Quinn's Woods (DISCONTINUED)

A Grace Period

"Hey."

"Hey," Midge said. She was still in her dress, though now it was torn and tattered from the trek through the woods.

Midge shuffled awkwardly, "You feeling okay?"

Quinn nodded, "My nose is a little stuffy, and I have a small headache, but I'm okay."

Midge sat in one of the chairs next to the bed, "How's your leg?"

Quinn stared at her soup bowl, "Definitely better. It was hurting like hell earlier."

A silence filled the room, the only was the ticking of the clock, and low hum of the t.v. Midge could smell Quinn's soup. Chicken noodle, a classic.

"Where are Jax and Angus," Quinn asked, adjusting her pillow.

"They're in the waiting room, passed out," Midge said, picking at a loose thread in her dress.

Quinn laid back, "So, what's the plan?"

Midge shrugged, "I figured me, Jax, and Angus could get a ride back to Amberdale, and then we'd visit you."

Quinn nodded, "Sounds good, but I meant, like what are we gonna do? About the Gold Club? 'Her majesty?' We still don't know who she is or what's going on.

Midge bit her nail, "When we were in the car, Angus mentioned something about this girl, she seemed pretty nervous. Maybe if we find her, we could get her to talk."

Quinn huffed, "Good luck with that, everyone was wearing masks."

Midge groaned, "Well, it's the only lead we have. We might as well run with it."

Quinn sat up, "Or, we tell the police, and let them take care of it. Midge, we're lucky we didn't get lost in those woods, maybe that's a sign that we should stop."

Midge raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

Quinn looked down, fiddling with her blanket, "I mean, look at us. We're a mess, and my leg is broken. We should be happy we didn't die in those woods."

Midge scoffed, "We were fine. I got us a ride, didn't I?"

Quinn shook her head, "Maybe. But how long did we wander around until we finally found a road? Hours? Midge, what if we hadn't found that road, what if we had died?"

Midge didn't say anything, she only clenched her jaw, Quinn continued.

"I know you're passionate about this, but maybe we should stop while we're ahead, and still alive. That club gave me cult vibes."

"But that's exactly why we need to keep investigating," Midge exclaimed, "We could dismantle a whole cult, and bring justice for the missing kids."

Quinn deadpanned, "Midge, you saw what happened in there. Clearly there's something bigger going on, something that's too big for four college kids."

Midge furrowed her brow, "So, you wanna stop because you're scared?"

Quinn nodded, "Yes. I'm scared. For me, you, Jax, and Angus. Sure today I might have a broken leg, but what if one of us gets seriously hurt, or worse?"

"So? That's what happens when you step up. That's what happens when you speak out," Midge said, arms crossed.

Quinn let out a breath, "Midge-"
Midge slammed her hands on the counter next to her, "Quinn! Do you understand how selfish you sound? You're seriously gonna give up on these people, to save your own skin?"

Quinn furrowed her brows, "You know it's not like that."

"Then what is it," Midge snapped, "Why? Go on, I'm waiting."

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Because I want you to be safe."

Midge raised her brows, "Really? So now you care about me? Because you sure didn't seem to care when you left. Or rather you didn't care enough to call."

Quinn bit her lip. Here it was. She figured that maybe there'd be some anger over her five year absence, and here it was.

"You didn't think about calling? Emailing? Anything? You just thought you could be radio silent for five years, and then show up and act like things are all good?"

Quinn opened her mouth, "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't want to lose contact. But with everything going on in my life, I had gotten swept up."

Midge scoffed, "Right, 'swept up,' what could've possibly happened that had you so swept up?"

Quinn bit her lip, "It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have let myself forget you guys like that. It was shitty, and I'm really sorry."

"Quinn, saying sorry won't erase it. It doesn't take away everything I went through. Do you know how hard it was? My closest friend up and left, and then Angus and Jax went off on their own, and yeah I had Casey, when he wasn't off with his girlfriend, and then he left too, and I had no one."

Midge was crying now, the tears rolling softly down her cheeks, "I had to go to RidgeWood on my own, with no friends to support me, an overworked mother, and a useless pig for a stepfather. But you know who was there? TJ."

Quinn had remembered hearing something about TJ, he'd gone missing sometime after Phoebe.

Midge wiped her face, "TJ was there for me when no one else was. He helped me get through losing Casey, missing you, dealing with Daryl, he made things somewhat bearable after you left, then he was just gone."

Quinn frowned, "Midge, I'm sorry."

Midge stiffened, "Sure you are."

The two stood in silence, Midge looked up at the clock, Quinn assumed her phone had died.

"Well visiting hours are almost over, and Jax, Angus, and I need a cab. So, bye, I guess."

Quinn nodded, "Bye, see you around."

Midge exited the room, but a certain guilt hung in the air, Quinn laid back, staring at the ceiling. She didn't know what to feel, about the Gold Club, about Midge, her thoughts whirled.

She slowly drifted into a rocky, uncomfortable sleep.

— ☾ • ★ • ☽ —

A/N

Hey, All!!

Been a while since I've said that.

So I took a bit of an unexpected (and quite long) hiatus. This was for more personal reasons, and I just wasn't feeling super motivated to really do anything, write, draw, etc.

But now I feel a lot better, and am returning with more Quinn's Woods.

The story from here on out is gonna be pretty serious, there will still be little slice of life moments here and there, but not as frequently as the earlier chapters.

Anywho, hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, and have a great day/afternoon/night!
- SleepyPr1nce