dane who continued to eye him, “No, pff no. She's way too young.”
“She's seventeen.” Dane interrupted.
Leon took a step back and pushed his blonde bangs away from his face, “Yeah and I'm...” He paused.
Leon was only twenty-five but he felt that this bit of information was better for his health if he kept it to himself.
Leon stood his ground, “I'm too old for her. So, are we cool?” He asked.
Leon held his hand out to Dane who in turn gripped it tightly and sharply pulled him in, “Yeah, we're “cool” but if I find out that one thing happened with your DICK near my sister, things are going to get really hot, really fast around here.” Dane' deep voice rumbled in Leon's direction.
Addie's eyes fell open while her gaze darted between the two of them, “Oh boy.” She muttered to herself.
Leon pulled away with a smile that thinly masked his nerves while he held and rolled his shoulder, “Yeah of course! That wasn't so hard, eh?” He asked.
Turning away from Dane, Leon huffed out his nostrils and eyed the sky with a squint. Anything to take the heat off himself now.
“You guys need to get going soon. What did you come here for?” Leon asked.
Addie stepped back in front of her brother and clasped her hands together.
Holding her hands up to her face, she held a devious smile on her features that twinkled with her gaze, “Leon...I have the biggest favor of all favors to ask you. I'm sure you know all about what happened with my brother and Quinta earlier.” She said as she looked back at Dane.
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