Crossing Bridges by Lynford Chelsey

Author:Lynford, Chelsey [Lynford, Chelsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2024-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-one

Back home, Quinn apologized to Luna for being out all night before she took a long shower and collapsed into bed. Four hours later, she finally felt like she might live, and she made macaroni and cheese, her preferred hangover cure.

Wearing her most comfortable joggers, a New York Liberty tank top, and a ragged, oversized NYU hoodie, she tried to figure out what she was going to say. If she planned it, if she told a tale, she wouldn’t have to relive it. She’d only talked about it a few times and usually in pieces. But Chloe…Chloe deserved the entire story.

Chloe arrived promptly, pressing a kiss to Quinn’s cheek.

“Feel better?”

“I’ll survive. Do you want anything to drink?”

Chloe declined, and they settled on the couch together. After winding around Chloe’s legs, chirping a welcome, Luna jumped up and settled on the back of the cushion behind Quinn.

“I have to know—did I say anything awful to you last night?”

“No. Not to me.”

Relief washed over Quinn. Taking her anger out on Chloe would have been unforgivable. “Thank goodness.”

“Quinn, you know you don’t have to—”

“But I do,” she said. “I really do. I want to. You deserve to know some things about me, especially after everything you’ve seen and heard. So please let me.”

Chloe nodded, visibly swallowing.

“I was raped when I was sixteen,” she said abruptly. Chloe flinched, but Quinn couldn’t say it any other way.

The words hung in the air, expanding until they filled the room. Quinn couldn’t look at her. This was it. This was the moment. This day, this conversation, this revelation…it could change everything. No one ever saw her the same afterward.

After what felt like an eternity, Chloe asked, oh so softly, “Is that who Michael is?”

Quinn shook her head before tugging her knees to her chest, pulling the hoodie over them. “Michael is my brother.”

“Your brother?”

Quinn sighed, a deep, long breath. It wasn’t enough. “He’s two years older than me. When we were kids, he was my best friend. I thought there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. But once he started high school, he didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

Chloe didn’t say anything, just listened intently.

“I was figuring out my sexuality at the time, so I had enough going on in my own life. But in hindsight, I wish I’d paid more attention. It was just so stereotypical, you know? He started hanging out with new friends and getting into trouble.”

She paused, frowning.

“The drugs, though…that’s when I should have said something. At first, I just didn’t want to get in trouble. I smoked pot, too. But he started doing a lot more than weed. I never knew if my parents truly didn’t notice or if they simply didn’t want to admit it.”

She stopped again, and Chloe’s hand snaked out, grasping hers. Quinn squeezed it gratefully.

“It was the end of August, right before school started. My parents were out of town for the weekend, and I tagged along with Michael to a party. When I walked in on him shooting up, I got pissed off and went home.

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