Page 108 of More than Paper

She takes a deep breath. “I’m not ready to move to New York yet. But if I am going to, we can’t hide, right?”

Yes! Progress!

I shake my head and smile bigger. “No, we can’t.”

She takes a deep breath. “Then, let’s not worry about it anymore.”

I lean over on her and cup her face in my hands. “You just made me really happy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I think I’m going to have to give you some extra treats for that.”

“You’d better start now. Time’s ticking.”

I spend the next few hours in bed with Quinn.

I leave to meet up with the guys, and all hell breaks loose in the next few hours.

Charlotte sees Xander and the rest of us sitting in a cafe talking to Xander’s ex-Billie. Xander runs out of the restaurant, chasing Charlotte down the street, and she doesn’t stop at the crosswalk. A car plows into her. Noah, Chase, and I go into paramedic mode, but we have no equipment and do what we can until the ambulance arrives.

Xander rides with Charlotte in the ambulance, and Noah’s driver picks us up.

On the way to the hospital, I call Quinn.

“Hey, doll, where are you?”

“I’m finishing up some errands on the other side of town.”

“Can you sit down a minute?” I ask her.

“I’m sitting down in my car. Why?”

Crap, she’s driving.

“Can you pull over for a minute?”

Panic laces her voice. “Jamison, what’s wrong? You’re freaking me out.”

“Don’t freak. Can you pull over?” I hear the noise of her blinker in the background.

“Okay. I’m in a parking lot. What’s going on?”

“I need you to stay calm, okay, doll?”

“Jamison, tell me what is happening.”

I take a deep breath. “Charlotte got hit by a car.”

“What?” Quinn cries out.

“She ran through a crosswalk.”

“What?” she repeats.

“Quinn, tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you.”

“Jamison, is she alive?” Quinn’s voice is shaky.

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