Page 111 of Delayed Penalty

Then I hear it again.

Tap, tap, tap.

I scramble across the room, wrenching open the door.

“Hi,” Quinn says quietly, standing before me in a Serpents t-shirt that’s so big I can’t even see the sleep shorts I know she’s wearing underneath.

She’s wearing my shirt.She’s wearing my shirt and she’s standing at my door and fuck if I don’t want to kiss her.

She slips into my room, pressing her back against the door as she closes it. I want to close the distance between us and kiss her so fucking bad my fingertips literallyacheto touch her.

But I don’t. We need to talk first. The ride home was silent save for Flora happily eating her dessert in the back seat of Quinn’s Bug, and we were just as quietwhen we got home. She did her nightly routine with Flora while I hid away in my room, trying to talk myself out of driving back over to her parents’ place and really giving them a piece of my mind before pummeling Matthew.

Fuck, I still want to do it.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

She nods, but it doesn’t match the tears shining in her eyes.

“Honey…”

And now they’re no longer just shining. They’re running down her cheeks, one little tear, then another big one, and I fucking hate it. Her chin wobbles and she sniffles, brushing the streaks away.

“I’m sorry. It’s nothing. It’s just…”

“Just that they’re all assholes?”

She laughs lightly. “Yeah, that. It’s nothing new though. They do it all the time. I should be used to it by now.”

“No, Quinn, you shouldn’t. You shouldneverbe used to something like that, and they should never be talking to you like that. And your parents should damn sure never let it happen.”

That part pissed me off nearly as much as the shit her siblings were spewing. How could Bess and Chuck just sit by while their kids tore into her? I never would have expected that from Bess.

Quinn shakes her head. “No, no, don’t blame them. My parents are great. They love me. Sure, they’re totally exhausted by me always jumping from one thing to the next, but they love me no matter what.”

I have no doubt she’s telling the truth, but what I witnessed today still wasn’t right.

“They should still say something.”

She shrugs. “Maybe. But Matthew and them wouldn’t have gotten nearly as ugly as they did if my parents were in the room. They’re dumb but not that dumb.”

“I’m not sure dumb is the word I’d use for that prick. Maybe a douchey piece of shit or asswipe or something to that effect. Actually, Ishouldbring him to a game. Let the guys have a go at chirping him for a bit. He’ll change his tune real quick.”

“That does sound really nice.” She smiles at the thought. “But that’s not what I came in here for. I don’t want to talk about them.”

“Then why’d you come in here? I mean, I have an idea why, but…”

“Well,that,and for another reason. I, uh…” She tucks a stray hair behind her ear. “I wanted to say thank you.”

Okay, I wasnotexpecting that.

“Thank you? For what?”

“For standing up for me.”

Her words are like a punch to the gut. While Ididsay something to her fuckface brother, I still sat there and let her get ragged on for far too long.

“I should have said something sooner. I should have stopped them before I did. I?—”

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