Page 36 of Fragile Heart

“If anyone can win over a woman, it’s you.” Vaughn laughs. Normally I would agree with him, but Quinn isn’t like my normal women.

I let out a breath, thinking of what I’ll say when I see Quinn next. I have to work late tonight and have an early call time tomorrow, so Quinn and I don’t have any plans as of right now. I’ll have to figure out a way to talk to her. At the very least, to make sure she’s not mad.

* * *

After a long day of filming and not hearing a word from Quinn, I’m more than ready to get out of this tuxedo and away from this studio. I change into my sweatpants and T-shirt and get into the black SUV waiting for me. I text Quinn to see if she’s still awake, but it’s pretty late, so I don’t expect her to answer.

Once I’m home, I heat some leftovers from the other night when Quinn and I ordered too much food for two people to eat.

I’ve never really minded being by myself, but ever since I started hanging out with Quinn, I would rather have her company. So, sitting in this empty rental house eating crappy takeout makes me miss her even more. After a quick glance at my phone screen, I confirm I still don’t have a text from her.

Fuck. I’ve gotten myself attached to someone who lives across the damn country. What am I going to do in a few weeks when I have to go back to LA, and she won’t be a ten-minute walk away?

I shake the thought from my head. I’m not going to worry about that. Now, I’m going to finish eating and pass out, so I can do this all over again tomorrow.

The next morning, after a restless night of sleep, I shower, dress, and send a text off to Quinn before getting in the car to go back to the studio again. One thing I’m looking forward to with going back to LA is getting my license back. I made some stupid decisions that got it suspended in the first place, but I’ve definitely learned my lesson.

About halfway to the studio, I finally get a response from Quinn to the “Thanks for coming yesterday. Hope you have a good day today” text I sent this morning.

Quinn: You too

That’s it?

Usually, she sends at least one emoji with her texts.

I spend the rest of the day dissecting her text and wondering if she’s mad about yesterday. Am I supposed to text her or call her? I decide it’ll be best to just stop by the diner when I get off today. I know she’ll be there because she always works Friday nights.

My entire day from that moment forward is crap. I can’t get any of my lines right. We have to repeatedly film simple scenes because I keep messing them up. The director even pulls me aside to check on me, which is not ideal when you’re supposed to be the star of the movie.

“What’s going on with you today, Hudson?” he asks. I know he’s frustrated with me, but he does his best to sound sympathetic to whatever is bothering me.

“Sorry, man. I’m just having an off day.”

“Anything I can help with?”

I shake my head. “No, it’s just in my head. I’ll get my shit together.”

He claps his hand on my shoulder. “We’ve just got one more scene. Can you power through it?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Good. Take five and get some water.” I nod and head to my chair, shaking out my arms to relax. I take a sip of water and instinctively check my phone. I’ve checked it more today than I have since I bought the damn thing. I haven’t reached out to her again, so I don’t know why I’m expecting anything else from her. She’s probably working now anyway. I know she hardly has time to look at her phone when she’s working.

I roll my head and work a few kinks out of my neck before walking back over to set. I do my best to get through the scene. I wouldn’t say it’s my best work, but it’s good enough. The director seems pleased. Or maybe he knows he can’t get anything else from me today.

As soon as he calls a wrap on the day, I change, wash my face, and practically run to the car. Someone calls my name as I leave, but I wave them off. I need to get out of here.

I ask my driver to take me directly to The Eatery to see Quinn. I walk into the busy diner and find a place to sit. When the waitress comes over, I expect to see Quinn smiling down at me, but I’m disappointed when Holly is standing there.

“Look who it is,” she says. “What can I get you?” She taps her pen on her notepad.

“Where’s Quinn?” I ask, looking around for her.

“She’s off today.”

I freeze. Today is Friday, right? I look at my phone screen and confirm that it is, in fact, Friday. “She always works Fridays.”

“Not this Friday,” she says matter-of-factly.

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